The Scoop
VAN PAY’S 10K PAYDAY, SMOKE, HEAT, RAIN A PROMOTER’S NIGHTMARE & MORE
Posted on: Monday July 20, 2026
The father-son duo of Mike Reichenberger (right) and Brandon Reichenberger (left) shared victory lane in WIR 1/4 mile late model action July 16 at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna under hazy skies. (S and A Photography)
Five or six years ago, race promoters had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
They’ve always had to battle rain, and as of late some tracks have even canceled because of the excessive heat.
This past week, the Canadian wildfires served up some very smoky skies. In some cases, tracks canceled their racing events. Now, I’ve truly got mixed feelings on this. I mean, I grew up in a household where my dad smoked in the house. I remember taverns as a kid were smoke-filled, and yet, we lived to tell about it.
But, these days, with an aging fan base, I get why some people chose to stay home. Some opted to stay home and watched the races on one of the 974 online streaming services (or so it seems) that are up-and-running these days. I give track promoters all the credit in the world for putting up with an element they truly don’t have any control over. Sooo many factors to consider. Many of the folks working at these race tracks are older, and as such, some have legit health concerns. I get it.
At the end of the day, I feel we certainly don’t need the (often corrupt) government telling us what to do. Life should be about choices. And some fans CHOSE not to attend the races. It should be about individual choice. And promoters have a lot of factors to weigh with those choices. If you choose to race, you risk a smaller crowd. While I have no exact numbers, I saw some pics from Thursday nights races at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. Crowd looked a tad lighter than a regular Thursday night. Tough gig there, as you have both the club (Fox River Racing Club) and the track owners/operators (Dan and Ginger Van Daalwyk). Lots of dynamics and factors at play, not to mention a ton of financial risk on the line for both, moreso the club. But, the show went on.
Green Bay’s R.M. Van Pay scored the $10,000 King Of The Creek IX at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek July 18. (141 Speedway photo)
VAN PAY CASHES IN – Green Bay native R.M. Van Pay, a mainstay on the local racing season for several decades, scored the biggest win of his career in 141 Speedway’s “King Of The Creek IX” in an IMCA stock car Saturday night. The victory was worth $10,000.
Van Pay, who is currently third in Wisconsin’s all-time winner’s list, has raced sportsman, IMCA modifieds, and late models on dirt throughout his career. Like a lot of other modified and late model racers, Van Pay decided to jump on the IMCA stock car bandwagon a few years ago. R.M. told me he really has fun wheeling a car in the class dubbed ‘Too-Tough-To-Tame.”
The VPR 00 team, headed up by R.M.’s brother Steve, are well-respected by not only this motorsports writer, but most of the local racing community in general. It’s not often someone older than yours truly (57) picks up a five-figure payday on the local circuit. I think it’s safe to say Van Pay’s win at 141 Speedway Saturday night was a popular one for the racing community as a whole. Congrats to “Buck” and the entire 00 team on a well-earned victory.
WHO’S HOT? – For starters, Hortonville’s Joel Bennett. The second-generation racer has been on a tear as of late in his dirt late model. This past weekend, Bennett won his fifth and sixth feature races, respectively. Friday night’s victory came at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour. Bennett followed that up with a Super Six Series victory at Plymouth Dirt Track. Bennett has hitched his ride the past couple of seasons with Todd and Gunnar Frank.
Also, the “Casco Kid” Coy Vlies. Vlies on Saturday night scored IMCA northern sportmod feature win number 13 on Saturday night at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek. Denmark’s Cole Czarneski leads all area IMCA modified racers with six wins; Hortonville’s Trey Van Straten leads area street stock racers with six victories and Shawano’s Trent Nolan sits atop the leader board in IMCA stock car wins with six feature flags in ’26. Chilton’s James Reese currently leads the way with six four-cylinder victories.
EAGLE RIVER IMCA FAST SHAFT RACE -The second IMCA modified Fast Shaft Qualifying race of the season will take place at Eagle River Speedway in Eagle River Tuesday, July 21. The show will be draw/redraw, and will pay $1,000 to the winner. This race is a fully-sanctioned, IMCA modified event.
A full show with all of the track’s other divisions will take place. The hammer drops at 7 p.m. Pre-registration continues for the track’s first ever, $10,250-to-win “Rumble At The River” for B modifieds Monday-Tuesday August 10-11 at the third-mile, clay oval. A pre-entry list will be released sometime in early August. Drivers can pre-register on MyRacePass or the track also has pre-entry forms with a complete payout provided.
OUTAGAMIE SPEEDWAY – The MSC Vintage modifieds will join the regular program at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour on Friday, July 24. A full show with IMCA modifieds, stock cars, northern sportmods, sport compacts and street stocks is on tap. A 6:30 p.m. start time is set for action at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds.
THE HILL RACEWAY – The Hill Raceway is back in action Saturday, July 25 in Sturgeon Bay. The stock car division will host their annual Busch Shootout. Sportmods, street stocks and four cylinders will also be in action at John Miles Park. The action gets underway at 6 p.m.
141 SPEEDWAY – The popular Robinson Metals night will take place at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek Saturday, July 25. Powder Puff races will take place for the ladies, with IMCA northern sportmods battling for a $1,000 top prize in that division’s Red, White & Blue series race. The Bang Bang 50 will take place for IMCA sport compacts. The action gets underway at 6 p.m.
ANTIGO JULY 30 – The one and only stock car race of the year will take place at the Langlade County Fairgrounds in Antigo Thursday, July 30 for the “Half-Mile Hustle.” The show, which will be run during the Langlade County Fair, will host modifieds, stock cars and sportmods on the big half-mile. A flyer for the show says hot laps at 6:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
RACING FOR A REASON – Shawano Speedway will host it’s annual “Racing For A Reason” race Saturday, July 25. Five classes of racing are on tap, including a $2,000-to-win race for late models. Action starts at 6 p.m.
LUXY HALL OF FAME NIGHT – Luxy Raceway in Luxemburg will host it’s annual Hall of Fame Night Friday, July 24 at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds. The class of 2026 includes Kewaunee’s Brian Bruechert, Casco native Jay Matthias, and Kewaunee’s Keith Kickbusch. Action gets underway at 7 p.m.
KARTING KORNER – GSR Kartway will host it’s weekly karting and lawn mower racing program Wednesday, July 22. The action kicks off at 7 p.m. at the eighth-mile, clay oval located in Clintonville.
Little Buckaroo Jr. Motorsports Park will host it’s annual “Christmas in July” program on Sunday, July 26. Showcase Kitchens will sponsor the day’s events. The karting action at the Cecil oval kicks off at 2 p.m.
PAVEMENT PONDERINGS – The Fox River Racing Club (FRRC) will host it’s “Christmas In July” show Thursday, July 23 at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. Big Wheel races for the kids will take place, as well as a collection for the Toys For Tots campaign. The action gets underway at 6:30 p.m. at WIR.
The TUNDRA super late model series will be back in action Saturday, July 25 at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover for the “Cleaver Classic.” Support classes for this show are 4 cylinder stocks & mods. Time trials are slated for 6 p.m. with racing set to begin at 7 p.m.
The ASA Midwest Tour swings back into action Friday, July 24 at Madison International Speedway for the annual Howie Lettow Classic. The Midwest Truck Series will also be part of the show. Practice is set for 4 p.m. Qualifying is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. with green flag racing scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Remember, get out and support your local race track IN PERSON whenever possible. Nothing wrong with these multiple online streaming services. But, NOTHING beats BEING THERE in person
2026 REGIONAL DIRT TRACK FEATURE WINNERS (as of 07-19-26)
(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
Joel Bennett 6
Nick Anvelink 5
Turk Letizia 1
Jesse Glenz 1
Brett Swedberg 1
Troy Springborn 1
Andy Karl 1
Brad Mueller 1
IMCA MODIFIEDS
Cole Czarneski 6 (Dakota Mod Tour)
Johnny Whitman 3
Dylon Waldvogel 3
Benji LaCrosse 3
Lucas Lamberies 3
Russ Reinwald 3
Mike Mueller 2
Jesse Cullen 2
Travis Hansen 2
Kevin Feck 2
Joel Seegert Sr. 2
Marcus Yarie 2
Jayden Schmidt 2
Steve Mueller 2
Brandon Schmitt 1
Zachary Raab 1
Greg Gretz 1
Mike Wedelstadt 1
Todd Dart 1
Tanner Janke 1
Will Garceau 1
Noah Schepp 1
Colton See 1
Jeffrey Teske 1
Mike Mullen 1
Wyatt Block 1 (ERS)
IMCA STOCK CARS
Trent Nolan 6
Cole Czarneski 5 (IA)
Brad Lubach 5
Tyler Wilson 4 (IA)
Rod Snellenberger 3 (FLA)
Brett Wenzel 3
Benji LaCrosse 3
Marcus Hoeppner 3
Luke Lemmens 3
Dustin White 3 (ERS)
Dan Michonski 2
Jerry Wilinski 2
Nick Buckarma 2
Caden LeMieux 2
Chase Parker 2
Eric Mahlik 2
Presley Harrington 1 (IA)
Brandon Schmitt 1
Tyler Schrimpf 1
Mitch Stankowski 1 (ERS)
Travis Welch 1
Jeremie Hedrick 1
Shawn Kilgore 1
Shanon Guelette 1
Kegan Van Ooyen 1
Jeremy Christians 1
Jeremy Anschutz 1
Mike Mullen 1
Marcus Hoepper 1
Dylan Stedjee 1
RM Van Pay 1
Jamison MacDonald 1 (IA)
IMCA NORTHERN SPORTMODS
Coy Vlies 13
Travis Schmidt 5
AJ Springborn 4
Tim Jorgenson 3
Max Oreskovich 3
Dustin White 2 (ERS)
Ryan Schmidt 2
Matt Urban 2
Brady Harshbarger 2
JJ Vander Loop 2
Cole Magnin 2
Craig Dorner 2
Tim Sheppard 2
Tony Gates 1
Brad Buckman 1
Carsin Cullen 1
Logan Brass 1
Cole Thomas 1
Kaden Besaw 1
Trevin Veeser 1
Tony Gates 1
Jacob Rens 1
Elijah Koening 1
Derek Fehling 1
George Henkel 1
Steve Lorier 1
Randy LeMieux Jr 1
Dakota Johnson 1
Shane Bahr 1
Justin Green 1
Dylan Schmidt 1
Brian Konitzer 1
UNIFIED DIRT STREET STOCKS
Trey Van Straten 6
Derek Moede 5
Dave DeGrave 4
Roman Blank 4
Travis Zirbel 3
Alex Haese 3
Phillip Wuesthoff 3
Paul Diefenthaler 2
Dave DeGrave 2
Jason Eisel 2 (ERS)
Hope Eisel 2 (ERS)
Cody Potter 2
Brayden Lundquist 1
Cory Romenesko 1
Todd Berzowski 1
Paul Ambrosius 1
Garrett Geyer 1
Kyle Genett 1
Brian Gundrum 1
James Riske 1
Tyler Fox 1
GRAND NATIONALS
Jake Richards 5
Jeff Richards 5
Jeff Muehlbauer 3
Brad Weiss 3
Mavrick Ruh 2
Tyler Kulow 2
Luke Scholten 2
Nate Ruh 1
Will Sorce 1
Nick Schumacher 1
Marshall Plate 1
FOUR CYLINDERS/IMCA SPORT COMPACTS
James Reese 6
TJ Everard 5
Brian Watzka Jr 4
Kyle Jorgenson 3
Lucas Hacker 2
Scott Schlafke 2
Tanner Westphal 2
Nathan Lisowe 2
Thomas Schulte 2
Calvin Stueck 2
Cody McLain 2
Autumn Allard 1
Chase Ertel 1
Brian Hillringhouse 1
TJ Everard 1
Cody McClain 1
Jake Peters 1
Robbie Holst Jr 1
Brian Watzka Jr. 1
Cody Booth 1
Dan Thomson 1
Bennett Glidden 1
Shaun Bangart 1
Brad Wedde 1
Dallas Topel 1
Todd Boehlein 1
Autumn Allord 1
Mike Meier 1
LS/USRA LATE MODEL
Mark Hoeppner 7
Eric Klawatter 2
Jason Zdroik 2
Todd Gorny 2
Guy Carley 2
Logan Fleischmann 2
Lucas Peterson 2
Corbyn Wassenberg 1
Dave Bennett 1
Pat Kelley 1
Chad Lederer 1