The Vault
Racin Around Titletown
Posted on: Monday September 14, 2020
Bryan “Woody” Wodack admits he loves taking on a challenge.
With business partner Brian Duquaine the successful vinyl graphics businessman took over the reigns of the third-mile clay oval at John Miles Park in Sturgeon Bay two seasons ago. While car counts are up and track conditions have improved drastically, attendance, like many tracks in the area this year, continues to be sub par.
Wodack is hoping that the Forest County Potawatomi late model shootout next Wednesday, August 11 will do as well as it did last summer at the ticket gate. The special event will kick off the Door County Fair.
“It’s a tough draw up this way in part because we’ve got water on each side of us,” said Wodack. “We’ve been fortunate to only have two rainouts all year. The downside to that is when the weather looks iffy your fans who are “on the fence” so to speak tend to stay away. That’s kept the crowds down for a few nights.”
An empty seat was rare to find last August as New London’s Terry Casey pocketed $2,300 en route to winning the first late model show at the circle-shaped track in well over 20 years. “Things are looking up around here but putting butts in the grandstand continues to be a challenge,” said Wodack. “The late model show was by far our biggest draw of the year as far as attendance went last year. It sure would be nice to get that kind of crowd again next week. I’d like to someday make some money doing this. We’re here for the long haul because I love the challenge.”
Last season’s event with the late models featured WISSOTA rules without the sanctioning. This year track officials have decided to run their show under the Wisconsin Dirt Late Model Association (WDLMA) sanction, which features drivers from the Milwaukee area. “A few of our series regulars have taken a day of vacation and plan on spending the night up in Door County,” said series president Brian Konopka. “We’re looking forward to running up at Sturgeon Bay. For many drivers it will be their first ever appearance at that track.”
Last season a 30 lap feature was run. This year, a pair of 25 lap features will be run paying $1,000-to-win each. A $500 bonus will be paid to any driver who can win both features. The kicker is the winner of the first feature will have to start dead last in the second 25 lapper. Also on that special mid-week card will be IMCA-style modifieds and stock cars. The IMCA rules will be followed but there will be no claim for these two divisions that evening.
In an effort to make up for the two rainouts at the track earlier in the year, a full track and national points night of racing will take place the following night, Thursday August 12 at Sturgeon Bay as well. IMCA modifieds, IMCA stock cars, street stocks, IMCA hobby stocks and 4 cylinders will compete. Because of the Door County Fair there will be no racing on the track’s regular Saturday night of August 14. Regular Saturday night racing will resume August 21.
It’s apparent the dog days of summer are once again beginning to show at the local dirt tracks. Bent up body panels, touch up paint and blown motors are more apparent on cars as the wear and tear of the points chase grind begins to rear it’s ugly head.
In addition, you begin to see the guys who may have competed all year long begin to drop like flies, especially if they are not in the weekly points battle yet. At Luxemburg Speedway Mark Mincheski has come out of retirement, prompted in part by Tom Brumlic’s decision over the winter to go racing again. Like Brumlic, Mincheski was a street stock ace back in the day. Now Mincheski purchased an IMCA hobby stock from Dan Davister and he’s become a weekly fixture on Friday nights.
Another driver who gets an attaboy for his impressive rookie season as of late is IMCA stock car driver Shawn Havel of Brussels. Havel, driving Tim Van De Hei’s old car has really turned some heads as of late in the competitive division. Havel’s kept the same paint and everything on the car, even the same number 4T.
More than one dozen restored coupes, winged modifieds and sportsman cars that competed decades ago will be on display at Luxemburg Speedway Aug. 6 for the third annual Oldies 103.1 FM WOGB Luxemburg Legends night. The Vintage Modified Stock Car Club of Milwaukee will head up the display. At intermission more than two dozen drivers who competed at the track as early as the 1960’s will be honored. Among the drivers who’ve taken part in the show in the past are Bobby Marquis, Red BeDell, Reggie Cochart, Al Snellenberger, Dennis and Lynn Wolfgram, Stan “The Man” Gracyalny and Roger Paul, among others. Many of them will also take part in a pair of Legends races at the conclusion of the evening’s regular program, which get underway at 7 p.m. racing in the IMCA modifieds, stock cars, hobby stocks and sport fours is on tap.
After weeks of speculation, the Suebert Calf Ranches “Battle of The ‘Burg III” has been rescheduled at Luxemburg for Friday night, October 1. It will be a part of Luxemburg’s first ever two day special. The show will be run under the sanctioning of the Wisconsin Dirt Late Model Association (WDLMA). “Our entire late model portion of our program will be run on Friday night,” said track manager Rick Goral. “That way the late model guys can run elsewhere on Saturday nights if they choose to do so.” The event was rained out June 11.
Wausaukee’s Bob Menor captured the 35 lap late model feature at Norway (MI) Speedway two weeks ago. The “Ranger City Racer” scored the first win of the year using a special “sealed” or crate motor.
The powerplant is slowly being introduced at asphalt tracks across the Midwest in an effort to reduce soaring engine expenses. Drivers who run the experimental engine receive a weight break on their cars. Kaukauna’s Jim Duchow leads the late model point standings at the third-mile, paved oval.