The New Year

First off, I'd like to wish everybody a belated Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a wonderful Holiday season with their family and friends.

I've spent the better part of the last three months compiling stats of a number of different drivers. Perhaps you've already had the chance to read the postings about the Gustin and Smith families and their abundant success in 2010. I also typed up a recap of sorts of the 2010 United States Modified Touring Series. I also took it upon myself to find results for the top five drivers in national points for IMCA, USRA, and Wissota. Those writings will be posted in the coming weeks as they are completed.

I just finished up with the Wissota drivers in all six divisions. I can honestly say I'm not familiar at all with Wissota, as I've only witnessed a few classes at a couple Minnesota tracks at which I was there for a different headlining event.

So I'll start off with the Wissota late model division. Ricky Weiss captured the late model crown in 2010 by a six-point margin. Perhaps the most intriguing number on his stat sheet was the number of races in which he participated. Weiss ran an astounding 85 nights on his way to 25 feature wins. He finished in the top five 57 times and in the top ten 69 times. He was the track champion at Red River Coop Speedway and second in points at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Jeff Wildung finished runner-up to Weiss by the six-point margin as mentioned. Wildung made 53 starts, garnering 23 feature wins and 47 top ten finishes. Of the top five drivers, Wildung had the highest total of average cars passed per race at 2.96. Wildung won the track championship at the Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Kyle Peterlin finished third in Wissota late model national points. His numbers included eleven wins and 47 top ten finishes in 59 starts. Peterlin was the only driver in the top five that recorded two track championships as he took honors at Proctor and Hibbing.

Mike Balcaen was fourth in the standings. He accumulated six wins 44 top ten finishes in his 56 starts. He finished in the top five in points at four different tracks, including second at River Cities Speedway.

Zach Johnson rounds out the top five in Wissota late model national points. He finished with eight wins and 36 top ten's in 43 starts. He boasted the highest average car count among the top five, averaging 23.39 cars in the field.

Wissota Modifieds
Blake Jegtvig took home the Wissota modified national title in 2010 behind the strength of 23 wins and 54 top ten finishes in 58 starts. He average 3.96 cars passed per race, tops among the top five drivers in the standings. He won the track championship at the Red River Valley Speedway.

Wisconsin driver Kevin Adams finished second in the standings, just thirteen markers behind. He recorded twenty feature wins along with 43 top ten finishes in 52 starts. He picked up track championships at Rice Lake Speedway and Red Cedar Speedway.

Joey Jensen wound up third in the points standings at year's end. Jensen won fifteen times and finished in the top ten 42 times in 53 starts. Jensen finished third in points at Ogilvie and fifth at Princeton. He also won the COMO modified series for Wissota by 43 points. He also finished fourth in the RaceMN series. Jensen also raced against the highest average car count at 24.54 cars per event.

Dave Cain would finish in the fourth position in the final points standings. He won fourteen feature events and garnered 51 top ten's in 59 starts. Cain also topped the RaceMN Series, a six-race schedule that only counts five of the six best point nights.

Jason Grimes rounds out the top five, but I'm sure a lot of drivers would love to have one just like it. He finished with fifteen feature wins and 49 top ten's in 57 starts. He had the worst average starting position, but was still able to pass nearly 3.5 cars per race while racing against the second highest average car count among the top five drivers.

Wissota Midwest Modifieds
An unimaginable season. There's no better way to describe it. Brandon Davis took home top honors in this division with an incredible 43 feature wins and 71 top ten's in his 78 starts. While his average car count was nearly 3 cars/race less then the rest of the top five, Davis still had to work for his success as he passed 3.8 cars per race. He picked up four track championships along the way.

Shane Sabraski finished second in the standings by just six points. Sabraski also recorded a great season, picking up 31 feature wins and 64 top ten finishes in 72 races. He won a track championship at Brainerd while finishing in the top five at two other tracks. Sabraski and Davis ran head-to-head at Willmar all season long.

Dan Ebert was third on the season ending points total. He racked up an impressive 23 wins and 68 top ten's in 75 starts. He had the highest rate of passing cars at 4.9 per event. He won two track championships and finished second at Brainerd behind Sabraski.

Travis Saurer posted impressive numbers as well. He scored 24 wins and 65 top ten's in his 76 starts. He held the highest average car count at 25.82 per event. He won a track championship as well as finishing in the top five at two other tracks.

Ryan Mikkelson finished fifth in the final standings. He captured 20 features and 56 top ten finishes among his 64 starts. He picked up the track championship at the Red River Valley Speedway.

Wissota Super Stocks
Dave Mass took home top honors in the Super Stock division by sixteen points. He picked up 21 feature wins and 54 top ten's in 59 starts. He passed 2.6 cars per event, tops among the top five drivers in the standings. He picked up track championships at Ogilvie and Princeton.

Shane Kisling finished second in the standings. He boasted 20 feature wins along with 43 top ten's in 54 starts while racing against the highest average car count at 20.39 per event.

Don Eischens won seventeen features on his way to a third place finish in the standings. He finished in the top ten 58 times in 63 starts. He won two track championships.

Tim Johnson was the only driver to finish in the top five in two different divisions. His super stock numbers include fourteen wins and 53 top ten's in 62 starts. Johnson won a track championship and finished second and third, respectively, at two other tracks.

Cory Tammen rounded out the top five in points. He racked up 18 feature wins and 57 top ten's in 68 starts. He won two track championships and finished second at another.

Wissota Street Stocks
Danny Hanson won the street stock title by seventeen points. He piled up 33 wins and 53 top ten's in 59 starts. He passed 4.1 cars per event, nearly double the next closest among the top five drivers. Hanson picked up track championships at three different tracks.

Tim Johnson recorded 30 wins and 59 top 10's in his 64 starts on his way to finishing second in the standings. He captured two track titles along the way.

Rusty Kollman nailed down seventeen feature wins and 62 top ten's in his 69 starts. He held the highest average car count at 19.03 per event. He picked up a track championship as well.

Zach Manley finished fourth in the standings. He secured fifteen wins and 38 top ten's in 48 starts. He finished in the top five at three separate tracks.

Rounding out the top five was Kevin Schmidt. He garnered thirteen wins and 31 top ten's in 42 starts.

Wissota Mod 4
Rob VanMil had an incredible season on his way to winning the national championship. He posted 38 wins and 70 top ten's in 77 starts. He passed 3.6 cars per event, tops among the top five drivers in the standings. He picked up three track championships and finished fourth at another.

Josh Abrahamson finished second in the standings. He picked up 20 wins and 58 top ten's in 69 starts. He won a track championship while finishing in the top ten at three others. He also boasted the highest average car count of 18.25 per event.

Corry VanMil was third in the standings. He finished with ten wins and 61 top ten's in 67 starts. He finished in the top five at three different tracks, and sixth at another.

Dean Larson finished fourth despite only having four wins to his credit. He was a model of consistency, however, as he recorded 76 top ten's in 79 starts. He finished second in points at three separate tracks and third at another.

Conrad Schwinn rounds out the standings in fifth. He finished with seven wins and 34 top ten's in 39 races. He picked up the track championships at Bemidji.


That wraps up the top five in each division of the 2010 Wissota National Championship standings. If the above interested you at all, be sure to check in periodically for either the USRA or IMCA standings.


I'm sure many of you checked out the series premiere of Dirt Knights, a reality tv series showcasing the United States Modified Touring Series. It airs at 5pm central time on the Versus Network. I thought the first episode was pretty good and very informative. After seeing the footage it gave me a little more insight to some of the personalities of the drivers. While I already talk to many of the drivers involved, I don't know what they are like outside of raceday. This tv series will likely bring a whole new perspective as to the preparation and organization these teams must endure throughout the lengthy season.

As I write this (Friday night), a few races are already being run. The Ice Bowl in Talladega, Alabama is on the schedule for this weekend as well as the Wild West Shootout in Tucson, Arizona. Next week many people will flock to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Chilli Bowl.

And speaking of upcoming races, Jeff Broeg has expanded the listing of special events on the calendar tab here at Positivelyracing.com to include all the neighboring states of Iowa. Be sure to check it out! I have also just uploaded my 2011 racing calendars to my personal website. As always it's a work-in-progress this early in the year. For those that are interested, I have blank calendars as well that you can print off to write your own race schedules. Check out http://tapfanstours.freehosting.net and click on the appropriate link(s).

I've taken up waaaay too much of your time already. Here's hoping for a great 2011 racing season!!

- Racing may be a hobby, but it's DEFINITELY addictive!!