Armed with newer car, Zuehlsdorff aims to climb in Wissota Hornet ranks

Fergus Falls Wissota Hornet driver Zander Zuehlsdorff has goals for the 2026 season, and one is pretty simple:

“Keep it on all fours,” Zuehlsdorff said. “I haven’t been very good at that the few years.”

The 18-year-old, a recent graduate of Underwood High School, is in his fourth year in the Wissota Hornet class. He’s also rolled his car four times in his young career.

He’s thinking he is due for some better luck this summer.

“I’m hoping this year I am,” Zuehlsdorff said. “So far, I have been.”

Armed with a new car, the year is off to a good start for Zuehlsdorff, with two top fives in four feature starts so far, including a career-best third-place finish at Viking Speedway last Saturday.

Zuehlsdorff didn’t come from a racing background but started going to the races at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls.

“I started coming to the races one day, and all of a sudden I ended up with a car because I found one cheap down the road,” Zuehlsdorff said.

He raced five times in his first year in 2023 with one top five finish.  In 2024 he had nine top 10 finishes in 13 starts and followed with five top 10s in 2025.  

“It’s fun. It gets stressful sometimes, and it gets expensive, but I’m out here for the fun of it,” Zuehlsdorff said. “It’s something to keep me out of trouble.”  

He admits the front-wheel drive Hornets are a challenge when it comes to handling, and learning that has been an adjustment.

This offseason, he upgraded to a better car, buying a car from Justin Dose of Glencoe, Minn., who races weekly at Arlington.

In his first night in the car at Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo on May 1, he finished a solid fifth out of 21 cars in the Wissota Hornet feature.

“It was a good track to build the confidence up, in the first night of the car,” Zuehlsdorff said.

Another encouraging sign came last Saturday at Viking Speedway. He started on the outside pole and ran close to the front all night. When it was all said and done, he had finished third, his best feature finish in his career.

“It handles a lot better and has a lot more power,” Zuehlsdorff said.

While keeping the car on four heels is a goal, he has his eyes on some performance goals, too.

“I’m looking for maybe a first feature win and some heat wins,” Zuehlsdorff said.

Driver Profile

Zander Zuehlsdorff

Wissota Hornet #78

Residence: Fergus Falls, Minn.

Age: 18

Sponsors: Fergus Fast Lane, Pro Floor and Tile, Turtle Lake Seamless, FM Bank John’s Heating and Air Conditioning, KO3 Customs Tysdal Hay