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The month of January is a busy one, even as the 2025 racing season in our area seems far away. Before we move on to the new season, however, I'd like to wrap up 2024 for myself.

Occasionally I get someone who has seen me at the track and wonders just how many races and tracks I have been lucky enough to attend. This past season, in 2024, was a bit of a down season – mostly due some stretches of rainy weather, and some resulting poor choices I made on the fly in trying to find alternatives when the weather looked iffy.

That being said, I attended 193 races at 60 different race tracks in 14 states and one Canadian province. I didn't get to a single new track in 2024. I remain at 334 total tracks visited to date, in 29 different states and three Canadian provinces. The year ahead looks to be a similar year in the planning stages. However, a couple tracks that I attended on a semi-regular basis last year are either planning on changing nights or have already announced that move, which will likely cause a bit of a problem for my schedule. We will see how things shake out come springtime.

I have sad news to bring forth, as we’ve lost several special people in racing recently. Jeff Brauer lost his long and difficult battle with cancer on December 21. Brauer made a name for himself as a driver, as one of the best in the Super Stock class, before his sons Braden and Kolton took over the family name. They raced to the front in the Street Stock class under the direction of Jeff, until they were ready to handle their own programs. They went on to travel all over WISSOTA, winning feature races and topping national points. Jeff was only 56 years old.

I did not know Garrett Feldhake but I did hear him work a few times at the track. The folks at Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo, where he was an announcer, loved his committment to the sport and his enthusiasm for the sport. At just 39 years old, he lost his life on December 28 as the result of a highway accident.

Closer to home, Troy Holder from Rice Lake passed on December 24 after having complications from surgery several weeks ago. Troy was a “jack of all trades” when it came to racing in Rice Lake. At the dirt track he did everything from flag the races to serving as race director and coordinating the wrecker crews at one time or another. Anything that needed doing at the track, he was willing to step into any role. He was also the longtime organizer and promoter of the ice races on Rice Lake. He was 59 years old.

Things will be different at Hibbing Raceway in 2025, now known as Hibbing Speedway. The new promoter of the track, XR Events and Barry Braun, have taken over a track that was run by the Iron Range Racing Association club for as long as I can remember.

In regard to Grand Rapids Speedway news, my understanding from Bob Broking is the track has been given the okay from the WISSOTA board to switch race nights from Thursday to Friday for 2025. However, the last time I talked with Bob, they had not decided whether or not they would make the move, and I have not heard that any final decision has been made since then.

Broking did tell me that their trademark special event, Thunder in the Pines, will return for 2025. The track had not hosted this special for several years. This event will be held sometime in September and will be a two-day race.

Starting January 4, the first major racing mini series of 2025 was held, as the 19th annual Wild West Shootout kicked off at Vado Speedway Park in Vado, New Mexico. Three classes race in this event every year: the open Late Models, the open Modifieds and the X-Mods. The X-Mod class is an amalgamated class, using rules of several different sanctioning groups. Every year there are a number of WISSOTA drivers who attend this six-night series of races. The number of drivers participating has shrunk in recent years, mostly due to the fact that just about everyone has to make significant changes to their race cars now if they are going to be competitive.

Ultimately, this has caused a number of racers to either skip winter racing altogether, or attend one of several other events that are also on the racing calendar in Arizona.

In the Late Models, the most successful driver was Don Shaw. Shaw made all five feature races held, after one of the original six shows was snowed out. Shaw was driving a Longhorn chassis with Vic Hill power and he planned to race it again in Arizona, with a restrictor plate, for that two-week event. Shaw’s best finish of the five nights was 13th.

The only other WISSOTA-licensed Late Model driver who ran the entire series was Sam Mars. Sam made four of the five features, with his best finish a 12th. He, of course, was running an MB chassis with a Pro Power motor. Sam says he plans a program in 2025 similar to last year, running some open motor shows along with WISSOTA events, but indicated he probably won't be running the full Challenge Series.

Chad Mahder had a great opening weekend of racing before he opted to head home because of the bad weather moving in. He made both opening weekend features and finished 11th on Saturday. He earned an extra $500 as the hard charger of the event. He was driving an MB with a Pro Power motor and his equipment was provided by Steve Hucovski, who is encouraging Mahder to run more open motor events in 2025.

Hucovski had his son Michael in a similar car, a new MB with Pro Power motor. Michael, only 15, did fantastic in his first open motor race and especially against such a stout field of drivers. He made the main event and finished 18th before finding things a bit tougher the second night. He had to fly back to Minnesota to return to high school and Steve opted to head home too, rather than stay and race the car himself. Steve reports that both he and his son also have WISSOTA cars and they will race as time allows; Michael is focused on his baseball career, where he has hopes of taking that sport to the college level.

Joel Collins, with Sabre Heating and Cooling support, also made his first open motor appearances over the first weekend before a planned return to Minnesota. Joel was driving a Bloomquist chassis with Mullens power and got experience racing against some of the best in the sport.

Joseph Thomas had a great 10 days in Arizona wheeling a Modified for his uncle Tim. The CDR chassis had a Corky Thomas power plant under the hood. Joseph made four of the five feature races and was exceptional the final weekend, finishing fifth and third in the last two feature races. Joseph also finished eighth in series points.

Corky reported that Joseph would likely be doing some Late Model racing in 2025, driving a car for Cole Babcock. This made more sense after Babcock revealed that he will be working and traveling for Dan Ebert, who is vying for Lucas Oil Rookie of the Year honors.

Kevin Adams got one night to race in the Modifieds, as he drove the MB Customs R&D car that was wheeled the rest of the weekend by his brother-in-law, Rodney Sanders. Buzzy made the show that night, but pulled off early and settled for 23rd. He also had the scare of his life during his heat race; for the first time in 27 years of racing, he had an accelerator hang up on him and he very nearly took the turn-three wall head on.

The X-Mod class is a crap shoot at Vado, with gray rules interpretation, sketchy teching and fluid application of those rules. Nevertheless, there were six WISSOTA-based drivers who chose to race, despite “bringing a knife to a gun fight” in most instances.

Blake Adams was one of the drivers who tried to match the rules as they were written, with the Adams team building a car to the specific rules of the event. It was one of Buzzy's Modifieds they converted and if Blake races Modifieds in 2025, this will be the car he drives – if it’s not sold before spring. With a special motor built to the X-Mod rules, Blake made four of the five features with a best finish of fifth. He also finished fourth in series points.

Declaring 2025 to be his year of a comeback, Scott Bintz was remarkably consistent all week. He made all five features with a best finish of second. He finished in the top 10 all five nights. He also took second in the series points driving his J2 chassis with a Dakota engine under the hood. Bintz will likely be seen everywhere and anywhere as he races at various tracks over the summer.

Nate Reinke likes track in Vado, and even though he is underpowered for this event, he always seems to do well during this series. He made four of the five features and had quite a story to tell after the Friday night show. He flipped on the front chute, after catching a piece of a car that spun in front of him, leaving him nowhere to go. Even though the car was in pieces the following day, somehow they made it to the line for their heat race, finished second in that event, and then he was sixth in the main. He finished eighth in overall points. After getting back home, a trip to Wisconsin to get their frame straightened at SSR will be on the agenda.

Having completed just one year of racing, Joseph Swearingen took a leap of faith and pulled out to the high desert with his GRT by CRC with Stoen power to compete. While he was underpowered with a WISSOTA-legal car and failed to make any of the feature races, he said he was having a great time and would be back again. He plans to run both Red Cedar and Rice Lake in 2025 and with a year under his belt, told me that he has learned so much about the sport that he feels he will be much improved this summer.

Jake Smith had his WISSOTA-legal Mid Mod on hand for the opening weekend of racing before he moved down the road to a different series of races. His car was a brand-new MB with Chubbs power that was just completed literally hours before they hit the road to New Mexico. His two appearances produced eighth and 17th-place finishes.

Devin Fouquette also made just one brief appearance on opening night, before he also headed down the road. He raced his JMR Modified as an X-Mod, using his one night of racing to shake that car down. He made the feature before pulling off early with a brake issue. Come next summer, he plans to race hard with the new Longhorn Late Model they debuted right at the end of the racing season.

Besides the races already covered, there were a number of other drivers on hand who were either helping in the pits or spectating. Adam Hensel was one of them; he told me that he plans another limited racing schedule in 2025, mostly just racing a few specials and when the mood strikes him.

Cody Carlson hopes to sell his Mid Mod this winter and says that for what he has, the price he is asking is a very good deal. If he sells the car he hopes to get a new car but if it doesn't sell, he says he will race the same car again.

A.J. Diemel was busy working the MB group at Vado and he expects to have a similar plan for 2025 as last year, racing his Late Model as time permits while also running some of the big Modified events in the area.

Kelly Estey was spectating, having driven over from Arizona where he was staying. He reported he is building a Mid Mod. When asked, he said he is probably not coming out of retirement and that son Mack may drive the car in some of the big Mid Mod shows coming up this summer. Mack has a Modified to drive at Hibbing and Skeeter, who was also on hand, will race his Late Model once again in 2025.

I was sorry to hear that Jeremy Nelson (4) has retired from the sport. They have liquidated all their equipment, and Jeremy is going kart racing with his daughters. I'm happy that they will be spending quality time as a family, but will miss seeing him at the track.

Vado Speedway Park is an excellent racing facility and the Wild West Shootout is a great series. However, for us it doesn't have quite the appeal it used to have. The number of our WISSOTA drivers who participate has dropped significantly, as the rules package they use just doesn't give our drivers much of a chance – unless they make major changes to their cars or indeed have special cars for this series.

The Arizona racing trek continued into the third week of January, for a number of drivers lucky enough to be able to spend an extended period of time in the desert Southwest and a few other racing bums like myself.

As I moved on to Central Arizona Raceway near Casa Grande, I caught up with a half dozen or so drivers who had been out here racing for what was their second week of action. A couple had been in Vado to test the waters or make tune-ups on their cars, while several others had proceeded directly to Central Arizona Raceway for eight nights of racing action.

Around 200 cars raced on each of the four nights of racing that I saw, so just making the feature races was an accomplishment against such large fields in each class. Passing points were used so heat race action was very important to success for the evening.

Central Arizona Raceway has undergone a significant number of changes since WISSOTA drivers last saw the track for the Ernie Mincy Thaw last year at this time. The most significant change was that rather than having a run-off area off each corner, the track is now surrounded by a concrete wall, which seems to have changed the way drivers race the track. For race fans, the addition of the wall has been a large blessing; instead of yellow flag after yellow flag for drivers who over drove the corners and slipped off the banking, now they drive with the wall in mind.

The slide jobs in the turns have been entertaining and breathtaking. I-94 Speedway-sized billboards now surround the track on top of the wall and with other improvements for the fans, the place is much more inviting for all.

Devin Fouquette was racing the same car he raced at Vado the previous week, having converted over to a Modified under IMCA rules. He made three of the four features raced this week, with mechanical issues in one heat race keeping him out the rest of that night. His best finish was ninth, but even the announcers were commenting on what bad racing luck he was enduring.

Jake Smith was the other driver who raced briefly in Vado before crossing the border into Arizona. Smith, however, was not racing the same car as at Vado; that car was being saved for B Mod action at CAR for the Early Thaw the following two weekends.

Instead, he was driving a Sport Mod they purchased last fall and hoped to sell by the conclusion of this mini series. He qualified for all four feature races this week, with a best finish of fifth. He won a feature here the previous week before I arrived. Brake issues and few other gremlins kept him for getting more good finishes. They figured to be very busy the next week, as they plan to run both cars.

Just as he does when he gets back to eastern Minnesota WISSOTA action, Kaden Woodie was racing multiple race cars, having both a Sport Mod and a Stock Car to race at CAR. He made three of the four features in the Stock Car, with a best finish of ninth. He also had his share of bad draws that put him behind the eight ball.

With his Sport Mod, he had better luck and success, as he made the feature race all four nights with a win and third-place finish, along with a Hard Charger award to highlight the final weekend.

Taven Woodie was also entered but after a wreck totaled out the race car early, they purchased another car but then did not enter it in any races during week two.

Bud Martini had an up-and-down week, racing only when he felt like doing so. He did end up with one podium finish in the Sport Mods.

Montana's Joey Price was also on hand. Joey was racing a Rage Modified and will likely do so when spring arrives in the mountains. He will also be running his WISSOTA Midwest Mod. He hopes to be able to come east and race in a few special events next summer.

Price overcame some horrible draws to make all three feature races he attempted, as he packed up and headed home early. His best finish was 14th. He put the car in the trailer straight on Friday night and called it a Winter Nationals.

Racing was far from done here at CAR at the time of this column, as two more weeks of three-night shows are all a part of the Ernie Mincy Early Thaw. Along with three of the IMCA classes, WISSOTA drivers are expected to participate in the Late Models, where rules offer a fair chance to those drivers, and in the B Mods, where the rules also make the Mid Mods competitive. And, for the first time, WISSOTA Super Stocks will all be racing on the three-eighths mile oval here.