One-off tracks, tracks that Badger teams don’t often appear at, have a way of leveling the playing field, especially when it’s the first time, or the first time in say, 40 years the club has raced there. While the cream usually rises to the top, such venues often lead to first-time or seldom-seen winners. And so it could be this weekend at Eagle River Speedway.
Pulling into a track such as Eagle River, there will be many unknowns for teams. Someone who really did their homework might have an idea of the configuration (see Brad Weber’s story below for a tip). They’ll know the stated size of the track and that’s about it. This leaves guessing when it comes to gearing and set up. Their best guess to start the night will be to compare the new place to somewhere they’ve been before, according to Brandon Waelti.
RECENT HISTORY ON ONE-OFFS
Last year when the Advanced Fastening Supply Badger Midget Auto Racing Association traveled to Menomonie, Wisconsin’s Thunder Hill Speedway is a great example of the one-off theory. Here, rookie Parker Jones scored his first career win.
Veteran Kurt Mayhew was not someone who found Victory Lane often in Badger, but among his wins, were scores at Farley, Iowa in 2016 and 2021 at Tomahawk Speedway.
In 2019 Mike Stroik scored his only career BMARA feature win to date at Luxemburg Speedway, a track Badger had not visited since 1980. In that race he held off Badger Midget Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Olson.
BRAD WEBER’S EAGLE RIVER EXPERIENCE
BMARA veteran Brad Weber was a regular with the club from 1978 to 2003. It’s believed he’s the last midget feature winner at the track. That victory came in 1984 at what was then, “Riverside Raceway,” in Eagle River. While it was a Dairyland Midget Association Racing sanctioned event, the field would have been populated with many steel-block Badger regulars. Weber estimates Eagle River was one of “a handful of wins,” he had in his career.
He remembers the night well. It was, as he recalled, a “Tri-Oval,” of sorts. He was driving for Butch Dahlke and they had a new chassis, the first built by the veteran driver and owner. After a lackluster heat, with a motor that was acting up, Weber’s dad told him, “Just do what you can…”
Weber’s car dropped through the field like a lead balloon early in the feature. Then out of nowhere, halfway through the event, the engine cleared up. “Well, this should be fun," he thought to himself. Sure enough, he started picking off cars and with just a couple of laps left, he passed Dean Billings on the backstretch and sailed to the win. Jerry Swan, according to the records of Loren Olson’s book, “Midgets of Wisconsin,” finished third. Dahlke was ecstatic.
The race was extra special for Weber who is from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where his folks, Al and Ruth Weber owned a marina. This coupled with their Alouette snowmobile dealership made Eagle River (a boater’s paradise in the summer and “the snowmobile capital of the world" in the winter) a bit of a homecoming. There were a lot of friends from the region in the stands who would have never seen him race otherwise, according to Weber. Forty years later, it’s still a highlight for him.
Weber tells us he will be at the track this Saturday helping his stepson Aaron Muhle in the #24 car. Weber says he still has the trophy from that race 40 years ago and it may make an appearance this weekend.
Details and timing for the Eagle River event will be shared in the coming days. There are hotels available for teams and fans that are interested.
Article by Bill Blumer Jr. Badger Media Representative.
Photo part of the Brad Weber collection.
- William Blumer on Jul 17, 2024
- Article Date: 7/17/2024