Article used with permission from Joe Verdegan - http://www.verdeganelite.com/

After 10 years of racing on area dirt tracks, Benji LaCrosse can say he's "been there, done that."

The Luxemburg native who calls Green Bay home has won just about everything there is to win in the IMCA stock car and modified classes.

In his first full season of racing in 2000, he tied records held by veterans John Gregorich and Charlie Kroll while racing at Thunderhill Raceway in Sturgeon Bay, winning eight features in one year, including four in a row, in the stock cars.

He's won track titles at Luxemburg, Sturgeon Bay and Seymour. He's been an IMCA state champion, North Central regional champion and the sanctioning body's national champion in modifieds. In 2005, he became the first Wisconsin driver to win the modified feature at the IMCA Super Nationals at Boone, Iowa. The event is considered by many to be the Daytona 500 for weekly dirt track racers.

Just a few weeks ago, LaCrosse gave serious consideration to running for an IMCA national title, which would have meant racing three nights per week, and chasing races at tracks when his weekly tracks rained out.

Dan Lewis PhotoUsed with permission by Joe Verdegan

Perhaps one of Green Bay's busiest asphalt drivers is gearing up for yet another hectic schedule this summer.

Brett Piontek maintains two of his super late models he races at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna. He also drives a Mid American stock car owned by Jeff and Gary Tisler of Two Rivers on Saturday nights at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, where Piontek is the defending track champion.

With WIR's weekly program on Thursday nights and 141's weekly racing on Saturdays, it makes for some long weekends for the former dirt tracker.

This season will be more of the same. When WIR opens up on May 28, he'll race his Chevrolet Impalas on Thursday nights, while the Mid Am carries a Chevrolet Monte Carlo body and will be raced weekly at 141.

Jeff Blaser PhotoBy: Kevin Ramsell
He is following his parents footsteps, yes both of his parents who have both raced themselves in past. Now, 15-year-old Davey Pennel will be closely watched by his parents, Dean and Sonya, as he makes the move from SuperCups to a Limited Late Model stock car this season at Dells Raceway Park.

Last year, Pennel finished sixth in the adult division of the Central States Region Supercups, a car that is about half the size as what he will be competing in this season. He and his family aren’t going at it alone as they are getting help from 2006 NASCAR Elite Division Midwest Series Champion Tim Schendel, a fellow Sparta, WI resident.

Kevin Ramsell Photo“Years ago when my dad (Ron Schendel) owned La Crosse late models, Davey’s dad Dean drove for him for two years. And previous to that his brother Dennis drove for my dad as well,” Schendel recently stated. He lives in my hometown, so its been a relationship that has been around for a while.”

by Tony Veneziano
BAYTOWN, Texas -- Craig Dollansky is one of just three drivers that has competed in all 13 of the previous World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series events at Houston Raceway Park. Of those drivers, he is the only one that has yet to visit the winner's circle at the ¼-mile located in Baytown, Texas. He looks to change that this weekend as the series returns to the track for the first time since 2007 on Saturday, April 11 for a full night of racing. He is also chasing his first win as a member of Kasey Kahne Racing.

Dollansky competed in the state of Texas for the first time with the World of Outlaws in 1997 and visited Houston Raceway Park for the first time in 2000. He has one win in the Lone Star State, with that coming in 2001. He had finished on the podium in each of his last two starts at Houston Raceway Park as he closes in on a win at the track which was reconfigured to a ¼-mile a couple of seasons ago.

By: Kevin Ramsell
Tim Schendel felt there was one thing missing in his career with racing. Last season he found that and on top of that he finished third in points in his first full season with the American Speed Association Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment.

“I had a lot of fun,” the veteran driver from Sparta, WI recently stated. “Some of the other stuff I was getting into, the fun factor wasn’t as much. It wasn’t about racing and its all about racing here. It’s all about on track performance and all of the other things are set aside. Everyone you race with here is a tough competitor and everyone thrives to be the best. Every week, you get ten cars running up front and it’s very seldom that someone runs away with a race.”

Schendel finished third in the 2008 point standings behind his good friend Dan Fredrickson. He had two wins, one ECHO fast time award, four top-five’s and seven top-ten finishes. He also earned a “Touring Star” honor for the upcoming season.

By Matt Panure
It may have taken Jake Finney almost three and a half years to find victory lane, but once the 2006 Mid-American Stock Car Series Rookie of the Year did, he proved just how far he has come in such a short amount of time.

Finney had an incredible run in the Tisler Salvage Red Race at Wisconsin International Raceway in June, holding off a pair of three-time Mid-American champions in James Swan and Bill Prietzel to pick up his first ever MASCS win.

Proving that the win was no fluke, Finney and his team returned in August and dominated the Vercauteren Memorial Tisler Salvage Blue Race. In his short career, Finney has marked this as his biggest accomplishment.

“That’s something I can take with me anywhere,” said Finney who studies Business Administration at De Vry University. “When I look at the names on the trophy and the fact that I’m on it now is kind of a shock at first but now really feels me with gratitude.”

Certainly Finney should be proud to be mentioned in the same breath as MASCS champions Prietzel, Swan, Pete Hernandez and Eddie Hoffman.

By: Kevin Ramsell
The last name is a familiar name in racing with his grandfather, father and uncles creating a legacy for him to continue. In 2008, Travis Sauter made the most of his second year in the American Speed Association Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment in which he will continue as a Touring Star in 2009.

Sauter finished seventh in points with one ECHO fast time award, five top-five and nine top-ten finishes. The highlight of his season was winning the Lefthander Chassis Hard Charger Award in which he received a new Lefthander Chassis.

“The way the season started we were in the hunt for the championship and then we hit a rough patch starting with WIR that pretty much lasted until Marshfield.  I thought our car was really strong early in the year, and then guys sort of caught up to our speed a little bit,” Sauter stated.  “Then we had motor problems a few times and a flat tire at Milwaukee.  We weren’t terrible at any of the races; we just didn’t have the speed we had earlier.  Then we tested a couple times later in the season and finished strong at La Crosse.”

By: Kevin Ramsell
Jeff Kendall always has a smile on his face when he walks around the pits at Dells Raceway Park, an American Speed Association Member Track, in Wisconsin Dells, WI. He enjoys the sport he competes in and hopes for the opportunity to show his talent at a higher level in racing.

The Montello, WI driver recently captured his fifth championship at Dells Raceway Park this past season. “It’s pretty good here, the owners are really good, most of the drivers are really good and its tough competition. We only had one DNF this year,” Kendall stated. “This is a nice track and once you learn how to get around this track, you can go anywhere and race. The setup is about the same anywhere we go.”

In 2009, Kendall will be back at Dells Raceway Park to defend his championship and will also be looking at the American Speed Association Member Track National Championship.

By: Kevin Ramsell
As the inaugural American Speed Association Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment champion, Nathan Haseleu hoped that his 2008 season would have been better. But as he goes into the 2009 season, he is very optimistic that he will return to his championship level.

The Marshall, WI native had a tough start to the 2008 season as he had to use a provisional to get in the season opening event at Elko Speedway. But he was able to rebound by having three top-five and eight top-ten finishes in 14 starts this season.

“We have had a couple of good runs and we had a couple more that could have been good runs that didn’t work out. Kind of like everybody else if you look at the year,” Haseleu stated. “It’s been a struggle but I think we are heading in the right direction and hopefully next year we can be a little bit more competitive and run where I think we should.”