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  .: March 19, 2018 :.

Rice Lake Speedway Readies for 2018 Opener

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI – Just less than a month away, as the opening night for the 2018 racing season approaches, both racers and track management continue preparations for the sixty sixth consecutive year of racing at the venerable oval on Rice Lake's North side.

Drivers and crews are hustling to get their racing machines completed and ready to roll for the first practice night of the season, scheduled for April 11th with one to follow on the 12th. Whether drivers and crews are building new cars or freshening up last year's wheels with new improvements, it often comes right down to the wire to have the cars buttoned up and ready to roll for opening night.

Several drivers have jumped the gun this year and while we are still waiting for the snow to finish melting in Barron County, some racers have already put in time behind the wheel, racing in special events in Kansas and other parts of the country.

It should be an exciting year of racing with all of last year's champions and honored drivers expected to return but with a twist as several have moved on to race in different divisions for 2018, thus adding a little extra interest to the mix.

Track officials patiently wait for the last snow to melt so track prep wizards Mitch Hansen and Duane Bisonette can get on the race track and began to prepare it for practice night action while the final details of the schedule are ironed out. The 2018 season should be an interesting one with a couple of new events that are sure to draw the interest and attention of both fans and drivers alike.

New for 2018 is the first appearance of the Advantage RV Modified Touring Series with a date scheduled during Aquafest on June 6th that should bring in the best of the Modified drivers from throughout the WISSOTA region, many of them never having been at Rice Lake before.

A second Late Model date, slated for May 12th , has already drawn much interest and attention among both the Late Model drivers and fans of that particular class of race cars to go along with the highly successful Challenge Series race for the Late Models slated for July 28th.

The first chance to preview the cars and stars of the Rice Lake Speedway will be on April 5-8 when the Cedar Mall is expected to be jammed with drivers anxious to show off their new racing machines. Schedules and information about the season will be available there and drivers are encouraged to register for the WISSOTA season at that time, as no licenses will be done at the track this year.

For the latest information on the track, log on to the speedway website at www.ricelakespeedway.net or check the speedway facebook page.