DirtonDirt.com exclusive
Best of 2023: Midwest's state-by-state capsules
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com managing editor
(Credits clockwise from top: Tyler Carr; Zackary Washington; Alex Ostenson)
Dirt Late Model racing’s 2023 superlatives of Midwestern states (individually for states with significant weekly Late Model action; other states combined), primarily focusing on local and regional events (Best of 2023 coverage):
Illinois
Top performer: Oakwood’s Bobby Pierce piles up 34 victories and three championships, including his first with the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series, during a career-best season. Major victories include the Wild West Shootout finale, Lucas Oil’s debut at Fairbury, Deer Creek’s Gopher 50, Cedar Lake’s USA Nationals and Florence’s North-South 100 (amid a three-victory weekend). His triumphs come on six tours including a series-high 15 WoO victories (including a semifeature). He adds Castrol FloRacing Night in America and XR Super Series titles to his WoO crown.
Best national drivers: Bobby Pierce; New Berlin’s Brandon Sheppard (eight victories overall including record-tying fifth DTWC victory and $53,000 Silver Dollar Nationals; third in WoO points); Chatham’s Brian Shirley (seven victories overall including prelim at Eldora’s World 100; sixth in WoO points); Carpentersville’s Dennis Erb Jr. (four victories; eighth in WoO points)
Best regional drivers: Bloomington’s Jason Feger (16 victories, including eight en route to MARS title; three Summer Nationals wins and series runner-up); El Paso’s Ryan Unzicker (seven victories, five paying $5,000 or more including two on Summer Nationals); Moweaqua’s Shannon Babb (two $5,000 touring victories); Manhattan’s Mike Spatola (four victories; Fairbury title); Sheffield’s Rich Bell (three Super victories at three tracks; first Fairbury win).
Best weekly drivers: New Berlin’s Jose Parga (20 Crate victories; fourth DIRTcar division title); Mount Vernon’s Devin McLean (12 Crate victories, including $5,000 at Fairbury; DIRTcar runner-up); Fairview Heights’s Daryn Klein (seven Super victories at three tracks, including $6,000 at Highland; Brownstown Bullring champ); Trenton’s Michael Kloos (six Super victories in threepeat of Bi-State Battle); Warrensburg’s Dakota Ewing (nine Crate victories among five tracks); Kankakee’s Chase Osterhoff (six multidivision victories; Kokomo Klash winner); DeKalb’s Greg Cantrell (seven Limited victories en route to Sycamore title); Bourbonnais’s Matt Hammond (five Crate victories; Kankakee champ); Mendon’s Denny Woodworth (six Crate victories); Taylorville’s Braden Johnson (four victories en route to Macon title; also Big 10 series and Lincoln champ); Hoopeston’s Jammie Wilson (four Charleston victories); Gibson City’s Kevin Weaver (two Super victories en route to Farmer City title); Sparland’s Roger Rebholz (three Super victories en route to Peoria crown); Monticello’s Timmy Dick (three Crate victories; Farmer City champ); Fairbury’s McKay Wenger (three Super victories).
Best homegrown performance: Jose Parga reels off 19 consecutive Crate victories from season’s start through early September.
Most improved drivers: Devin McLean; Freeport’s Jaden Fryer (two Maquoketa victories; third in track points); Kankakee’s Ben Kirchner (two hometown victories); Milan’s Joe Beal (first IMCA victory at Davenport); Argenta’s Rockett Bennett (Charleston Crate victory).
Best newcomers: Highland’s Mike Harrison (MARS and Summer Nationals victories for veteran modified star); Mendon’s Jason Oenning (two Crate victories for middle-aged Denny Woodworth crew member); Silvis’s Jesse Bodin (East Moline and Maquoketa victories); Silvis’s Evan Miller (two IMCA victories, including Scotland County Halloween Race-Tacular).
Most memorable moment: An ignition glitch knocks Ricky Thornton Jr. out of the lead at Fairbury’s Prairie Dirt Classic with 20 laps remaining, but he roars back after restarting sixth for a $50,000 WoO victory.
Biggest news: Brandon Sheppard will take seat of the Longhorn Chassis house car in 2024. … Highland’s Randy Korte, a two-time DIRTcar weekly champ, is inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2023. Also in the Class of 2023 is late chassis builder Gary Oliver, who founded Tri-City Buggy in Rock Island in the late 1970s. … Two-time track champion and retired central Illinois Super Late Model racer Richie Hedrick of Urbana, whose lone career Northern Allstars victory in 2001 capped an eight-victory season, dies in May. He was 51. … Veteran Western promoter Chris Kearns oversees a single season at Macon Speedway before announcing plans to sell the track because of his wife’s health concerns. … Charleston Speedway sanctions its Limited Late Model division with DIRTcar Crates. … Fairbury and Farmer City make their debuts on the Lucas Oil Series. … MARS Championship Series, directed by Jonathan Clayton, runs its first season under owner Matt Curl in drawing 155 drivers for a successful Illinois-focused tour featuring $5,000-to-win events. … Josh Carroll Motorsports takes over promotions of Brownstown Bullring (formerly Fayette County Speedway) and adds DIRTcar Supers. … Bob Gardner fields Super Late Models for Tommy Sheppard Jr. during first half of the season. … The 2022 Bob Memmer Award winner Brad Denney, whose June Crate feature gave him his 300th career multidivisional victory at Spoon River, steps down from promotions at the Banner track. Quincy, Ill., businessman Cloyd Barden leases the track and adds Super Late Models while shifting the race night to Fridays instead of Saturdays. … Buckingham’s Glen Thompson, a two-time Sportsmanship Award winner and longtime Late Model regular at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway, dies in April at the age of 45. … Peoria Speedway improvements include new lighting and a track resurfacing. … Millions of Covid-19 relief funds are helping St. Clair County renovate its fairgrounds with the possibility of reopening the fifth-mile Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville. … Former Augusta Late Model driver Ron Elbe dies in March at 73. He raced more than 35 years at the Quincy track. … Clinton’s Kyle Hammer runs much of the season for Brent McKinnon Racing after McKinnon suffers serious offseason injuries in a work-related crane accident. … Carlyle’s Steve Stevenson purchases Georgia’s Golden Isles Speedway. ... Jose Parga plots a 2024 run on the Alabama-based Crate Racin’ USA circuit. ... Sterling’s Dustin Schram plots move to Super Late Models in 2024.
Indiana
Top performer: Martinsville’s Hudson O’Neal gives the Rocket Chassis house car team its first World 100 victory and first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship, clinching the national title in a thrilling one-race playoff at Eldora’s Dirt Track World Championship. O’Neal piles up 15 victories overall, six on the Lucas Oil circuit to go with a career-richest $100,000 triumph in XR Super Series action at Kokomo. The 23-year-old also collects a series-leading three victories on the Castrol FloRacing Night in America.
Best national driver: Hudson O’Neal.
Best regional drivers: Columbus’s Devin Gilpin ($5,000 Bobby Wilson Memorial at Brownstown; third place in Hall of Fame Classic); Steve Peeden (Lake Cumberland and Brownstown Crate victories); Bloomington’s Kent Robinson (Brownstown victory; third in Circle City’s C.J. Rayburn Memorial); Richmond’s Tristan Chamberlain (teenager finishes 18th in first World 100 start; third in Richmond’s Butch Shay Memorial and four podiums at Mudlick Valley; runner-up points finish on Ultimate Heart of America).
Best weekly drivers: Edinburgh’s Chad Stapleton (seven Crate victories among three tracks; Circle City champ); Seymour’s Tyler Cain (five Brownstown Crate victories); Bedford’s Jared Bailey (Brownstown Super champ and Fun Fest winner); Paragon’s Tyler Neal (three Crate victories, including $2,000 Dave Peeden Memorial at Paragon); Bloomington’s Shelby Miles (Super and Crate victories at Brownstown); Versailles’s Bill Sheets (Mudlick Valley, MRP and Lawrenceburg victories; MRP champ); Monticello’s Jace Owens (two Shadyhill victories); Wheatfield’s Kyle Cooper (two Shadyhill victories); North Vernon’s Alan Magner (Crate victory and Brownstown champ); Francesville’s Lynn Johns (Shadyhill champ).
Best homegrown performance: Tyler Cain rips off four consecutive late-season Crate victories at Brownstown.
Most improved driver: Bloomington’s Derek Groomer, two Crate victories, including $3,000 at Paragon.
Best newcomers: Bloomington’s Jordan Wever (two Crate victories; third in Ultimate Heart of America event at Paragon); Wheatfield’s Darren Wireman (two Shadyhill victories).
Most memorable moment: When a slower car gets out of shape on the last lap at Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway, leader Shannon Babb is held up, allowing Kentuckian Dylan Thompson to slip by and grab his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory.
Biggest news: Former Solsberry racer Ira Bastin, multitime Late Model champion at Brownstown and Tri-State, dies in January at the age of 82. The late racer is also elected to join the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame for 2024. … Morgantown-based SSI Motorsports enjoys its best-ever season with Ricky Thornton Jr. winning more than 30 events, including a record 19 full-field Lucas Oil features. … Lakeville-based Hoosier Racing Tires condenses its program of Late Model tires to a four-compound National Late Model Tire for 2023. … The World of Outlaws return to Brownstown for first series event at the quarter-mile oval since 2007 with Bobby Pierce winning. … Hope-based PCC Motorsports, owned by Craig and Shannon Sims, pulls back after fielding a car on the Lucas Oil Series for Mississippian Spencer Hughes for the second consecutive season. … Richmond youngster Tristan Chamberlain plots to run the WoO circuit in 2024. … James Essex revives the Northern Allstars name with a pair of Brownstown events. … Dave and Kim Rudisell step away from promotions at Lawrenceburg Speedway after 17 seasons. The city signs STM Motorsports — led by Dearborn County Sheriff Shane McHenry — to a four-year deal to promote the 3/8-mile track.
Iowa
Top performer: Malvern, Iowa’s Justin Zeitner scatters 13 touring victories with Tri-State, Hoker Trucking and Malvern Bank, including a season-high $5,053 at South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway during the Silver Dollar Nationals. Zeitner tallies a series-best eight Malvern Bank Series triumphs and finishes second in series points.
Best national drivers: Marshalltown’s Ryan Gustin (five victories overall, three with WoO and first career on Lucas Oil Series; seventh in WoO points with 12 top-five finishes in 38 starts); Decorah’s Tyler Bruening (three Lucas Oil top-fives in 39 series starts; 15th in points); Des Moines’s Todd Cooney (single top-10 in 29 WoO starts; tour’s Fan Favorite honoree).
Best regional drivers: Justin Zeitner; Mount Vernon’s Chad Simpson (three victories apiece with MLRA and Hoker Trucking tours; fourth MLRA title and first five-figure victory since 2018); Wheatland’s Justin Kay (12 victories overall at four tracks, including two on Hoker Trucking tour); Malvern’s Jesse Sobbing (five Malvern Bank victories); Webster City’s Jason Hahne (two Hoker Trucking victories); Ainsworth’s Derrick Stewart (three victories between Hoker Trucking and Malvern Bank tours); Cedar Falls’s Jeff Aikey (three special event victories among three tracks); Oxford’s Chris Simpson (MLRA victory; six runner-up finishes in touring competition); Muscatine’s Chad Holladay (Hoker Trucking tour champ); Ames’s Charlie McKenna (Hoker Trucking and Malvern Bank victories and only driver among top five on both tours).
Best weekly drivers: Keokuk’s Tommy Elston (11 victories among three tracks); Blue Grass’s Andy Nezworski (eight victories among four tracks; IMCA runner-up and champ at Davenport and Maquoketa); Cedar Rapids’s C.J. Horn (seven victories; champ at 34 and Lee County); Peosta’s Eric Pollard (seven victories including on PRO tour; Dubuque champ); Moscow’s Nick Marolf (six victories among four tracks); Walnut’s Nick Deal (six victories between Crawford County and Shelby County); Independence’s Curt Martin (four hometown victories); Dubuque’s Luke Merfeld (four hometown victories); Independence’s Sean Johnson (two victories; Independence champ); Mount Ayr’s Paul Glendenning (three I-35 victories).
Best homegrown performance: Hometown driver Curt Martin becomes the first driver at Independence Motor Speedway to crack the 100-victory mark in a division. He has at least one Indee victory for 29 seasons.
Most improved drivers: C.J. Horn; Derrick Stewart; Montrose’s Gunner Frank (two victories en route to Shawano title); Waterloo’s Brandon Davis (first Independence victory).
Best newcomers: Reinbeck’s Corey Dripps (two victories en route to PRO tour championship); Waterloo’s J.D. Auringer (PRO winner at Benton County).
Most memorable moment: Ricky Thornton Jr. pulls off $64,000 three-race sweep of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action at September’s Knoxville Lucas Oil Nationals.
Biggest news: Decorah’s Skyline Motorsports taps Mike Marlar to take driver’s seat as teammate to Tyler Bruening after splitting with Shane Clanton at end of season. … Iowa’s WoO regulars Ryan Gustin and Todd Cooney team up for 2024 with Cooney fielding a car for both drivers on the national tour; Gustin had previously driven for Wisconsin’s Dave Steine. … The Premier Racing Organization Late Model Tour forms and runs its first season, completing eight Limited Late Model events with Corey Dripps capturing the PRO title. … After a disagreement with the fairgrounds general manager triggered by a dispute with a security guard, Ricky and Brenda Kay of K Promotions step away from Davenport Speedway. Jeffrey Struck takes over track promotions for 2024; K Promotions will host the first-ever WoO event at Maquoketa Speedway next season. … National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Roger Dolan of Lisbon, the inaugural NASCAR Busch All-Star Tour champion in 1985 and two years later the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series champion, dies in October at 87. … The Knoxville Lucas Oil Nationals are pushed back one week in 2024 to a position two weeks after the World 100. … The XR Super Series announces it will sanction 2024’s Yankee Dirt Track Classic at Farley’s 300 Raceway. … Denison’s Crawford County Speedway hosts weekly IMCA Late Models for the first time since 2013. … Repelling IMCA champ Cory Dumpert, Jeff Aikey wins the Late Model portion of Boone’s Super Nationals for the seventh time. … Longtime dirt racing photographer John Vaas of Burlington dies in October at the age of 76. He was a contributor to DirtonDirt.com among other outlets. … Mike Van Genderen and Dana Benning take over 2023 promotions at Independence Motor Speedway with plans for improvements in 2024.
Kansas-Nebraska-Oklahoma
Top performer: York, Neb.’s Cory Dumpert captures a record-extending fifth consecutive IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly championship while tallying 15 victories and track titles at Boone County, Off Road and U.S. 30. He won at four tracks and posted 32 top-five finishes in 46 starts overall.
Best national drivers: None.
Best regional drivers: Fort Gibson, Okla.’s Brett Hansen (six victories and 18 top-fives en route to Sooner Series title); Enid, Okla.’s Kip Hughes (10 overall victories, eight in touring competition; $4,000 triumph at Dodge City); Norfolk, Neb.’s Tad Pospisil (three victories overall and fifth career Malvern Bank tour title); La Vista, Neb.’s Bill Leighton Jr. (four Malvern Bank tour victories); La Vista, Neb.’s Andrew Kosiski (Malvern Bank and Hoker Trucking tour victories); Marysville, Kan.’s Dusty Leonard (two High Plains victories and Sooner win among four overall); Bartlesville’s Joe Gorby (three Sooner victories).
Best weekly drivers: Ralston, Neb.’s Kale Kosiski (five victories among four tracks; Crawford County champ); Lincoln, Neb.’s Cade Richards (five victories among three tracks); Waverly, Neb.’s Jake Bridge (four victories among three tracks); Newman Grove, Neb.’s Alex Banks (four victories among three tracks; third in IMCA points); Giltner, Neb.’s Alex Humphrey (one victory en route to Junction title); Madison, Neb.’s Travis Dickes (two U.S. 30 victories in four starts); Beloit, Kan.’s Dan Smith (only multitime Junction winner); Bellevue, Neb.’s Sterling Perkins (Shelby County champ).
Best homegrown performance: Wichita, Kan., modified standout Tanner Mullens sweeps Sooner Series weekend at Longdale and Red Dirt in his first two division starts of the season.
Most improved drivers: Alex Banks; Aurora, Neb.’s Dylan Schmer (three victories between Off Road and Junction); Cairo, Neb.’s Spencer Landers (Junction victory first of his career).
Best newcomers: Cade Richards; Wichita, Kan.’s Tanner Mullens (two Sooner victories); Plainview, Neb.’s Beau Johnson (two Off Road victories); Hutchinson, Kan.‘s Dakota Dellinger (Sooner Rookie of the Year; fifth in tour points).
Most memorable moment: Ricky Thornton Jr. regains the lead from Bobby Pierce with 20 laps remaining at Off Road Speedway to grab a $100,000 XR Super Series victory in the Elkhorn 100.
Biggest news: Coffeyville, Kan.’s Al Purkey is elected to the Class of 2024 for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. … Greenwood, Neb.'s I-80 Speedway is dismantled after sale by Kosiski family with the Silver Dollar Nationals moving to South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway. … McCool Junction, Neb.’s Junction Motor Speedway reopens in 2023 after a one-year hiatus with promoter Delmar Friesen undergoing treatment for leukemia. … Complete Well Testing and Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation upgrade $30,000 Sooner Series points fund with $6,600 going to champ Brett Hansen. … Kansas State Fair Board plans to demolish the historic fairgrounds track in Hutchinson, but a vote to approve the demolition was postponed until January. The half-mile track has hosted the Hutchinson Grand Nationals for 67 years. Belle Plain, Kan.’s Dustin Bolster won 2023’s event. … Omaha, Neb.’s Mike Rusco, a longtime crew member for Hall of Fame driver Steve Kosiski who also assisted at I-80 Speedway, dies in July at the age of 68. … Open-wheel racer Kaylee Bryson of Muskogee, Okla., makes her Dirt Late Model debut at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. ... Eagle (Neb.) Raceway set to host first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race in 2024.
Michigan
Top performer: Houghton Lake’s Dona Marcoullier notches nine victories overall including five on his way to repeating his Allstar Performance Challenge championship. He split victories between Merritt and Tri-City Motor with 18 top-five finishes in 30 starts.
Best national drivers: None
Best regional drivers: Dona Marcoullier; St. Johns’s Chad Finley (six victories, three on Allstar Performance Challenge and $5,000 Wood Tic prelim; two top-five finishes on Summer Nationals); Ionia’s Travis Stemler (four victories among three tracks); Lake City’s Eric Spangler (four victories, including Southern Ontario special).
Best weekly drivers: Britton’s Devin Shiels (seven Super victories between Attica and Oakshade on way to two track titles); Midland’s Derrick Hilliker (nine Super victories, including a $4,000 triumph at the Great Lakes Nationals; Tri-City Motor and Crystal champ); Buckley’s Greg Gokey (nine victories among three tracks); Muskegon’s Tom Sprague Jr. (seven Super victories en route to Thunderbird title); Fruitport’s Rich Neiser (five Super victories between Winston and Thunderbird); Traverse City’s Brandon Thirlby (five Super victories between Merritt and Tri-City Motor); Bay City’s Rob Westergard (seven Crate victories en route to Silver Bullet title); Muskegon’s Jerid Bisson (nine Crate victories en route to Thunderbird crown); Muskegon’s Scott Wenell (six Crate victories at Winston and Thunderbird); Midland’s Ryan Lanphierd (two victories en route to Merritt title); Cedar Springs’s Mike Vandermark (three Crystal victories); Muskegon’s Matthew Sprague (three Thunderbird victories); Six Lakes’s Ryan VanderVeen (two Thunderbird victories); Spring Lake’s Bill Bray (two Thunderbird victories); Attica’s Scott Moenaert (two Silver Bullet victories); Vestaburg’s Logan Nickerson (two Crystal victories); Elkton’s Shawn O’Connor (two Silver Bullet victories).
Best homegrown performance: Dona Marcoullier wins three of four Fourth of July weekend events on the Allstar Challenge series at Tri-City Motor and Merritt.
Most improved drivers: Tom Sprague Jr.; Greg Gokey; Jerid Bisson.
Best newcomers: Britton’s Carter Murday (four Oakshade victories; runner-up in Summer Nationals at Butler); Clare’s Austin Harnick ($2,000 Merritt victory); Vestaburg’s Ashlee Scott (five top-fives at Crystal); Muskegon’s Karter Juusola (third in Thunderbird Crate points with nine top-fives).
Most memorable moment: First- and second-running Ashton Winger and Rusty Schlenk have flat tires on the same lap, opening the door for Ryan Unzicker to win the DIRTcar Summer Nationals stop at Butler Motor Speedway with rookie Carter Murday second after a scrape with Winger.
Biggest news: Comstock Park’s Allan Brown, one of short track’s racing all-time ambassadors whose “National Speedway Directory” was the virtual bible for highway-traveling auto racing spectators everywhere, dies in April after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 75. … With turnover in ownership of several Michigan tracks, Jacob LeBaron and Steve Vernon purchase Crystal Motor Speedway from Ron Flinn and Jacob’s brother Brian LeBaron operates the track successfully, including with the Ron Flinn 52 won by Travis Stemler. … Heidi and Jeff Morell purchase and successfully operate Muskegon’s Thunderbird Raceway. … Scott and Pam Phillips purchase Rothbury’s Winston Speedway but close the track midseason. … Odessa Entertainment runs several Late Model events at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa but general manager Eric Meyers announces plans to host unsanctioned Super Late Models weekly in 2024. … Sheridan’s Jeff Kohn returns to Super Late Models for first time in 10 years and grabs a victory at Crystal. … Allstar Performance Challenge Series scales back to lower-purse events at Tri-City Motor and Merritt. … Cody Bauer’s car owner Bob Wilson of Harrison dies unexpectedly in August; he was 69. Bauer made his first bid on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals and made seven feature starts, finishing 19th in points. … Brandon Thirlby pilots a Dave and Judy Bowen-owned entry in 2023. … Michigan native Rusty Schlenk claims a record-high $35,000 victory in Merritt’s Wood Tic 100. ... Coleman driver Curtis Roberts announces his retirement after a successful Late Model career that included a World of Outlaws victory at I-96 Speedway.
Minnesota
Top performer: Hibbing’s Kyle Peterlin wins half of his eight WISSOTA Late Model victories over two weekends including back-to-back $5,000 triumphs in Superior, Wis., and his hometown track. Two of his three WISSOTA Challenge victories come on the same weekend with a $5,000 sweep of Hibbing's Labor Day Shootout. He posts 18 top-fives and 26 top-10s over 33 events.
Best national driver: Lake Elmo’s Brent Larson finishes 12th in World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series points with a single top-five finish in 36 starts. He had eight top-10s in WoO action and best finish of fifth in 58 starts overall.
Best regional drivers: Keewatin’s Jeff Massingill (five victories among three tracks; two WISSOTA Challenge triumphs); Ham Lake’s Don Shaw (six victories among four tracks, including three at Central Arizona); Hermantown’s Darrell Nelson (three victories including fourth career Silver 1000 triumph); Rochester’s Dustin Sorensen (Dirt Kings victory at Deer Creek; first-time starter at Eldora’s Dream); Winona’s Jake Timm (victories at Cedar Lake and Mississippi Thunder for a $5,000 Dirt Kings payday).
Best weekly drivers: Kyle Peterlin; Proctor’s Kevin Burdick (eight victories among four tracks; fourth in overall WISSOTA points and track titles at Grand Rapids and Halvor Lines); Herman’s Brad Staples (seven USRA victories); Cambridge’s Dylan Kromschroeder (seven Limited victories); Deerwood’s Danny Vang (five victories among three tracks); Montevideo’s Matt Gilbertson (track-high four Fiesta City victories, including $6,000 weekend sweep); Montevideo’s Jordan Tollakson (three victories en route to Fiesta City crown); Lonsdale’s Nick Panitzke (two victories and Cedar Lake title repeat); Montevideo’s Jon Tollakson (three Fiesta city victories); Hibbing’s Derek Vesel (two victories; Hibbing champ); Hawley, Minn.’s Cole Schill (two victories; I-94 champ); Grand Meadow’s Lucas Peterson (USRA runner-up with three victories; Eagle Valley champ); East Bethel’s Dave Mass (four Limited victories en route to I-94 title).
Best homegrown performance: Kyle Peterlin piles up $10,000 July weekend with back-to-back victories in Superior and his hometown Hibbing oval.
Most improved drivers: Kevin Burdick; Hendricks’s Charlie Olsen (five Limited victories at three tracks; Red Cedar champ).
Best newcomers: Hermantown’s Cade Nelson (four victories en route to USRA Limited title; Cedar Lake champ); Princeton’s Andy Jones (first division victory comes at Granite City; WISSOTA’s top rookie in Minnesota with six top-fives in 10 starts and Ogilvie title).
Most memorable moment: Using a slide job then crossover move on the final lap, Bobby Pierce nips Hudson O’Neal by two-thousandths of a second for a $50,000 payday in Deer Creek Speedway’s Gopher 50 in a race not officially decided for nearly 10 minutes after the checkers.
Biggest news: Lake Elmo’s Rick Egersdorf, the all-time winningest Cedar Lake Speedway Late Model driver with 77 victories, is among the Class of 2023 in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. … Stillwater’s Arnie Ranta, a former Dirt Late Model car owner and longtime supporter of the sport, dies in March at 73 after an eight-year battle with cancer. … Silver Bay-based XR Events scales back its XR Super Series with fewer than half the races from 2022, completing five full-field events. Bobby Pierce wins the $75,000 XRSS title. ... Bemidji Speedway hosts its first Late Model event in 15 years with Danny Vang taking the checkers. … Hibbing’s Tom Waseleski, a multitime track champion in the Northland and the 2001 winner of the Silver 1000 in Proctor, Minn., dies unexpectedly in September at age 62. … Next season’s XR Northern Storm five-race miniseries will be capped by five-figure paydays for three divisions, including a $20,000-to-win Late Model feature. Venues were revealed for the July 16-20, 2024, events. …. Ogilvie Raceway runs its first Late Model division in its 15-year history but hosts only four events. … Former track president Crash Carlson, late track prep specialist Don Roseen and veteran flagger and supporter Gus Omundson are among the Class of 2023 for the Hall of Fame at Halvor Lines Speedway. … A Late Model veteran of more than 20 years, Minneapolis driver Jim Carlson notches his first division victory at Red Cedar Speedway. … Ten-time track champion Jeff Wildung of Nassau heads the Class of 2023 for Viking Speedway’s Hall of Fame. … Grand Rapids modified ace Johnny Broking plans a 2024 move to Late Models in a Pat Kapella-owned car. … Worthington Speedway hosts a rare Late Model event in August with Justin Zeitner winning. … Former Late Model racer Dwaine Hanson of Lakefield dies in October at 72 after a long battle with cancer. A modified racer most of his career, he was runner-up in 1982’s Gopher State 50 at the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna. … Canby’s Renegade Raceway hosts Limited Late Models as part of its Yellow Medicine County Fair racing for the second straight season. ... Norman County Raceway is slated to host WoO Late Models for the first time in 2024.
Missouri
Top performer: Aurora’s Justin Wells steers his 2006 TNT Race Car to a state-best 11 victories among weekly racers in capturing the title at Wheatland’s Lucas Oil Speedway. His June 17 victory marked his 100th win in his trusty machine. In 23 starts overall he posted 14 top-five finishes.
Best national drivers: St. Charles’s Gordy Gundaker posted two top-fives and seven top-10 finishes in finishing 13th with the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series. MARS victory at I-55 is his first since 2020.
Best regional drivers: Webb City’s Mitch Keeter (11 victories en route to Cash Money title); Urbana’s Dillon McCowan (five Super victories among three tracks, including $5,000 Comp Cams triumph at Super Bee; MLRA Rookie of the Year and third in series points); West Plains’s Logan Martin (Comp Cams victory at Boothill and first Summer Nationals triumph at Springfield); Broseley’s Mason Oberkramer (three victories, including two Poplar Bluff specials); Alton’s Sawyer Crigler (six victories at three tracks including three Cash Money triumphs; Super champ at West Plains); Alton’s Scott Crigler (three victories, including first Comp Cams victory at Batesville); Aurora’s Cole Wells (Tri-State Spooker winner; two victories); Neosho’s Jace Parmley (two Cash Money victories).
Best weekly drivers: Justin Wells; Kansas City’s Houston Johnson (seven I-35 victories en route to title; adds five modified wins); Alton’s Brandon Baldridge (10 victories between West Plains and North Central Arkansas); Barnett’s Todd McCoin (five victories en route to POWRi title and Callaway championship while battling terminal renal cancer); Columbia’s David Melloway (three Moberly victories en route to title); Lebanon’s Dustin Atkinson (five Midway victories); Browning’s Tommy Cordray (three I-35 victories); Nevada’s Larry Ferris (three Wheatland victories); Jefferson City’s Tucker Cox (two victories including $4,000 Fall Brawl at Wheatland); Lawson’s Ed Noll (three I-35 victories); Russellville’s Cole Henson (three victories between Lake Ozark and Callaway); Lathrop’s Shayne Bailey (three I-35 victories, U.S. 36 victory and Sooner triumph at Tulsa); Buffalo’s Noah Ames (Monett victory; track title); Jefferson City’s Tucker Cox (victories at Wheatland and Callaway); Joplin’s Shannon Phillips (two Monett victories); Poplar Bluff’s Robby Moore (three 602 Crate victories); Fair Grove’s Dylan Bates (two Midway victories).
Best homegrown performance: Logan Martin breaks through for his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory with a $5,000 payday at Springfield.
Most improved drivers: Sawyer Crigler; Rich Fountain, Mo.’s Matt Becker (five Callaway victories); Edina’s Kayden Clatt (four victories between Moberly and Callaway); Galena’s Isaac Keepper (first Cash Money victory at Crawford County).
Best newcomers: Dillon McCowan; Fulton’s Kyle Graves (Moberly victory; runner-up in track points); Stoutland’s Derek Brown (eight top-fives on Cash Money Series and tour runner-up).
Most memorable moment: Devin Moran is elevated to victory in the Show-Me 100 after a deck-height violation drops apparent winner Ricky Thornton Jr. to a fifth-place finish in the $50,000-to-win Lucas Oil Series event.
Biggest news: Poplar Bluff’s Steve Rushin, the longtime Dirt Late Model racer and team owner who was among regulars on the MARS circuit for many years, dies in September at 57. The owner and operator of Rushin Towing raced for more than 20 years and fielded cars for drivers including Jerry Buck, Peyton Taylor, Jesse Stovall, Eric Turner and R.C. Whitwell. … Lucas Oil Speedway hosts the World SRX Series with Jonathan Davenport grabbing a victory over former NASCAR drivers and other standout racers. … When Brennon Willard is sidelined by injuries sustained in a wreck at Tri-City Speedway, fellow Lebanon driver Tony Jackson Jr. pilots the team's car the rest of the season. … Reid Millard-owned Moberly Motorsports Park institutes a Trophy Tuesday weekly program during the summer with four-division programs; 23 Late Model drivers participate. … Odessa’s I-70 Motorsports Park twice rains out its MLRA program, preventing the return of Dirt Late Models to the historic track. … Still battling the aftereffects of concussive head injuries, Billings’s Jesse Stovall makes a single start in Super Late Model competition while assisting drivers in a consultant role. … Benton (Mo.) Speedway completes its first DIRTcar Summer Nationals event since 1997 with Ashton Winger winning; 2022’s attempt to host a series event fell flat because the track surface wasn’t up to the tour’s standards. Illinois driver Rodney Melvin won Benton’s $2,000 Jim Hall Memorial. … Belleville, Ill.-based POWRi adds a formal Late Model division with a few Missouri tracks adding the sanctioning, including weekly racing at Callaway Raceway. … Logan Martin quickly abandons an early-season bid to run for Rookie of the Year on a crowded World of Outlaws roster. … Midway institutes a program providing heat winners free pit passes for the track’s next event. … National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Larry Phillips of Springfield joins NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers list. ... After fielding Reid Millard's car in 2023, St. Charles's Trevor Gundaker returns to his family's team for 2024. He had a single 2023 victory.
North Dakota-South Dakota
Top performer: Hickson, N.D.’s Tyler Peterson makes his first full-time Late Model season a special one with 23 victories and the WISSOTA points title while capturing the WISSOTA 100. Scattering victories among 10 tracks, he captures three WISSOTA Challenge events, five NLRA races, Brown County’s Rumble and Jamestown’s Stock Car Stampede. He adds another 17 modified checkered flags during a remarkable 40-victory season.
Best national drivers: None.
Best regional drivers: Huron, S.D.’s Cole Searing (five victories en route to Tri-State tour championship; eight victories among six tracks overall); Harwood, N.D.’s Mike Greseth (five victories en route to third consecutive NLRA title; six victories overall at four tracks); Renner, S.D.’s Blair Nothdurft (two Tri-State victories and tour runner-up; top-10 Speedweeks finish at Volusia); Brandon, S.D.’s Gary Brown Jr. (three Tri-State victories); Grand Rapids, N.D.’s Brad Seng (three victories, two on NLRA circuit; NLRA runner-up); Langdon’s Lance Schill (three victories at three tracks, including in Monett, Mo.).
Best weekly drivers: Aberdeen, S.D.’s Chad Becker (19 victories, including two Tri-State wins and an NLRA triumph; WISSOTA points runner-up and champ at Brown County and Casino); Grand Forks, N.D.’s Dustin Strand (five River Cities victories en route to title; NLRA triumph); Aberdeen, S.D.’s Josh Skorczewski (four victories between Brown County and Miller Central); Watertown, S.D.’s Tony Croninger (two Casino victories en route to Limited title); Huron, S.D.’s Brian Diede (victor on way to Miller Central title).
Best homegrown performance: Aberdeen, S.D.’s Chase Gelling survives a late slip-up at his hometown Brown County Speedway for a $2,563 victory in the Dacotah Insurance Rumble prelim.
Most improved drivers: Grand Rapids, N.D.’s John Seng, who had two Devils Lake victories, one on the NLRA circuit.
Best newcomers: Watertown, S.D.’s Jayson Good (three victories at three tracks; 24 top-fives in 34 starts; Casino runner-up); Carrington, N.D.’s Rusty Kollman (ninth in NLRA points; nine top-10 finishes in 30 starts overall).
Most memorable moment: Huron, S.D.’s Morgan Ward Grosz captures her first career Late Model feature victory in June at Brown County Speedway.
Biggest news: Brandon, S.D.’s Huset’s Speedway becomes the new home of the Silver Dollar Nationals with Brandon Sheppard winning July’s $53,000 Lucas Oil Series event. … Former Northern LateModel Association touring champion Troy Olson of Fargo, N.D., is among a five-member Class of 2023 for the River Cities Speedway Hall of Fame. … Brown County Speedway’s Dacotah Insurance Rumble is sanctioned by the NLRA for the first time. … St. Thomas, N.D.’s Mike Bjornson, a regular in the River Cities Late Model division from 1988-2002, dies in March at age 52. The original NLRA driver six times finished in the top five in River Cities points. … Crary, N.D.’s Devils Lake Speedway adds a Late Model division for 2023, drawing 39 drivers with Brody Troftgruben winning the title. … After suffering a concussion and other injuries in a June 17 wreck at Devils Lake, Grand Forks, N.D.’s driver Blake Anderson is airlifted to a hospital. He makes just one more start the rest of the season while recovering with the aggravation of a previous right wrist injury. … Dustin Strand breaks the multidivisional 100-victory mark in his River Cities career with a pair of June victories. … Former Late Model racer Bruce Hart of Larimore, N.D., a River Cities Speedway Hall of Famer who mentored many racers and often hosted NLRA meetings and banquets, dies in September at 63. The championship-winning fabricator and chassis builder at Hart Attack Repair and Fabrication in Grand Forks supported many drivers including Tom Corcoran, John Halvorson, Dave Jarvis, Joey Pederson and James SanGrait over four decades. … Troy Benson, who spent 18 years as Casino Speedway announcer, dies in May at age 52 after an extended illness. … Miller Central Speedway is listed for sale following the season, priced at $500,000 for the 40-acre property that includes a 3/8-mile oval. … Chase and Shelby Alves take over promotions at Interstate Speedway in Jefferson, S.D. (formerly Raceway Park) but don’t host any Late Model events. … Jamestown, N.D.’s Ben Mickelson wins a rare Late Model event at Southwest Speedway in Dickinson, N.D., earning $3,000 in the Superior Water 40.
Editor’s note: Drivers based in the western Dakotas appear in the Western capsule.
Wisconsin
Top performer: New Richmond’s Pat Doar enjoys one of his best seasons in the twilight of his career, racking up 14 victories and his series-leading sixth championship on the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series. Doar collects six WCS victories and earns $4,000 for his fifth consecutive triumph at Ogilvie’s Fall Classic. Overall he posts 30 top-five and 42 top-10 finishes in 48 starts, his busiest season since 2019. He also wins Superior’s track title and finished third in WISSOTA’s overall points.
Best national drivers: None.
Best regional drivers: Pat Doar; Bonduel's Nick Anvelink (nine victories overall and seven on Wabam Dirt Kings Tour while collecting his sixth series title and third in a row; three triumphs pay $5,000); Eau Claire’s Jake Redetzke (four victories, two with WISSOTA Challenge series; $11,000 Masters win at Cedar Lake); Elk Mound’s A.J. Diemel (three victories among four tracks, including NLRA and Dirt Kings triumphs); Hudson’s James Giossi (ABC’s $6,000 Red Clay Classic and Cedar Lake title); Waukesha’s Taylor Scheffler (Plymouth victory and two Farmer City wins); Seymour’s Mike Mullen (three Dirt Kings victories); Waukesha’s Mitch McGrath (two Plymouth victories); Bloomer’s Chad Mahder (Rice Lake and Red Cedar victories); Shawano’s Troy Springborn (three Shawano victories; Dirt Kings runner-up); Shawano’s Ron Berna (two hometown victories)
Best weekly drivers: Eagle River’s Jason Zdroik (10 Crate victories en route to hometown title); Elk Mound’s Ashley Anderson (three victories and fifth career Red Cedar title, first in division since 2010); Benton’s Jason Robbins (three victories on way to Lafayette County crown); Cochrane’s Lance Hofer (three Limited victories); Alma’s Kory Ressie (three Limited victories at Mississippi Thunder); Random Lake's Brad Mueller (single victory en route to Plymouth title); Fountain City’s Triton Krause (one Limited victory en route to Mississippi Thunder title); Pittsville’s Eric Pember (three Eagle River Crate victories); Monroe’s David Webster (two Lafayette County victories).
Best homegrown performance: Nick Anvelink sneaks past James Giossi on the last lap for a $5,000 victory July 29 at Cedar Lake.
Most improved drivers: Mike Mullen; Shawano’s Lukas Postl (two hometown victories).
Best newcomers: Shawano’s Jarrid Curtin (three USRA victories and six top fives in seven starts; Tomahawk champ); Menomonie’s Daniel Bargender (Red Cedar victory and five top-fives as state’s top WISSOTA rookie); Ringle’s Zack Drews (two Limited victories at Cedar Lake); Eagle River’s Austin Zdroik (two hometown Crate victories); Seymour’s Jayden Schmidt (five top-fives); Minocqua’s Josh Nevoraski (first Crate victory at Eagle River).
Most memorable moment: Denying Hudson O’Neal’s last-lap bid, Bobby Pierce’s crossover move exiting turn four kept him out front at Cedar Lake Speedway for a $50,000 USA Nationals victory on the World of Outlaws tour.
Biggest news: Oostburg’s Gordie Seegert Jr. is inducted into the Shawano Speedway Hall of Fame. He was the track’s 2007 Late Model champ and his last victory at the track came in 2012. …. Plans are underway to bring Late Model racing back to Langlade County Speedway in Antigo, Wis. The track was set for its first Late Model event in 11 years in 2023, but the Dirt Kings show was rained out. … Seymour’s Outagamie Speedway plans six nights of Late Model racing in 2024 under Dirt Kings-style rules. The track hasn’t hosted a regular Dirt Late Model division since 2008. … Returning to Late Models for the first time in many seasons, Ashley Anderson notches his first victory since 2011 during his Red Cedar championship season. … Red Cedar’s Duane Mahder Memorial and Punky Manor Challenge of Champions are scrapped for the season after they’re twice rained out. … Returning to Late Models after a lengthy hiatus, New London’s Terry Casey is winless but loses a photo finish to Troy Springborn in Dirt Kings action at Shawano. … Darlington’s Lafayette County Speedway honors former champion Rich Picha of Prairie du Chien with a bench on the track property. He died died Oct. 25, 2002, at the age of 59. … Nick Anvelink pulls within one victory of Pete Parker’s all-time mark of 92 career Shawano feature wins. … Superior’s Gondik Law Speedway inducts Jimmy Mars, Mike Chamernick and Ryan Aho into the track’s Hall of Fame. … Wilmot Raceway is slated to host WoO Late Models for the first time in 2024. ... ABC Raceway to host a WISSOTA-record $20,444-to-win Late Model event in 2024 on the XR Northern Storm miniseries, part of the WISSOTA Challenge tour slate.
