The first annual Steffes Street Stock Tour is in the books. I’d define it as a tremendous success.
The top eight shows (out of 15 possible) counted towards the points. Jonny Carter won the tiebreaker by virtue of one more second place finish than Riley. Both had four tour wins; Jonny had four seconds. Yes, it was that close.
There was a point fund of $6,500 paid out for the tour which isn’t too shabby.
Some Tour Stats
—419 cars entered over 15 races
—155 different drivers
Highest Car Count: 36
Average Car Count: 28
15 total races at 13 Different tracks covering three states
Feature wins: Jonny Carter (4), Eric Riley (4), Justin Vogel (2), Ryan Satter (1), Todd Carter (1), Zach Elward (1), Jimmy “Nitro” Williams (1), Maria Broksieck (1)
Perfect Attendance (all 15 shows): Justin Vogel, Kyle Anderson, Eric Riley
If you based the success on car counts alone — then it passes with flying colors. But it goes beyond that. The racing was outstanding. Good, hard, clean racing without tearing up equipment. You had eight different feature winners. You had photo finishes, just as the ones between Eric Riley and Jonny Carter at River Cities Speedway and Viking Speedway. You had a great camaraderie among the drivers and their spouses/significant others.
I was a proponent of some kind of street stock tour in a blog last summer. With the Covid-19 restrictions I had serious doubt it would even take place. Not only would it take place, it flourished. Beyond any expectations I could have had.
Credit the drivers for supporting the tour. Credit the tracks for bring the streets in as a higher-paying show. Credit the sponsors and individuals who contributed to higher payouts.
But, most of the credit has to go to Benji Froemke, the co-promoter of Sheyenne Speedway who organized this and ran with it. He did some incredible groundwork to get this rolling and did a great job publicizing it and working with the tracks amidst the Covid chaos to get shows in. In fact, only one show was cancelled — and that was Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo, which did not open in 2020.
Enough from me. Let’s hear what the drivers themselves thought of the tour.
Eric Riley #51 Wissota Street Stock, Morris, Minn. (2nd in tour points, 4 tour wins)
“Steffes Street Stock Tour — one word: incredible. The racing, the fans, the payouts, the finishes, the hanging out before and after the races. Everything about this tour was incredible. Benji put in so much work to make this possible for us, and we truly appreciate everything he did for us. It was awesome to be running for mod/late model payout every night of the tour. Huge thanks to everyone who made this tour possible, from Benji, to the fans, to every single person/business who put money into the payouts.”
Todd Carter, #19 Wissota Street Stock, Lisbon, N.D. (5th in tour points, 1 tour win)
“This tour was by far the best part of my 40-year career! The young men that accepted me as one of the group and showed respect both on and off the speedway is something I will put towards the top of my racing highlights. The racing was awesome every night and at a very high level of talent. I was fortunate enough to win a show which was the highest paying race in my career — $1775 in a street stock. This thing is only gonna get better. Thanks to everyone that had anything to do with it!”
Kyle Anderson, #59 Wissota Street Stock, Jamestown, N.D. (6th in tour points)
“The street tour always seemed to be a unforeseeable dream, that would get talked about it in the pits when we would travel around and and talk to the other drivers and mainly would come up from the core group or drivers that followed the tour. Benji Froemke went and stuck his neck out big time for us as to what some tracks may be the "track packers" or beginners class and which I never felt that way. With the quality of racing every show of this tour and our payouts show that were the furthest thing from that. With the backing and fanbase this has brought to the street stocks has grown so much and there is so many businesses and fan that went out of there way to put money up for us from town to town and from all the drivers that very appreciated!”
Justin Vogel, #10 Wissota Street Stock, Brooten, Minn. (3rd in tour points, 2 tour wins)
“This year looked to be a complete disaster as far as where we could race and what it was going to mean for points. Thankfully we had the street stock tour! This has to be the funnest year of racing by far. I’ve made great friends with people I’ve only heard about or talked to for a few min here or there. I’ve watched racers that just can’t seem to get it done grow into winners on this tour. To say the tour was a success would be an understatement. The pay was amazing crowds were packed competition was top notch! I can’t wait for next year and years to come.”
Jonny Carter, #46 Wissota Street Stock, Lisbon, N.D. (Tour champion, 4 tour wins)
The tour in my eyes was a growing success all year! We were welcomed everywhere we went and the payouts grew almost everywhere we went. We were racing for basically late model pay at moat of these shows! As far as quality of racing I believe was as good as it gets! The tour just really showcased what these streeters do week in and week out everywhere they race. The best part of the tour for me is the relationships built with the others drivers. Its not just a buddy at the racetrack I have made lifelong friends during this deal!”
Daniel Aberle, #33 Wissota Street Stock, Finley, N.D. (7th in tour points)
“This tour to me has been the best experience. Meeting new drivers and running against new drivers has been an absolute blast. The bond and friendship we have is like no other class our there. I consider Riley, Vogel, Dykhoff, Andersons, and Carters family. Every track that I was able to go to the sponsors track and local businesses around that area really stepped up and really gave us a great amount to race for winning and even all the way back. The quality of racing, well, look at the finishes very close battles all the way through the field. When they say the best of the best running against each other they weren't wrong by all means. I just can't say enough about this tour beside I can't wait till 2021.”
Ryan Pommerer, #5P Wissota Street Stock, Oriska, N.D. (11th in tour points, lost tiebreaker for 10th)
“The tour has been great for the class. The increased payouts not just to win, but to start have been a big draw . It was fun to get back to some tracks we haven’t been to in a while. I race with the majority of the drivers that followed the tour. The tour allowed us to show the camaraderie between the drivers in the streeter class.”
Jake Froemke, #63 Wissota Street Stock, International Falls, Minn. (4th in tour points)
This tour has been a dream come true for me really, without the long haul bonuses and incredible payouts throughout the field every night, I would have probably never gotten to make it to at least half of the tracks on the schedule with how far away we live. The competition of the touring drivers was incredible, and combined with the home track competition it made for some awesome racing. The fact there were numerous drivers who won a tour race that weren’t even in the top 12 positions in tour points is awesome to see, which is a big part of what this tour is about. The inaugural 2020 Steffes Street Stock Tour was a huge success with great competition, sportsmanship, prizes/payouts, tracks, sponsors, and excitement! The tour could not have been possible without all the generous support from sponsors and race tracks. Definitely the most fun year of racing I’ve had. Really excited to see this tour grow even bigger and continue for years to come!”
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