Wilmot Speedway:
Wisconsin’s Home of Sprint Car Racing
By Mike Babicz

Life on the edge.

That is what the sport of sprint car racing is for competitors and fans alike.

Wilmot Speedway, a one-third mile clay oval facility located on the Kenosha County Fairgrounds in Wilmot, Wis., has become the nation's unofficial sprint car capital Averaging 40 methanol alcohol breathing, 800-plus horsepower unpredictable winged wonders, Wilmot has the highest weekly average car count out of any of the estimated l00-plus tracks in the U.S. hosting these machines on a weekly basis.

"Why it's so popular here more than in any other part of the country, I don't have a clue," said Andy Calin, Premier Racing Productions, Inc. of Antioch promoter of Wilmot for the past five seasons.

At a June special, a track and Wisconsin state record 69 cars were on hand. We still didn't have everybody," said Calin, shaking his head .”It's unbelievable.”

The appeal for drivers and spectators, according to Calin, is, ‘the speed and wildness’. Racing on the ragged edge like no other short track racing. All of the time, the car is on the edge."

As a result, there is a lot of darting, inside, outside, to the top and bottom of the track, The "Indy cars of short track racing," as They are referred, are the most unpredictable and lightest kind of racing machines seen at a local Saturday night program.

In weight-power ratio, the cars at Wilmot are required to weigh a minimum of 1550 pounds, including the driver. With the weight being similar to an Indianapolis or CART Championship type car, the sprint car 4l0 cubic inch engine puts out nearly the same horsepower, in the 800 - 850H.P. range.

“For sure, it's the excitement, the thrill, unlike any other racing event there is,” Calin said. “It's controlled chaos.”

“I remember our first sprint car show, when we signed up with a promoter named Van Patton,” said retired Wilmot promoter Ray Toft, of Toft Auto Racing, Inc. of Antioch. It had to be over 20 years ago. We almost canceled because Van Patton didn't bring enough cars with him. Then we let some of our super-modifieds run to make it a show and it ended up pretty good .”

Toft, with his wife, Joan, operated the facility and were involved in it in one way or another since 1954.Determination and hard work can sometimes offset the advantages created by high-dollar race teams in racing. The efforts of the budget racer on the short track level can often seem to be the ultimate challenge as those that operate with a little less fight for their moment of glory on the racetrack.

The Tofts turned the track over to their daughter, Debbie, and son-in-law, Andy Calin in 1994.
“As a group, the IRA (Interstates Racing Association), wanted to go to full sprints with a direct drive." Toft recalled, noting the movement started in the early 1980's. “Mainly, the drivers wanted to get away from starters, which we had on the supermodifieds. This would allow them to compete in other sprint car shows.”

The original IRA charter filed in 1968 has a board of directors including Toft; Whitey Harris, then of Lake Villa; Junior Dodd of Beach Park (Waukegan), Roger Otto of Burlington, Wis., Bill Bohn of Bristol, Wis.; Ken Monroe of Genoa City (Pell Lake), Wis. and Fred Nielsen of Lake Villa.

' “For a long time, Wilmot was the only track around that ran sprint cars,” Toft said. This season. Wilmot continues to be the only track with a weekly Saturday sprint car program running from May through September.

The only exception is due to a Kenosha County Fair Board decision discontinuing the extremely popular standing room only drawing Saturday fair sprint car race in August.

Over the years, Wilmot has hosted its weekly Star Trac Outlaw Sprints, with special events featuring traveling groups.

The United States Auto Club (USAC) nationally sanctioned winged and non-winged sprints, the Ohio-based All Star Circuit of Champions and the Midwestern-regional based IRA Outlaw Sprints have had events.

Toft began “the original open competition sprint car showdown.” know simply as "The Wilmot Open" back in 1980, which was not sanctioned by any organization for many years.

During its truly open status, it drew many top sprint car drivers in the country. Among those were Dave Blaney, now in NASCAR Busch Series; Danny Lasoski of World of Outlaws (WoO); retired Rick Ferkel of Ohio, one of the original "Outlaws;" Indy Racing League champion and NASCAR Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart; and Jack Hewitt, Winningest active USAC sprint car driver, to name a few.

Over 90 percent of the current WoO competitors have competed at Wilmot at one time or another over the years.

“The Open” has also had its share of "hometown" winners including Billy "The Kid" Kojis of Milwaukee, who won the first event in a thrilling last lap finish. Beach Park's Joe Kristan, still a regular competitor at Wilmot, won in 1989.

The “King of Wisconsin” Sprint Challenge has replaced the Open, with Joe Roe, 7-time IRA champion and past Wilmot titlist, the overall winner in 1997. Dave Moulis of Johnsburg won the crown in 1998. This year's event winner was young hotshoe Todd Daun who competed weekly at Wilmot Speedway before joining the IRA tour in 1998.

The IRA began using Wilmot as its home track, then the club decided to go on the road.

Not all drivers wanted to travel. Following meetings with drivers, Toft implemented some cost-saving measures. Continued by Calin, the weight requirement, a spec right-rear McCreary tire and a certain exhaust header to cut down on horsepower just a little, have stayed in effect. These moves have been credited by promoter and competition alike with keeping sprint car racing at Wilmot as affordable and popular as it has, ”They're definitely moves in the right direction,” agreed former Wilmot champion Gib Wiser of Neosho, now a car owner and crew chief, “It is keeping it competitive.”

Our shows at Wilmot have proved to be better shows than traveling groups because they start the fast guys up front,” Toft explained. “It used to be years ago, the fastest guy started all the way at the rear. The cars became too equal, and it was difficult for the fastest car to move up. 'We used to have a eight or 10-car invert, based upon a pill the fast qualifier would draw,” Toft said, noting a six-car standard compromise was reached, meaning the fastest qualifier in the feature will start third row, outside, of the 20 car main event lineup.

“It's a lot better race,” Toft said of the invert. “The Little guy never has a chance when the fast guys start up front. The shows are more competitive. There's a lot of new guys, and even a girl. at Wilmot they all need a place m start”

“If it wasn't for Wilmot, they wouldn't have a place to get started.” Toft said, referring to the likes of Roe, originally of Zion now living in Pleasant Prairie, who calls Wilmot his “home track.”

Tim Cox of Park City, IL, who traveled with the USAC series for a number of years finishing as high as third in national points, got his start at Wilmot in the old non-winged Modified Racing Association (MRA) modifieds, graduating up to the sprints where he earned rookie of the year honors at Wilmot before going with USAC.

“The biggest thing about Wilmot, it is a pretty tricky track to get around because of its unique shape,” Cox explained. "If you can get your car hooked up at Wilmot you can run anywhere.”

The biggest reason Wilmot is so popular, there's no place you can go without driving 200 miles and run sprint cars, Cox said. “All of the horsepower, light-weightiness and quick response appealed to me.”, said Cox.

Toft recognizes moves to help “Low buck guys compete,” puts them at a disadvantage if they run with the likes of the WoO. "They can't compete with the Kinsers (Mark and Steve). Swindells Jeff and Sammy) and Lasoski," Toft said. ”Those guys are professionals. That's what they do for a living. They have major sponsorship deals.”

Star Trac sprint car runners at Wilmot have regular jobs. Among the professions are plumbers, painters, mechanics, business owners, factory workers, contractors, to name a few.

Lisa Heywood of Richmond, Antioch High School graduate and first year sprint car competitor, she is a insurance administrative assistant.

Sponsor dollars come from family, friends, local business owners. Not major corporations like “the big guns.” “We've always felt the more local people you can get into the racing game, they'll in turn put more people in the stands because their friends and neighbors will come to see them race,” Toft said.

Toft and Calin are in agreement, cost is going to be the major factor in whether sprint car racing continues to thrive at Wilmot, as well as throughout the country.

“It's at a crossroads,” Calin said. “It's to the point where the drivers can't be caught in the money equals speed issue.” “I believe they're spending money that they don't need to spend at this level,” Calla said, noting the Star Trac rules have been, and will continue to be in place in an attempt to keep costs down.

“The bottom line is they are allowing themselves to spend more money to get more speed because they want to try and be competitive with the likes of the WoO,” explained Calin. “They can't be. They don't have that kind of money behind them.”

“Its up to the promoters of sprint car racing to put the restrictions on the drivers,” Toft added. “Otherwise the drivers will just keep on spending the money.”

In the meantime, area residents are being treated to the most highly competitive and exciting form of short track racing there is. Sprint car racing.....running on the ragged edge.