Rice Lake Speedway Wet; Huge Events On Tap For The Track

By Ed Reichert

Rice Lake WI, July 25 – Several rounds of rain plus the threat of more severe storms in the early evening were more than enough to cause track owners Mitch Hansen and Dave Adams to cancel the racing program Saturday night at the Rice Lake Speedway. The grounds were already heavily soaked from eleven inches of rain during the week at the track and when following some early afternoon rains the threat for severe storms was posted, the program was canceled about 3:30 pm. With it being Kid's Night at the track and the likelihood of a large number of youngsters on the property, it was especially important to provide for their safety, thus the early call of the show.

The Kid's Night activities, including the Meet the Driver session on the race track plus the bike giveaways have been moved to the racing program on Saturday night, August 22nd with a rain date of August 29th. Over fifty bikes had been collected as of Saturday morning and anyone else interested in donating a bike for a child should contact either Crystal at 715-410-5550 or Megan at 715-205-1101.

Next up for the speedway are two huge events and among the most prestigious races to be held at the track all year. On Saturday night, August 1st, the fourth annual Mahder 55, a fifty five lap event for WISSOTA Late Models will be held at the track. Moved from the Red Cedar Speedway in 2020 to Rice Lake following the closing of Red Cedar for the season, this race honors the memory of Duane Mahder who was a Late Model champion at both tracks.

This will be the longest race contested at the track this year and the winner will go home with $5,555 in honor of Mahder's racing number. Also on the program that night will be WISSOTA Modifieds, Midwest Modifieds and Pure Stocks. Warm ups begin at 6:30 pm.

Scott “Bulldog” Andersen has been raising money to supplement the purse for this event since its inception and has been the driving force behind this race both at Red Cedar and also this year at Rice Lake. Andersen is still actively seeking marketing partners to help this race reach new levels as all monies collected will go to the Late Model driver's purse. Andersen can be reached at 863-604-1245 for those interested in helping out this great cause.

Following by just three short days, the twenty sixth annual Street Stock Little Dream race will take to the Rice Lake Speedway on Tuesday night, August 4th with a rain date of August 5th. This nationally famous race offers the Street Stock drivers of WISSOTA the highest winners share of any race in the United States for the Street Stock type cars. Last year Jimmy Randall won $25,000 for his win in the race and once again in 2020 the purse is expected to be large and the race a memorable one.

Famous for its concept which has been a staple of this race since its inception twenty six years ago, the basic purse is enhanced by contributions, both large and small, by businesses and fans on the night of the race. Much of the fun of the night is watching as the purse grows as announcements are made of people and businesses that have contributed to raise the winner's share, along with that of many of the other finishing positions. While last year's 25th anniversary race may have set a record hard to beat, the winner's share, along with the other positions in the main event, will be very large once again on the 4th of August.

The Street Stocks will be the only class on the program that night and they will run a series of double heat races used to determine the starting lineup for the main event. Drivers from five or more states are expected to be on hand to race on this night with most of the best drivers in the division sure to be racing in Rice Lake that night.

Once again in 2020, FYE Motorsports Promotions will be in charge of presenting the race and are currently working with businesses that would like to be a part of this great race but won't be on hand personally that night. If you are interested in being a part of this unique and noteworthy event, call Chris at 715-497-8916 for more information.

Check the speedway face book page throughout the next ten days for announcements about both races and the speedway website at www.ricelakespeedway.net.

Other specific questions should be directed to Dave Adams at 715-205-2861 or Mitch Hansen at 715-205-1122.