The Scoop
SHAWANO’S JASPER DRENGLER – A MODERN DAY BARNSTORMER
Posted on: Thursday December 19, 2024
Shawano, Wisconsin’s Jasper Drengler winds up in victory lane at South Bend (IN) Speedway. (seeking photo credit)
Jasper Drengler has yet to find a race car or a race track he doesn’t like.
The 43-year-old Shawano, Wisconsin resident can lay claim to have raced in a motorsports event in all 50 states – including Hawaii and Alaska. In doing so, he became the first ever United States racer to have competed in some form of motorsport having accomplished that fete in 2023.
No division or racing surface is out of the question for Drengler, either. It can be a dirt or pavement oval, road course, ice racing, off road and just about anything and everything else in between, including spectator eliminator races. He’s also raced riding lawn mowers. Drengler’s racing resume includes having competed in 142 different motorsports venues across the world. “The only type of car I’ve never raced yet has been an IMCA-type modified,” said Drengler, who is a former Shawano Speedway late model rookie-of-the-year. “The only track I haven’t raced at in Wisconsin is ABC Raceway up in Ashland so that one’s on my bucket list, yet.”
Jasper Drengler was a Shawano Speedway late model rookie-of-the-year. (seeking photo credit)
“Lately what I’ve been doing is hitting a lot of these race tracks in the country that are going to be closing,” Drengler said during a phone interview while driving through Chicago traffic. “I’m actually headed out west to race at Irwindale (California) Speedway.” Drengler has made a point to hit races at East Bay Raceway Park in Florida and a track in South Bend, Indiana which held their final races in 2024.
Racing out west is nothing new to Drengler as he’s also taken part in the Baja 1000, which is a grueling off-road race that takes place in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. “I’ve got a buddy out there rebuilding my truck for that one. I actually left one of my race cars, truck and trailer out there.”
So what possesses Drengler to trapse from coast-to-coast taking part in any form of motorsports? “I’ve had the passion for (racing) since I was a little kid,” Drengler recalled. “I remember my dad took me to a World of Outlaw sprint car race down at Hales Corners Speedway near Milwaukee when I was a kid. I was able to sit in the cockpit of Sammy Swindell’s sprint car in the pits. That did it for me. I was hooked ever since that day.”
Jasper Drengler rolling through tech at the Baja 100. (seeking photo credit)
Call him a modern day barnstormer if you will. Racing for points or a championship? Forget it. Drengler’s been there, done that. “Racing for points simply doesn’t match my lifestyle,” Drengler confessed. He’s earned some track & series titles, including four cylinder crowns closer to home at tracks in Seymour and Shawano. Drengler won the very first four cylinder race at Luxemburg Speedway and has earned Midwest Enduro Series championships as both a car owner and a driver. Drengler even captured a national road course title on the east coast this summer.
So how is it he’s able to scamper away and hit all of these races across the country? “I travel for my work often so many times I will plan accordingly and bring a race car or two with me if there is a race track nearby that I haven’t run at yet,” Drengler explained.
Drengler owns a pair of different fireplace companies. He travels the country building unique, one-of-a-kind fireplaces. In fact, when we chatted with Drengler on the phone for this story he was en route to building a $120,000 fireplace. The father of four, Drengler’s oldest child is in college while three of his four kids have raced. Drengler was able to race against his youngest son at Shawano Speedway, his home track.
Living where he does in Shawano, hes within a little over an hour of many race tracks. “Heck around the early 2000’s I was able to race four or five nights a week,” Drengler said. “Oshkosh Speedzone was running Tuesdays. Manitowoc Expo was on Wednesdays. If there was a race going on, we’d find a way to get there.”
Jasper buckles up before a race at Boothill (LA) Speedway. (seeking photo credit)
With the hundreds of thousands of miles logged just getting to and from the race track, Drengler has encountered his share of blown tires and other mishaps on this country’s interstates. He got caught up in a nasty ice storm coming back from a race in Texas and even had some gas cans stolen from his hauler at a race in Mississippi. “People don’t realize just how lucky we are in Wisconsin to have so many well-run tracks so close to home,” Drengler admitted. “I’ve been to some real dumps around the country but also some neat places, too. But in Wisconsin, we’re pretty darn spoiled. I’ve seen it all.”
As for what tracks are the best run in the Badger state? “Slinger and Dells Raceway Park are right up there,” Drengler said. One of the reasons he’s fond of Slinger it’s because that’s where he actually got his racing start. “I paid a few bucks, hopped in a Crown Victoria and raced in what they called a Slinger Guest Car.”
From there, Drengler partook in spectator eliminator races at Shawano and Slinger. After that, Rex Melius, who was running Powercom (later Beaver Dam Raceway) and later Speedzone in Oshkosh told Drengler ‘we’re gonna race four cylinders at both tracks (Oshkosh and Beaver Dam). Soon after that, every track had a four cylinder class it seemed like. I was instantly hooked.
“LaCrosse is another pavement track that’s very well run and I’ll always love Shawano. I love the speed of the half-mile.” Drengler has that soft spot in his heart for Slinger as he won the first ever Slinger Bee race on the high-banked, quarter-mile, paved oval and also won on Alan Kulwicki Memorial night. Victories at the Milwaukee Mile also stand out and Drengler said attending or racing Road America at least once should be on every racer’s bucket list.
Drengler adds that collectively, the tracks in Wisconsin overall are far superior when it comes to things like a well-prepped dirt track or good concession items. “Some of the places I’ve been to down south are truly real dumps,” Drengler said. “We’ve actually got things pretty good in Wisconsin and sometimes people lose sight of that.’
So how is Drengler able to pull off towing a car to Hawaii or Alaska – both states he’s raced at? He doesn’t. He rents a car from a local or in some cases will be one. “I raced at a dirt oval in Hawaii and I wound up buying a car from a guy there I bought sight unseen,” Drengler recalled. “The pictures that I got of the car before I got there looked great. But when I landed in Hawaii, the car was beat up and had dents all over. I spent all day in a Wal-Mart parking lot there working on it. I wound up finishing third with it. I resold the car for more than what I paid for it and left it in Hawaii. It wasn’t worth the transport costs if I was to bring it back home. It just didn’t make sense.”
With his barnstorming style of racing, it’s often hard for Drengler to drag along crew help on his coast-to-coast adventures. “A lot of times I’m rolling into these tracks by myself and I get it because it’s tough to find crew guys who can take off for this shows,” Drengler admitted. “When I had my big semi-trailer, I’d shove three different racecars in it. If one place would rainout for example, I’d find the next closest track and try to catch as many different places to race as I can.”
Recently, Drengler lost a good friend and sponsor in longtime Shawano area engine builder Merle Childs. “Merle was one of the best guys around and he taught me one important lesson,” Drengler said. “Merle once told me to NEVER talk about what you had under the hood. There were times Merle let me pay for my engines with firewood. Or he’d let me put time in his shop to pay off my motor bill when I didn’t have any money. He’d let me work it off in his shop. His business AEB race engines was one of my first sponsors. I sure miss him.”
As Drengler looks ahead to the 2025 season, he’s looking to downsize his fleet of different race vehicles and focus more on machines that don’t necessarily demand 40 hours a week to work on when it comes to maintenance. “At one time we’d rent out cars and our fleet was close to 50 at one time,” Drengler pointed out. “These days I’m always looking to keep adding new racing experiences. I’ve got some tracks in New York and Florida on my 2025 calendar. A couple of years ago I was starting to get burnt out. I don’t see myself ever stopping racing, though. My kids are all grown. My house is paid off. I work a crazy amount of hours. I’ll keep trying to lineup races with my work out-of-town whenever I can.”
Drengler has had a solid team of marketing partners over the years. Those partners include Auto Select of Shawano, Beyond Redline, Trackdaytire.com, BF Goodrich, Chimney Mechanix, A.E.B. Racing Engines, Frozen Rotors, Hawk Performance, Flying Ghost Racing Team, Amsoil, Continental Tire, Mobil1, Hoosier Tire, The Chimney Guy, Dainsco, Yellow Speed Racing, RV6Performance and Legendary Randy.
You can follow all of Drengler’s racing adventures by checking out his Drengler Racing Facebook page.