The Wissota 100 kicked off Tuesday with the Pure Stock and Hornet events, along with practice for the remaining classes. The Wissota Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds and Street Stocks will kick off their qualifying on Wednesday night.
I’ve made a little tradition of predicting the winners for the Wissota 100. Last year I was 2-for-6, picking Dan Ebert to win the modifieds and Shane Sabraski to win the super stocks. My other picks were not so accurate although those cars contended at least.
I did get a pre-entry list from Wissota at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday — keep in mind I’m guessing more will register Tuesday night or when they come to the track later in the week. That list is a guide for my picks but there could be others not pre-registered who could contend.
Wissota Late Model
Defending Champion: Jimmy Mars
Contenders: Chad Becker, Jimmy Mars, Dave Mass, Danny Vang, Shane Edginton, Cole Searing, Don Shaw, Pat Doar
RaceChaser pick: Pat Doar
If Mars returns to defend his title, he easily is on my list of contenders. Chad Becker of Aberdeen is a former Wissota 100 champion and is the national point leader.
Veteran Pat Doar is on the pre-registration list, and won the $5,000 to win late model challenge series race at I-94 in May. He also won Night 2 of the Hibbing Labor Day Shootout, the second night of the USA Nationals (local lates), and lost a hard-fought duel with Mars at the Silver 1000.
Dave Mass is the 2021 I-94 Late Model champion and is really good at the 3/8-mile oval; he made a late surge at Mars last year before coming up short. Vang has four wins the season and 24 top fives as of Sept. 4, and won at I-94 earlier this season. Edginton finished second to Searing in the 2022 Wissota Late Model Challenge Series points.
Searing is the defending Wissota Late Model national champion, and picked up a big $5,000 win at Ogilvie earlier this season. He’s focused on the challenge series and bigger-paying shows this season. If Don Shaw races at the track he owns, he will be in contention. He is coming off of his biggest win of the season at the Seitz Memorial on Sept. 10.
It’s hard to say how many Wisconsin cars will attend so I don’t know where to factor that in.
My pick is Doar. You can’t pick against him when money is on the line, and frankly is a bullet on 3/8-mile tracks.
Wissota Midwest Modified
Defending Champion: Lucas Rodin
Contenders: Lucas Rodin, Jake Smith, Brock Gronwold, Zach Benson, Brendan Blascyk, Mike Nichols, Travis Saurer, Kennedy Swan, Tony Leiker
RaceChaser pick: Zach Benson
There are so many potential contenders in this class it’s hard to narrow it down to less than 10. But I will try. Rodin is the defending national and Wissota 100 champion. While he won’t repeat this year — he’s had some bad luck with some DNFs — he still has nine wins and won the Rebel Midwest Mod Tour for a second straight year. He also won a big $5,000 race at Cedar Lake Speedway.
As of Sept. 5, Smith is the national point leader and has 21 wins, the most of any midwest modified driver this year. He wasn’t on the pre-registration list but could attend. Through his first 64 starts he had 43 top fives.
Gronwold is a former national and I-94 champion and while he hasn’t raced as often this year, is always a threat at his hometown track.
Blascyk won track championships at I-94 and Viking for the first two points championships of his career. He has five wins this season and 22 top fives in 26 starts. Nichols won the $3,000 Rebel Mid Mod finale at Sheyenne Speedway on Labor Day for his biggest payday of his career. Saurer, running one of his dad’s 42 cars, is always a threat in this class; he’s a four-time national champion.
Wisconsin teenager Kennedy Swan is an up-and-coming talent in the class and has raced all over Wissota, and I think that experience makes her a contender. Tony Leiker of Wyoming ran well there in the past and is very formidable.
Zach Benson won the track championship at Ogilvie and has 10 wins this season, and has run well at his I-94 appearances this season, so he’s my pick. I expect this to be a very wide open field.
Wissota Modified
Defending Champion: Dan Ebert
Contenders: Tyler Peterson, Brady Gerdes, Johnny Broking, Dan Ebert, Shane Sabraski, Dave Cain, Mike Stearns, Don Eischens
RaceChaser pick: Tyler Peterson
Gerdes is the I-94 track champion, along with the Viking champion, and seems to rise to the occasion at big races. He has four wins this season but usually finds his way to the top five. Broking is the two-time Advantage RV Mod Tour champ and has 10 wins this season, and won the tour race at I-94 in August. If Ebert is in attendance he has to be considered a prime contender to repeat.
Sabraski and Cain are long-time veterans with hundreds of wins (apiece) whose racing resumes speak for themselves. They know how to contend for wins at special events. Superman Mike Stearns is a former national champion and has nine wins. The Iceman Don Eischens has seven wins this season and is another guy who is a steady veteran.
Ebert is the defending champion and never to be counted out in a big race at I-94. I’ve seen him put on some shows there over the years.
My pick is Peterson, who is on his way to a second straight national title and has 25 Wissota wins this season. He’s won at Casino, Greenbush, I-94, Madison, Buffalo River, Norman County, Bemidji and River Cities, showing he can win at a lot of different types of racetracks.
Wissota Street Stock
Defending Champion: Parker Anderson
Contenders: Kyle Dykhoff, Justin Vogel, Braden Brauer, Ty Agen, Maria Broksieck, Kyle Anderson, Jonny Carter, Jeremy Castro,
RaceChaser pick: Kyle Dykhoff
Parker Anderson has moved into the modified class this year although he’s raced Scott Bintz’s car a handful of times. If he does this at the 100, I would add him to the contender list.
Dykhoff (25 wins) and Vogel (18 wins) are locked in a great battle for the Wissota Street Stock national title. Brauer is fourth and also in the hunt. Agen won the Steffes Tour stop at I-94 in May and is an emerging talent in the class. Anderson is a good, steady performer at most events.
Maria Broksieck is one of the top runners in eastern South Dakota and is fifth in national points. I like the way she races.
Three Montana drivers are in the top 10 of national points, and I’m not sure if they will attend — Jeremy Castro (third), Robert Petroff (sixth) and Troy Cepak Jr. (10th). Castro, as of Sept. 5, has 15 wins, and I would consider him a contender if he attends. I’ve seen Castro race in the past and if he comes he’s a contender. I-94 isn’t Jonny Carter’s best track but he’s not afraid to mix it up with the contenders there, and with the right draw, could be in the hunt.
I would include multi-time I-94 Ryan Satter in this if he races — I checked with him and he said he’s very unlikely to run this year after getting his street wrecked at Viking on Labor Day weekend. There also are some Wisconsin cars who would be in the hunt if they attend.
My pick is Dykhoff even though I have a hard time picking against Vogel. The street stocks always race hard and put on a good show and I’d expect no different at the 100. Any of the drivers I listed could win it.
Wissota Super Stock
Defending Champion: Shane Sabraski
Contenders: Shane Sabraski, Dexton Koch, Dylan Nelson, Trevor Nelson, Jacob Knapper, Trevor Saurer, Dave Mass, Dustin Nelson
RaceChaser pick: Shane Sabraski
This is a class I don’t know totally who will show up, so it’s a little harder to pick contenders in this class. That is why I’m reluctant to list a lot of contenders in this race.
Koch is having a great year and is second in national points; as of Sept. 5 he has 20 wins this summer. Dylan Nelson is an excellent racer from the Brainerd region and has 10 wins this season and 33 top fives in 39 starts. Both are pre-registered.
Knapper is the Fiesta City Speedway champion who has nine wins this season. Saurer’s busy trucking schedule limits his racing, but he is the 2022 Viking champion and has seven wins in 14 starts. Mass is preregistered in the supers and always is a threat. If South Dakotan Trevor Nelson attends, which I hope he can, he’s a factor. He has had a remarkable summer with 18 wins in 26 starts, and is coming off of a dominating win at Madison on Sunday.
I don’t get to see Dustin Nelson of Ogilvie race very often but he is dang tough in the supers.
But how can a person pick against Sabraski, who has 32 wins this season in 41 starts. He’s the defending champion and the favorite wherever he unloads. I’m picking a repeat.
Wissota Mod 4
Defending Champion: Tommy Bawden
RaceChaser blog; Tommy Bawden, Dustin Holtquist, Skyler Smith, Tyler Larson, Bob Holtquist
This is not a class that races regularly in RaceChaser land but I’ve followed a few shows at Brainerd and Princeton. You have to look at the top national point cars as contenders.
As of Sept. 4 Dustin Holtquist holds an 18-point lead over Dean Larson for the national points lead, with Bawden just 20 points back. Between those three they have 47 wins. Bob Holtquist has 10 wins this season, while Bemidji driver Skyler Smith has 11.
Again I’m not sure which Wyoming drivers who will attend —there are three in the top 10 of national points.
I’m going with Bawden to repeat in what should be a very competitive field. My only request is the feature doesn’t last an hour or more.
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