12/18/2024
Dells Raceway Park
Wisconsin’s Best Racing Entertainment - NASCAR's Newest Track
Wisconsin Dells WI 12/18/24-Dells Raceway Park living up to its slogan as NASCARS's newest Weekly Series track.
Wisconsin is known for producing some of short-track racing’s greatest stars.
Drivers like Dick Trickle, Rich Bickle and Joe Shear set the bar for excellence on short tracks across the Badger State, winning so many races that historians have lost count of exactly how many wins each driver earned during his respective career. Others like Matt Kenseth, Ty Majeski, Johnny Sauter and Travis Kvapil used the skills they acquired at Wisconsin short tracks to claim championships in NASCAR’s national divisions.
Jerry Auby is well versed on the history of short-track racing in Wisconsin. He spent 25 years racing at short tracks across the Midwest before becoming the general manager and later the owner of Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
He has made it his personal mission to help prepare the next generation of NASCAR stars, which is why he recently announced Dells Raceway Park would join the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series beginning in 2025.
“It’s about strengthening the growth of short-track racing in Wisconsin,” Auby said about becoming part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. “We can’t lose any more tracks, and we need to have fan-friendly entertainment that people can tie into what they see on TV and see the growth of the sport from the grassroots level and get to NASCAR.
“There is some fan excitement to be built by having NASCAR tracks in Wisconsin and these drivers competing at several tracks in the state.”
Dells Raceway Park, a third-mile paved oval, opened for business in 1963. It’s been a fixture of Wisconsin short-track racing culture for decades despite a few periods of inactivity.
Auby first became associated with Dells when he started working with former track owner and promoter Wayne Lensing, who also owns the renowned chassis manufacturer Lefthander Chassis.
Lensing became owner of Dells Raceway Park in 2012, and with the help of Auby, he made it one of the most successful short tracks in Wisconsin. Auby purchased the track from Lensing in 2021.
“I had an injury from snow shoveling, believe it or not, and I was out (of racing), and I started helping Wayne Lensing at Dells Raceway Park,” Auby explained. “It progressed to taking over the place and then finally buying the place.
“I didn’t actually ever think the dream (of owning a race track) would ever come true. I didn’t think I would make it to this point, but it was always in the back of my mind.”
Dells Raceway Park hosts racing from April to October each season, including the Alive for 5 Series and the National Short Track Championship.
Dells Raceway Park hosts weekly racing from April to October. Auby says Late Models will be the track’s Division I class, but Super Late Models will continue to be a key part of the track’s racing program thanks to the popular Alive for 5 Series.
Created by Auby and Lensing, the Alive for 5 Series is a five-race miniseries for Super Late Models that features larger race purses and a championship purse.
Dennis Prunty, a veteran Midwestern short track competitor, won the inaugural Alive for 5 Series championship in 2018. Other series champions include Dalton Zehr, Casey Johnson, Luke Fenhaus and Gabe Sommers.
“When I was looking at the schedule, it was exhausting for these teams to race 20, 40, 60, 80 times a year, and the money simply wasn’t in the budget as Super Late Model costs escalated,” Auby said. “My thought process on the whole deal was we need to come up with something that matters and make each race worth coming to.
“Just having one-off events wasn’t drawing the cars, wasn’t drawing the fans, wasn’t drawing the support that it needed to survive. So we had to make something work, and that’s where the five-race series came from.”
The 2025 season at Dells Raceway Park begins April 12 with the running of the IceBreaker 100, the first race in the Alive for 5 Series. The weekly racing opener is scheduled for May 3.
Additional Alive for 5 Series events are scheduled for June 7 (Trickle 99), June 28 (Dairyland 100), Aug. 9 (Badger State 100) and Oct. 18 (Falloween 100).
RELATED: Full 2025 Dells Raceway Park schedule
https://www.dellsracewaypark.com/schedule/?y=2025
Another notable part of the Dells Raceway Park schedule is the National Short Track Championship. Initially created by the Deery family and held at Illinois’ Rockford Speedway for more than half a century, the event moved to Dells Raceway Park last season following the closure of Rockford.
The move, which came with the blessing of the Deery family, allowed one of Midwest short track racing’s greatest traditions to continue despite the closure of Rockford. The 60th edition of the National Short Track Championship is scheduled for Sept. 12-13.
“Our slogan is Wisconsin’s best racing entertainment, and we truly live up to that,” Auby said.
With the addition of Dells Raceway Park, the state of Wisconsin now has two tracks in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway, the home of Oktoberfest Race Weekend, is also part of the program.
Auby is adamant that the future of NASCAR rests squarely on short tracks across America and vice versa. By joining the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, he believes he’s doing his part to help NASCAR thrive while also developing future NASCAR stars as well as future NASCAR fans.
“It comes from the top down,” Auby said. “If NASCAR is healthy, we need to try and make NASCAR healthy. We need to work together. We need NASCAR’s numbers to go up, and we’re begging that their stands are full, because when their stands are full, our stands are full.
“That’s how I envision this thing. We need NASCAR at the local level.”
The 2025 Pre-Season Holiday Season Ticket Sale is underway with Dells Raceway Park now offering for 2025 a 20 punch card season ticket pass for family friendly entertainment. These cards are good for any Dells Raceway Park event in 2025 with only one black out date of August 30th ASA Midwest Tour Event. Use it 20 times or bring a group as large as 20 for one low price. Simply click the link below to skip the lines & save and we will get it mailed to your door. The Perfect Christmas Gift for the race fan on your list. Holiday Sale Ends December 31st
Click Link for Tickets (Punch Card for 20)
https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/3234/tickets
Photo Credits : Bruce Nuttleman; Jeff Taber
Article Credit: Adam Fenwick
Submitted By: Jerry Auby