Consistency helped Kruchten win first track championship at Viking in '24

In a racing career that began in 2013, Davey Kruchten of Glenwood had never decided to chase a season points championship. That was until 2024.

Kruchten took aim at the Viking Speedway points title in the Wissota Street Stocks.  By the time the season had been completed in September, he was the track champion in the class.

“It was the first one we actually went for,” Kruchten said. “We got lucky.”

While there is always some luck involved in racing, there was another reason for the points title. While Kruchten only won one feature at Viking, he finished in the top five in eight of 11 starts, and in the top 10 an impressive 10 times. He finished every feature race at the half-mile oval.

“It was just being consistent; we won one race,” Kruchten said. “We were top five about every night. (The key was) just being consistent with no DNFs.”

Kruchten has a family background in racing. His father raced in the 1980s and 90s; his cousin, Dave Mass, is one of the top Wissota Super Stock drivers of all-time and currently pilots a late model for the Don Shaw Racing time.

His brother, Ben, is the owner and operator of Dirt Race Central, which live streams many racetracks across the upper Midwest and is a sponsor of Davey’s 11K machine.

“It’s a family thing,” Kruchten said.

Kruchten’s start came in the street stocks in 2013. He has taken a few years off since then, and also ran a super stock for three seasons.  But he returned to the street stocks, and it’s proven to be a good move for the 31-year-old, who works as a shipping lead for Fast Global Solutions.

“It fits my driving style,” Kruchten said. “I raced a super and it wasn’t for me. I came back to this class, and overall, it’s a fun class.”

The street stock class is known for its friendships and spirit of cooperation in western Minnesota, and that is one thing Kruchten likes about the class.

“Just how competitive they are, and the camaraderie of it,” Kruchten said. “We’re all friends on and off the track.”

He doesn’t plan to chase a points championship in 2025. His son, Caleb, will be racing a go-kart for the first time this summer, including on Friday nights at Runestone Speedway in Alexandria.

“Have fun,” Kruchten said of his 2025 racing plans. “We’re not going to race as much because my boy is racing go-karts. He’ll be racing Friday nights at Runestone. With him racing, we’re getting his feet wet.”

Getting Caleb involved with racing is an example of how racing has impacted the Kruchten family.

“It makes us closer. The whole racing thing is a family thing,” Kruchten said. “It’s what we do. People hunt and fish. We race.”

Driver Profile

Davey Kruchten

Wissota Street Stock #11K

Residence: Glenwood, Minn.

Age: 31

Sponsors: Dirt Race Central, JS Transport, FAST Global Solutions, Double R Bar and Grill, Sparky’s Towing, Lovens auto of Swanville, Centre Powersports and Marine, The Woitalla’s, Di Wagner’s Designs