1-30 Page 16

The Dome, St. Louis

The last racing event held in the Midwest for 2023 was the indoor event held at The Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Run as an open competition event for both Late Models and Modifieds, drivers from multiple sanctioning bodies participated in this three-night event.

By now most people are aware of it, or have seen videos of the racing action here; it’s wild and crazy more often than not. Every year there are a number of WISSOTA drivers who enter this event, and race successfully. The highlight of the years of the event for WISSOTA racers was the Modified win by Tyler Peterson a couple of years ago.

This year there were seven drivers with WISSOTA affiliation who entered the event. The number of drivers running in the Late Model class was down from previous years, but entry in the Late Model portion is limited to a first-come, first-served basis. If a team isn't ready to enter when the registration window is opened, they likely miss the opportunity.

To keep the number within a reasonable working order, the Modified portion of the program is by invitation only, based on the merits and career of the racer. With the well-known success and level of competition WISSOTA Modified racers provide, as well as Peterson’s previous win in the event, a number of WISSOTA drivers usually do get invitations. This year there were five WISSOTA-based drivers who took part.

In the Late Models, Zach Wohlers and Lindsey Hansen raced the event. For Wohlers, it was his second straight year. The way he was talking, it sounded like he hoped to get in again in 2024. He was driving his home-built Wally Built chassis that he raced on the Range this year. He had his Kevin Stoa, KS Engineering WISSOTA motor under the hood. Many of the drivers run open motors in the Late Models, so learning that he was running his spec engine was a bit of a surprise. He ran fourth in his heat race on Thursday and then flipped a belt off the motor in a B-feature, ending his night early and making his success more difficult on Saturday.

He finished fourth in a Qualifier and seventh in the Last-Chance race, ending his weekend. He did leave with the car intact, however, and he drew plenty of attention. His bright green color combination was a fan favorite.

What a rookie season for Hansen! Seldom do drivers in their first year of racing in a class end their season with such a challenging event. He finished fifth in a heat on Thursday and ninth in a B-feature, driving the T&E Chassis out of Moorhead that he raced all year. He was helped into the wall during his Qualifier on Saturday, ending his weekend.

The success rate in the Modified division for WISSOTA drivers was higher than in the Late Models. Using UMP rules for this event, some of the Modifieds were at a horsepower disadvantage against the competition. However, both Peterson and Joseph Thomas were able to make the 20-car starting grid for the Modified feature. Once that race began, both made it known they were there to pass cars; they were among the biggest chargers of the race.

Peterson always comes up with a “themed” wrap for this race and once again, the St. Louis Arch was a prominent part of it. His luck didn't start out well for the weekend, with Thursday night's results putting him behind the eight ball the rest of the weekend. He finished a strong second in his heat Thursday, but then faded to ninth in the feature race. He was in a qualifying position but had a flat left-front tire. As the race progressed, it started to give him problems and he lost several spots right near the end. On Saturday he finished sixth in a Qualifier and second in the Last Chance race. However, he did get the provisional based on his previous win in this race and once they dropped the green for the main, he drove up to eighth from 20th at the start.

Thomas also sported a sharp new wrap, finishing third in his heat and fifth in the feature on Thursday night. In the main event on Saturday, he was also one of the hard chargers, starting 14th and finishing a strong sixth. His Ryan Torbenson-owned GRT chassis was running a fresh powerplant, courtesy of his father, engine builder Corky Thomas. Joseph plans to race a lot again in 2024, but definite plans haven't been finalized just yet. A trip to Florida in February is a possibility.

The three other WISSOTA-based Modified drivers on hand all came very close to making the Saturday night feature as well. Zach Johnson was running his MB Customs chassis with his WISSOTA Vic Hill powerplant. He finished fifth in his heat, first in a B-feature and 14th in the feature on Thursday. He came back on Saturday to finish seventh in a Qualifier and just one spot short of running the main. Johnson reported he has a second MB chassis he might make into an open car, so he will be prepared to race in either type of racing in 2024. He thanked Shaw Trucking for getting him to St. Louis and Outlaw Graphics for providing a very distinctive-looking wrap.

Brandon Copp received his first-ever invitation for this race and ended up as one of the many story lines when he came up one lap short of making the Modified main on Saturday night. Earlier weekend results include a fourth-place run in a heat and eighth in the feature on Thursday. He was leading on the last lap of a Qualifier on Saturday when he missed his mark in turn one and was hung up on the wheel fence on top of the wall. He eventually turned over on his side. He was fine and got some nice streaming time, but that didn't get him into the show.

Driving the same MB chassis he raced all year, he made this first visit a bit of a vacation, coming down early and visiting some of the sites in St. Louis after the old Ford Dually got him to Missouri without a problem. With a new MB on order for 2024, his goal was to take the existing car home in one piece to either serve as a back-up or to perhaps sell. I think after he got all the chicken wire from the fence unwrapped, the car itself was not badly damaged.

Scott Bintz knocked an item off his bucket list and raced in his first Dome event. Since Bintz didn't race a single Modified race all year, he converted his Millenium Midwest Mod into a Modified and also did the same to his Dakota B-Mod motor. Led by Dustin Strand, who was in the pits helping, Bintz finished fourth in a heat and 15th in the Thursday feature. He then finished eighth in a Qualifier on Saturday, just missing the show. He has another big year planned for 2024. He will be running the Rebel Mid Mod Tour, which he is sponsoring again, and a number of other special events. By the time you read this, he will have likely started his 2024 season in New Mexico, racing with the X Mods at Vado, before he moved on to Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande. There, he is likely one of many WISSOTA drivers helping to support Don Shaw, who is again offer a six-night racing series.

Related to Central Arizona Raceway, I was told Jake Smith was also planning on being there with his Mod converted to a Mid Mod, and Strand planned to race his Late Model. It looked like there would be many familiar faces, both behind the wheel of race cars and administering the program. I even heard that Zach Johnson and Shane Sabraski planned to race there, in the Late Models.

With the 2023 racing season now complete, it is time for a brief summary of my racing season before we plunge into a new year with new excitement and opportunities.

The 2023 season was a very busy year for myself. That’s just the way I like it and want it. In 2023 I attended 209 racing events spread out over the whole 12 months. From Arizona in January to Missouri in December, it was a record year for me in terms of number of races attended.

It was my 43rd consecutive season of seeing at least 100 races during the season. In 2023, I attended races at 70 different race tracks in 16 states and one Canadian province. Among those tracks were three new ones, one each in Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma. And as best as I can determine, I have now been to 334 different tracks in 29 states and three Canadian Provinces. During 2023, 22 of the tracks were WISSOTA tracks in four states, plus Canada.

It's been lots of fun with lots of nice and interesting people met along the road. There are many people to be thanked, including all the promoters who helped me out, along with all the track workers and the fans, both new and those familiar face who have helped along the way.

Sometimes I slip up but I try to remember that all of this is supposed to be fun and if it isn't fun, then we should be doing something else.

Cocopah Speedway

The first part of our Arizona trip including seeing three nights of racing at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Arizona — near Yuma. Also being very close to both the California and Mexico border, this is an area that is almost guaranteed sunshine and warm temperatures 12 months a year.

They must have heard I was coming, however, as the weather during was nothing to brag about. Temperatures were well below normal and heavy coats were required at the races all three nights.

And on top of that, in an area that hardly ever gets rain, I was almost rained out on my first attempt to see racing during the 2024 racing season!

Fortunately, the rains moved out as quickly as they swept in on gusty winds. While some areas near the track received nearly a half inch of rain, which is a gully washer locally, it was hardly enough to dampen the grounds at Cocopah. It did make the track quite heavy, however. About an hour and a half later than planned, racing began.

The show ran under a different sanctioning body, which included eight full nights of racing spread over two weeks. The promoter, Brad Whitfield, also co-promotes the series of races at Central Arizona Raceway in Cocopah, alongside Don Shaw.

I saw three of four nights, with the fourth night cancelled due to high winds that made travel across the desert unsafe. High winds kick up sandstorms and when they blow, the highways are obscured to the point that it makes travel dangerous.

Four drivers with WISSOTA connections were on hand for the events at Cocopah.

Montana driver Michael Leach was present with his Modified. Many will remember that he ran a Late Model at some of the Challenge Series and fall specials in our area in 2023. He had his Late Model with him, which he planned to drive in Shaw's upcoming series. He’s the son of the co-owner of Longhorn chassis.

Leach improved each of the three nights I saw him race. After a pair of DNFs on opening night, he had a strong fourth-place finish in his heat the second night. Under a passing points format and with 70 Modifieds on hand, he was funnelled to a B-feature where he came up two spots short of making the main.

The third night was his best so far, with both a heat race win and a seventh-place finish in the feature that night.

East-central Minnesota fans are familiar with Kaden Woodie, who raced at Cocopah in two classes. He had a Stock Car and a Sport Mod on hand. The Sport Mod was converted over from a CRC Mod from Cory Crapser. In the Stock Car, he made two of the three features I saw, with a best finish of eighth. With second, fourth and eighth-place finishes in heat races, his chances of qualifying varied against a field of more than 50 cars.

In the Sport Mod, he had his best success. He qualified for two of the three feature races. He was DQ’d for a technical issue on the frame opening night, a situation that he was unaware of and was quickly fixed by the second night.

The second night he finished an outstanding second place in the main, and was 16th on the third night.

He reported that he will be doing plenty of WISSOTA racing in 2024. He said the Sport Mod he was running felt so good he was considering changing it over to a Midwest Mod and running it locally. He said he is considering making a run for national points with his Street Stock and planned to follow special events in that class. He will vary where he races, but will be seen at all the east-central Minnesota tracks in addition to the others.

Nathan Kohl makes occasional appearances at James Trantina's Granite City Motor Park with his Hornet, and was at Cocopah running in the Sport Compact division. And, he was one of the contenders during all three nights of action. With finishes of second, fifth and sixth in the three main events, he was one of the top racers in the class during the opening week.

I believe all three continued to race at Cocopah during the track’s second week, while I moved on to New Mexico for racing action at Vado Speedway Park.

Thanks to Brad Whitfield and all his employees at Cocopah Speedway for an entertaining time. We do look forward to 2025.

Vado Speedway Park

The next series on our racing schedule was the 18th annual Wild West Shootout at Vado Speedway Park in Vado, New Mexico.

Vado is a small town located right along Interstate 10 about halfway between Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Vado is in the high desert, sitting at around 4,500 feet elevation. They have a winter where the temperatures are cool to cold. We even experienced a little snow overnight one night while we were there.

Most know the history of the Wild West Shootout, which originated in Arizona and was run at several tracks in that state. When they ran out of tracks there, due to closures and other reasons, the most logical option was to move the series to Vado, about four hours straight east of Tucson.

Vado is owned by Royal Jones, a trucking magnate in Las Cruces and the owner of Mesilla Valley Transportation, whose rigs crisscross the highways of the Southwest. Royal is also a racer and has been racing in the Modified class for many years. He is also a sponsor of a number of nationally known drivers and a person who travels extensively to other tracks.

When he built this track, he put a lot of thought into it before ground was turned. It offers the best to both the drivers and fans. It still has that new track smell and is as spotless as the day it opened. Drivers rave about it and fans love it, too. For those who haven't been there, it is worth the trip at least once to see racing here.

As has been the case here and since the series started nearly two decades ago, the series is highlighted by the open motor Late Models, a division that features some of the best in the nation who pull to New Mexico in January.

Open rule Modifieds also race during this series, along with the X Mods, a conglomeration of class rules I will speak to later.

We do not have a lot of WISSOTA drivers in the Late Model class with open motors willing to pull to New Mexico to race in January. In fact, there were only three this year. The same situation applies in the Modified class, where there were four drivers running this year.

A recent change has come in the X Mod class, which is supposed to be combination of our Midwest Mods, others B Mods, plus the local cars which are known in the Southwest as X Mods. Somehow, in the past couple of years, the rules for this class have become messy. Drivers are now building special bodies and cars with the same chassis and suspensions allowed under them that the open Mods run. Our WISSOTA drivers, which used to be a strong part of this show — with 20 or more drivers racing in this class — have now trickled to just a handful. They’ve recognized they are running at a big disadvantage and really struggle, after historically doing very well and winning features.

This year there were just four drivers running the six-race series. If Don Shaw's Early Thaw continues to grow, I see everyone just skipping Vado and heading directly to Arizona in the very near future. As it stands right now, drivers who used to challenge for wins at Vado now struggle to crack the top 10 or top five.

A lot of folks still come out here to this series, and I see more drivers in the stands watching or roaming the pits than I see on the track by far. Some are here to enjoy the action while others are stopping here on their way to race in Arizona.

Among the drivers on hand to watch were Skeeter Estey, Shane Edginton, Cole Searing, Cole Schill, Dustin Bluhm and Nathan Sletto. Sletto will be moving up to the Late Model class in 2024, having purchased the Black Diamond that Bluhm raced last year.

Larry Samuelson was on hand the first weekend to help out in Don Shaw's pit. He planned to head home to work briefly, before returning to help prepare things for Shaw's big shows. Bill Byholm was in the pits helping A.J. Diemel on his Modified.

As far as how they succeeded, Sam Mars was running his first events as the driver of the MB Customs house car for his father and uncle. While he claimed there was no particular pressure on him, one has to believe that he still felt some, performing as he was on national TV with certain expectations always placed on the yellow car.

Sam made four of the six feature races at Vado, with his best run a 14th-place finish on night three. He did have to run B-features on three of the four nights. With qualifying being such an important part of the program in open motor shows, a couple of the nights he got behind the eight-ball early.

Don Shaw was trying to dial in a new Longhorn chassis all week. He ran five of the six shows, skipping the midweek event to stay and prepare for his upcoming series. He made two of the five shows, with his best effort a 10th-place finish. He suffered with new car woes, including brake issues and figuring out how he wanted the car to be set up to his tastes.

A very strong effort was put on by North Dakota's Jason Strand. He has two new Rocket chassis for 2024, one for open motor shows and one for WISSOTA racing. He gave up trying to run the more limited motor he had for open shows and instead had a new Pro Power under the hood for Vado. He made three of the six feature races with his best effort being in the finale. He finished a strong eighth in the 50-lapper.

There were four WISSOTA-connected drivers that ran with the open Mods at Vado. Dan Ebert ran with the most success, in his new Mullens chassis car. He also has another car for WISSOTA races, which he plans to use at select specials within WISSOTA, while hitting the road with the open-motor car. He was very consistent and while he never challenged for a win, he was in the top five every night. One night he did clobber a dreaded infield tractor tire and he messed up the front end on his car. Otherwise, the other five feature races resulted in top-five finishes. His best finish was the finale when he finished a strong third. Ebert figures to be a strong challenger where ever he races this year.

Duke Erickson was on hand with his MB from South Dakota, looking to get some off-season racing in at a track that he likes very much. Erickson only made one of the main events, as he was under powered for the juiced up track, running his WISSOTA spec engine for New Mexico action. He wanted to save laps on his open motor. He figures to run a schedule much like last year, and will also be running a B Mod when the northern season starts.

Taton Hansen had a short and rough week. He failed to make the feature each of the opening weekend shows and then left to return to Minnesota. I did not speak to the team but must assume that they had some pretty significant issues to pull out after only two races.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE