Klugman hungry in pursuit of first Wissota Street feature win

Tyler Klugman has been competitive in the Wissota Street Stock class at I-94 EMR Speedway in recent years but is still chasing his first feature win in the competitive division.

“We’ve came close a few times,” Klugman said. “We got a few heat wins – still looking for that first feature win. It’s tough competition. Hopefully one of these days the stars will align. We’re looking to pop that bubble and finally get one.”

That’s a goal for the 35-year-old from Wheaton, who manages a fertilizer plant in Dumont. Klugman is in his 10^th season of racing with almost all of it being behind the wheel of a street stock.  His father raced enduros, and eventually he got into racing dirt bikes.  He decided to hop behind the wheel of a race car in 2016, starting out in the Pure Stock class at Viking Speedway.

He started out in the pure stocks at Viking Speedway in Alexandria but quickly would make the jump to the Wissota Street Stock class.

“The cars were getting so close to streeters, we figured we might as well move up,” said Klugman, who manages a fertilizer plant in Dumont.

He’s found a home in the street stock class, which is very competitive locally.

“Everybody gets along good, that’s the biggest thing. Everybody’s offering to help,” Klugman said.

While Klugman hasn’t found victory lane, he has been competitive in the street stocks with 22 top five finishes since the 2021 season.

“It’s something I feel I can manage. The suspension is a little bit simpler and everything, and not so many adjustments,” Klugman said. “You can spend a ton of money on it if you want, but if you want to get by a little more affordable, I feel like there’s still that option anyway.”

He bought an Arrow Chassis from Trajan Schmidt a few years ago and has developed a comfort level with that car.

“We’ve been running Arrows since we got in the street stock class,” Klugman said. “Ron and Trevor (Anderson) have been a huge amount of help. We definitely wouldn’t be as competitive as we are without those guys.”

Klugman had a decent 2024 campaign with four top five finishes in 12 starts, but his racing was limited as he and his wife, Alyssa welcomed their third daughter to the family.  

“Last year was pretty good. I was happy with it. We didn’t race as much,” Klugman said. “We’re hoping to be out here a little more often (this year).”

Because his job is in agriculture, he usually gets a little later start to the racing season, which keeps him from running for the track championship. The biggest opponent this season for Klugman perhaps has been the weather. His regular weekly track is I-94 EMR Speedway, and four of their nights have been rained out – and another was postponed at intermission (King of the Dirt on June 7). As a result, Klugman has raced only three times, but does have a top five finish at I-94 on May 23.

His plan is to continue to race I-94 EMR Speedway on Fridays; he takes Saturdays off for family time. On Sundays he said he may go to Buffalo River or Casino Speedway if he has time.  His goal for 2025 is to be in the top five more often as he chases that first win.

“Be competitive every single night, and hopefully being in that tech shed more often,” Klugman said. “We’re racing for that top five and hopefully one of these nights it just works out where we can sneak one in and get that first win. It’ll happen eventually if we keep at it.”

Driver profile

Tyler Klugman

Wissota Street Stock #2K

Residence: Wheaton, Minn.

Age: 35

Sponsors: Wheaton Dumont Coop Elevator, Berger Farms, Traverse County Crop Insurance, Whaley’s Excavating