Veralrud aims to finish 2026 strong in both IMCA and Wissota cars

He’s raced in several different classes in his career, but Austin Veralrud feels he’s found a home in the B modified class.

Veralrud has raced hornets, pure stocks, and even dabbled briefly in the A mod class.

He actually has two cars – an IMCA Sport Mod and a Wissota Midwest Modified – that he races locally at tracks such as Fix It Forward Speedway, Norman County Raceway in Ada, Buffalo River Speedway near Glyndon and I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls.

“I feel like this is where I belong,” Veralrud said. “It’s competitive, it’s affordable. I feel like I don’t need to be a scientist to set it up. I enjoy this.”

Like many in the Red River Valley, Veralrud started in go-karts before moving into race cars.  The Veralrud name is familiar to most in the region – his great uncle, Lawrence, ran in the lightning sprint class until he was 80. His dad, Kevin raced and so did his brother, Ryan. And Austin and Ryan’s kids are now in the karts.

“It’s definitely in the blood,”  Veralrud said.

Kevin Veralrud still hops behind the wheel a few times a year, driving the IMCA Sport Mod he co-owns with Austin.

“When I take a night off, he’ll run it,” said Veralrud, who works in finance for Outlet Recreation.

Veralrud’s 2025 campaign was solid, as he finished in the top five in more than half of his starts. Included in those seven top fives was a feature win at Fix It Forward Speedway on May 9, 2025.

“It went well. We got one win, but we were always there,” Veralrud said. “With this class, the more consistent you are, the further back you start. We’d start in the back and make our way to the front. It’s a tough class.”

He’s raced his IMCA car five times. The season got off to a rough start in that car as he blew the motor on the warmup laps at Fix It Forward Speedway on May 29. Since then, he’s finished in the top five twice in that car, included a runner-up finish at Fix It Forward on June 5. He also finished fifth in the Bitker B Mod brawl on June 25, which pitted the IMCA Sport Mods vs. the Wissota Midwest Mods.

“Although we started the year off on a on a low after a major heartbreak with the engine in the sport mod, we have two really good cars and it seems so far we’ve been able to be pretty competitive wherever we show up,” Veralrud said.

He’s hoping to race the Wissota Midwest Modified more often in the weeks ahead.

“I’m most excited about getting the Midwest Modified out and seeing how I can do with that one after getting some bugs worked out of it,” Veralrud said. “The Midwest mods brings new competition so it’s interesting to see how we do against a new group of racers.”

While he hopes to be in the hunt for some feature wins, Veralrud’s sole focus isn’t about the finishes.

“Just always have fun,” Veralrud said. “I’ve been doing this long enough, if you get serious about it, you don’t enjoy it.  As long we’re putting in in trailer and in one piece, we can do our best and have a good time as a family. It’s never fun to go home crabby.”

Driver Profile

Austin Veralrud

IMCA Sport Mod and Wissota Midwest Modified #6

Age: 32

Residence: Audubon, Minn.

Sponsors: Outlet Recreation, Cormorant Store, Parallel 46, Kropf Park Models, Haunted Farm, Mainline Bar and Grill, Earthwork Dirt Services, Mcnelius Steel, Scott Breidenbach at Beyond Realty, Sloughview Taxidermy, Snacks Plus, Prophase Electric, Vantage Resource Group, Shane Richard for Becker County Sheriff