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Certainly the biggest news to break from my area since the last column was the announcement that Rice Lake Speedway was sold. It was no secret that track owners Dave Adams and Mitch Hansen were looking to sell and were unofficially telling people as much since last summer.

When they officially posted the announcement in early January, it caught the attention of many people and reiterated they very serious about selling.

It came as quite a surprise that in just over a month’s time, on February 16 to be accurate, the final paperwork was completed and Rice Lake Speedway is now owned by Kolby Kiehl from Barron, his father Dean from Cameron, and Dick Kalow from Rice Lake.

The best news of all was that the new owners, under Rice Lake Speedway LLC, planned to continue racing at the track, which brought a sigh of relief from racers and fans alike. Their Saturday night entertainment venue will still be in operation.

Kolby and Dean are well known around area race tracks. Kolby has been racing in this area for 13 years, starting in Pure Stocks and advancing to both Streets and Supers in the past couple of years. Dick is not as well known in racing, as he has become just a recent fan of the sport. He was introduced to racing in the last couple of years by the Kiehl family. Dick is the owner of Mastercraft Industries in Rice Lake, a maker of custom cabinets, furnishings and a host of other products used in the construction and building industries. It is one of Rice Lake’s largest employers.

Dick was impressed with how strong the fabric of racing was locally. After it was announced that the track was for sale, joking comments among the three about buying the track suddenly turned much more serious, and Dick was all-in to pursue the purchase of the speedway.

When they took over the track, they have certainly moved forward with speed, making changes and updating the facility. The amount of things that they have accomplished in the short time they have officially owned the track has been stunning. They have not been afraid to spent a considerable amount of money in upgrades and there is a large list of things set to be changed or upgraded.

Our unusual winter has helped them get started. Many of the physical projects at the track began immediately. Certainly so far, this purchase has offered a best-case scenario for everyone.

Already the concession stand has been revamped and a new roof put on that building. All the planks from the bleachers have been removed with new ones painted and most already back in place in the grandstands. The old boards will be refurbished for a new grandstand for the pits. More than 300 feet of the frontstretch wall has been removed, with a new retaining wall set to replace the old one. A new wheel fence will top that wall.

They just received the okay to start construction on the new tech building that will be located outside the track, near the old cinder block draw building. This approximately 50 ft.-by-30 ft. building will house the scales which will be moved out of the infield, thus helping the show move along more quickly and allowing a better enclosed area to do the tech work.

Bids have been taken on a new sound system for the track and new track lighting is also in the works. The facility will become fully digital with i-Pads and card machines for purchases.

They have purchased a new piece of equipment from Heavy Hitch in Rochester, Minnesota that will be used to improve track prep. Former co-owner Mitch Hansen has agreed to stay on to ease the transition in track prep. They are investigating new material for the track, but that may have to wait until after the current season is completed to make any additions or changes.

A number of key hires have already been done for critical positions regarding the operation of the track on race night.

There will be many new and exciting things going on, while still retaining some of the familiar.

At this late date, they are working hard to provide an exciting schedule of events, bringing in new events and maintaining many of the things that have traditionally been favorites.

Trust me, they have many new and exciting ideas and while not all will be put in place for 2024, the future is looking very bright indeed for this venerable track. It’s set to open for its 72nd consecutive year in 2024 on Saturday night, April 20.

Everyone should be really excited for the future. It looks like its going to be a fun ride for 2024 and for years to come, as the new owners have indicated to me that they are in it for the long haul.

The first official event for the new management will take place March 27-30, as the annual car show is again hosted by Rice Lake’s Cedar Mall on the south side of town. More information on the upcoming season will be available at the mall show and the new owners will be on hand, anxious to meet their new customers from the grandstand as well as all the race teams.

Imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago when I was roaming the pits at a race track in north Texas and stumbled into the “Western Wanderer” J.R. Hughes, live and direct from South Dakota. He was apparently in the area to visit a friend and also watch a racer who he was familiar with from Wyoming. He also photographed the event. J.R told me that he was hoping to do more writing for ATD this year, but said that he would have to travel to do so. There just isn't much to write about in Rapid City anymore.

Since Florida racing wrapped up, there hasn't been a lot of racing happening. Dan Ebert is one of the few who continue to venture out and race open Modified events down south, and he had a successful week of racing in Texas to begin the month of March. He charged from 20th to fourth during the Friday night portion of the show at Rocket Raceway Park March 1, and then on Saturday started in the front row and led most of the race to win $5,000.

In fact, at this juncture, Ebert is the USMTS points leader as the series takes a short break.

Don Shaw also won a couple of Late Model feature events in Arizona.

For the majority of racers, however, the wait for racing continues. Everyone is holding their breath that with this extraordinary winter we have had, tracks set to open in early April will be able to do so. If this happens, those track will make a killing both at the back gate and in the spectator bleachers.

As tracks release schedules, among the changes noted for 2024 was the news that Granite City Motor Park in Sauk Rapids will be running Late Models on a weekly basis in 2024. On the down side, Sheyenne Speedway in Lisbon, ND — a really fun track — will be running a very small, five-event season in 2024. The only WISSOTA classes getting to run there will be the Streets and Mid Mods.

It does seem there will be a record number of special events to chose from in 2024. Lots of big money specials for the so-called support classes are planned, but unfortunately, most are weekend events. In order for them to prosper, they must either convince other tracks to drop those same classes or pry away drivers from their regular tracks for a weekend.

It’s apparent that the days of special events during week nights are long gone, and now there will be conflict with other tracks and it will continue to force both drivers and fans to make some tough choices.

An interesting story broke in several area newspapers recently about the Century Farm program that operates in Wisconsin. This program honors family farms that have been in existence for at least 100 years. This year the Happy Cow Farm, in Barron County, will be one of the farms honored at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis in August. One of the fourth generation members of this farming family has a racing connection — Scott Erickson is a former racer at a number of tracks in northern and central Wisconsin and is also a well-known announcer at tracks such as Rice Lake and Red Cedar over the years. Congratulations to the Happy Cows!

This time of the year is one of the most exciting, as schedules and events are announced.

We were happy to see Chateau Raceway, in Lansing, Minnesota, announce plans for a full season of racing in 2024, after it hosted a couple of late-season events last year. WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds will be a part of their show, giving southern Minnesota teams an opportunity to race twice each weekend.

Just as interesting are the announcements about individual race teams about new cars and class changes. Our fantastic winter has everyone excited early.

Now we need to get some of the car shows going so that we can see the new cars in person and talk to the racers about their plans for 2024.

Continuing the trend of the past couple of years, we are seeing more and more drivers move up to the Late Model class. It injects new blood and excitement into this class. Already noted for 2024 are the moves made by veteran racers Cory Crapser and Adam Ayotte into the class.

Happy 85th birthday on March 24 to Jerry “Crash” Carlson. What an amazing guy he is and still very much on the go.

Just before shooting this column off into the “cloud,” I was able to speak to one of the new partners in Rice Lake Speedway, Kolby Kiehl. Kiehl was busy riding around the track on the heavy equipment, as prep for the new season continues at a frantic pace. Kiehl was rolling in and packing down the track before a predicted snow storm hit the area. The frontstretch was torn up some to put in the new concrete wall, which is now finished, and a trench was also dug to replace the scoring loop. They wanted the track to be rolled in smooth before bad weather hit.

More improvements continue to be completed, with the new slab for the tech building laid the morning I spoke to him. The spectator sidewalks in front of the grandstand have been widened and the rock barrier in front of the grandstands has been removed. The hillside will be smoothed over and grass will be planted.

Additional events are still being considered for the 2024 racing season and the track owners are already in discussion with various folks about bringing in events for the 2025 season. I have a couple of other interesting items to mention but will wait until they are confirmed by all parties.

Rice Lake Speedway LLC principles report that the positive support and feedback they have been receiving to this point has been almost overwhelming. The amount of assistance they have already received from area small businesses has been spectacular and they are truly grateful for the help.

Personally, I have not seen this kind of excitement and anticipation for a racing opener in this area in many years and it is most refreshing. The next activities for the track at press time included the farewell banquet hosted by Adams-Hansen Inc. that was to be held on March 23, and the car show on Easter weekend at Cedar Mall.