The Advanced Fastening Supply Badger Midget Auto Racing Association completed another successful racing year. We’ll take a week by week look at the highs and lows of the 2024 season in a couple of segments leading up to Christmas. And then we’ll gear up for the 2025 season beginning with coverage of the Badger contingent at the Chili Bowl Nationals and the schedule reveal.
For at least one BMARA team the 2024 season isn’t quite over as Cody Weisensel is entered in the POWRi Jr Knepper 55 event slated for December 14 at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, Illinois.
It was a cold start to the racing year for Badger as they rolled into a chilly and windy Beaver Dam Raceway to kick off the season. Twenty-six cars signed into the pits, with a lot of cars having some trouble during the evening. Only 20 cars recorded a time in Schonefeld qualifying and only 14 of 23 A-Main cars finished the race. When the dust settled, hometown hero Matt Rechek took the checkers in Craig Dori’s #38 over Weisensel and another Beaver Dam driver Aaron Muhle.
Five days later the BMARA was saddened to note the passing of popular car owner Donnie Kleven. Kleven’s slick looking #9 was piloted by another popular figure Kevin Olson. Olson’s last victory was in Kleven’s car.
The weekend of May 12th was a time of firsts for the club as second-generation driver Cale Coons stunned the field when he charged on the high side from his 12th starting spot at Kankakee County Speedway. In the closing laps he bested veteran Daniel Robinson to take the win. In doing so Coons became the youngest driver in AFS Badger history at the age of 15. He is the son of former BMARA regular Jerry Coons Jr.
The third-place finisher RJ Corson, also a second-generation driver, made it a special weekend for his team the next night at Sycamore Speedway as he led the Lyco Manufacturing Feature wire to wire. Like Coons, it was the first BMARA win for Corson. Todd Kluever ran a solid second and MARA regular Mark McMahill rounded out the podium for the co-sanctioned event.
The following weekend was one of the biggest of the year as Badger opened the Angell Park Speedway season with the Dahlke Memorial. The race was run to honor the memory of Addison and BJ Dahlke who perished in a tragic traffic crash in 2022. Over $11,000 was raised to more than double the purse for the event.
Coming to the green flag with just three laps to go the feature action was described thusly:
“Waelti, Taylor, Kluever, Stark and Weisensel brought the field down for the final laps. As they took the green, Waelti had the advantage and then Kluever snuck under Taylor in the second corner for the runner-up spot. Those two drag raced down the backstretch until Kluever got under Taylor in three, then next to Waelti in four. Kluever had the lead for several feet. As the two friends exited the corner, they banged wheels at least twice. Taylor capitalized and snuck under them both and had two lengths on Waelti as they started lap-24.
Taylor had the advantage on the high line, Waelti, leading Kluever, went low in the first corner. Taylor nipped Waelti with one to go at the line. Taylor then tried to take Waelti's line away in turn-one, as they circumvented the last lap. But, Taylor missed his mark and washed up to the middle of the track, allowing Waelti to get even in two and take a slight lead coming out of the turn. Taylor wasn't giving up and he powered around the high groove in the last two corners. This time, it was Waelti trying to take the line as he went high. Waelti left just enough room between himself and the wall, that Taylor snuck in. They banged wheels at the point they were getting their cars straight. They were both squirrely, but Waelti got straightened first and bolted to the checkers about a length ahead of Taylor.”
The ensuing week was one for announcements as the inaugural class of the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association Hall of Fame was revealed with 16 inductees to be honored later in the summer. The BMARA also announced, in association with MyRacePass, an online Fantasy Midget contest.
June 2nd saw Parker Jones sweep the night at Angell Park as he scored the Five-One Motorsports fastest time, won Behling Race Equipment Heat-Three and from his seventh starting spot took the A-Main. Derek Doerr was second and Rechek was third.
Excitement was dampened for two anticipated doubleheader weekends in June as only Sunday, June 8 was a go. The night prior at Sycamore was rained out as was the whole weekend of June 22 at Plymouth and APS.
The evening of June 8 started at Angell Park by noting the recent passing of MARA official Bill Shipman who passed away in a car crash on his way to a MARA event two days prior. On the track it was a Sun Prairie sweep with Waelti beating Kluever and Weisensel with all calling Sun Prairie home. It was at about this time Weisensel would find himself on top of the Badger points standings for the first time in his career.
The end of June was kinder to race fans and teams as Badger completed a doubleheader weekend starting at Beaver Dam and ending in Sun Prairie. Folks were treated to fireworks displays both nights.
At BDR Eric Blumer paced the first half of the race from the pole position until Waelti snuck under him. In the end Coons who charged from 14th finished second, Muhle was third and Blumer fourth.
It was another first-time winner the next night at Angell Park as rookie Luke Wackerlin took the checkers to close out the month. Kyle Koch paced the first several laps of the race before giving way to Mitchell Davis. A track rework helped to make two entertaining grooves. It took until the half-way point, but Wackerlin caught Davis. Coons and Parker Jones came into the picture, but Wackerlin held them off, becoming another rookie to take his first checkers with the BMARA. Jones was next, then Coons, Daniel Robinson and Davis. Koch suffered mechanical issues and did not finish the race.
July 10 marked the passing of longtime Badger competitor and innovator Dean Billings. Billings had been critically injured 25 years prior in a crash at Angell Park. He suffered a traumatic brain injury. While he was non-verbal from that point, he could communicate and did attend the races on occasion. He was remembered as a great man, a character and a real ambassador of midget racing by BMARA president Quinn McCabe.
More rainouts dictated most of July with weather winning two of the three scheduled events in the month including Eagle River Raceway. We’ll pick up with the July 28th go in our next segment.
Photo credit: Brown Photography
Article credit: Bill Blumer Jr.
- William Blumer on Dec 11, 2024
- Article Date: 12/11/2024