The Scoop
DIEFENTHALER ON HITTING 100, WEEKEND RECAP & UPDATED DIRT FEATURE TOTALS
Posted on: Monday May 4, 2026
IMCA northern sportmod action at 141 Speedway May 2. (Throttle Shots photos)
For most racers who’ve been doing it a number of years, it can often take several decades for a driver in any division to earn 100 feature wins.
That’s not necessarily the case with Two Rivers’ Paul Diefenthaler. Last Saturday night at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, the 54-year-old hit the century mark, by winning the Dirt Unified Street Stock feature. Diefenthaler beat out his arch rival Trey Van Straten.
Diefenthaler’s accomplishments are really impressive, when you consider he only started racing stock cars in 2012. In just 14 years, Diefenthaler averaged a little over seven feature wins per year.
“I never thought I would hit 100 wins, but when I won 21 features a few years ago, I figured it might be possible,” Diefenthaler said. “Some drivers race for wins, while some drivers race for points. I do like the points racing. it can sometimes make a driver race a little less aggressively.”
In 2025, Diefenthaler chose not to necessarily race for points, as his wife was battling cancer. Shelly passed away in January, 2026. When asked if achieving 200 victories would be a possibility, Diefenthaler replied, “It might sound impossible, but who knows? Just take it day-by-day, week-by-week.”
Fond Du Lac’s Brian Hillringhouse scored the IMCA sport compact feature win at 141 Speedway May 2. (S and A photos)
With all area tracks canceling Friday night due to the cold weather, and Shawano and Plymouth also pulling the pin, 141 reaped the benefits of a full pit area (181 cars) as several regulars from other ovals, even some Michigan visitors from the U.P., came down to race at Francis Creek. And despite cooler and somewhat windy conditions, a fairly decent crowd of hearty race fans turned out to catch some races.
Fond Du Lac’s Brian Hillringhouse picked up his first career IMCA sport compact victory, but that win didn’t come without some last lap theatrics. Hillringhouse scored a last lap pass for the lead and eventual win. However, a rock damaged his radiator. if the contest had gone another lap or two, that win most likely would have been a DNF instead.
OUTAGAMIE OPENER – After the original planned opener was weathered out a week ago, Outagamie will host weekly Friday night racing getting underway at 6:30 p.m.
The track’s weekly divisions will be IMCA modifieds, stock cars, northern sportmods and Dirt Unified Street Stocks. Late models will make one of several appearances at Outagamie. Check outagamiespeedway.com for more information.
SHAWANO USRA LATE MODELS – For the first time ever, United States Racing Association (USRA) late models will make their debut on Shawano Speedway’s half-mile, clay oval Saturday, May 9.
A $1,500 top prize is on the line for the winner. The division runs weekly on Tuesday nights at Eagle River Speedway, as well as a number of tracks in western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. IMCA sport compacts will battle for a $500 top prize. Racing at Shawano gets underway at 6 p.m.
141 WEEK 3 – All mother’s get into the races at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek for just $5 on Mother’s Day eve May 9. IMCA northern sportmods will compete for a $1,000 top prize in that division’s first leg of their Red, White & Blue series. A kid’s coin drop will also take place. The first green flag flies at 6 p.m.
ON THE MEND – Beaver Dam’s Jesse Krahn’s IMCA stock car will sit quiet for a little bit, as the second-generation racer suffered a non-racing injury to his hand. He hopes to return to action later on this season.
PLYMOUTH DIRT TRACK – The season opening race at Plymouth Dirt Track is set to kick off Saturday, May 9. The Super Six late model series will be in action, along with MSA sprints, grand nationals and B modifieds. Time trials are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with racing to follow.
KARTING KORNER – GSR Kartway in Clintonville will host an open practice Saturday, May 9. Kid karts and Rbox winged karts can get practice laps from 10 a.m. til 11 am. Rotating practice for all other divisions will take place from 11 a.m. til 3 p.m. Check out GSR’s Facebook page for additional updates. The season opening night for kart and lawn mower races is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13 at 7 p.m.
LITTLE BUCKAROO – Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park will kick off it’s 2026 racing season Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m. Multiple kart classes compete weekly on the one-eighth mile, clay oval. Check out the track’s Facebook page for additional information.
TRY, TRY AGAIN – After canceling their racing program last Friday, racing action is set to resume at Luxy Raceway in Luxemburg Friday, May 8. Action at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds is set to commence at 7 p.m. Gravity Park USA in Chilton will be in action Friday, May 8 with a 7 p.m. start time.
Fans, get out and support your local race track IN PERSON whenever possible. NOTHING beats being there.
2026 REGIONAL DIRT TRACK FEATURE WINNERS (as of 05-03-26)
(Tracks included, but not limited to: Outagamie Speedway, Gravity Park USA, Luxy Raceway, 141 Speedway, The Hill Raceway, Plymouth Dirt Track & Shawano Speedway. We’ll also include feature wins by N.E. Wisconsin drivers scored at other tracks, including out-of-state and series victories. These include both IMCA sanctioned & non-sanctioned wins)
LATE MODELS
Turk Letizia 1
IMCA MODIFIEDS
Johnny Whitman 2
Cole Czarneski 1
Joel Seegert Sr 1
Lucas Lamberies 1
IMCA STOCK CARS
Brett Wenzel 1
Rod Snellenberger 1 (FLA)
Marcus Hoeppner 1
Trent Nolan 1
Cole Czarneski 1
Presley Harrington 1 (IA)
Luke Lemmens 1
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMODS
Coy Vlies 3
Tony Gates 1
AJ Springborn 1
Brad Buckman 1
UNIFIED DIRT STREET STOCKS
Trey Van Straten 1
Paul Diefenthaler 1
Cory Romenesko 1
Todd Berzowski 1
Travis Zirbel 1
GRAND NATIONALS
Nate Ruh 1
Jeff Richards 1
Tyler Kulow 1
Jake Richards 1
FOUR CYLINDERS/IMCA SPORT COMPACTS
Brian Watzka Jr. 1
Cody McLain 1
Autumn Allard 1
TJ Everard 1
Brian Hillringhouse 1