(West Salem , WI – Sept. 25, 2013) Last year Skylar Holzhausen became the sixth different winner of the Dick Trickle “99” event at the 43rd annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend. The event, held at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin has become a popular tradition and on many drivers’ bucket lists.
Last year, Holzhausen was presented the trophy by the legend, himself, that the race was named after.
This year’s winner will not have that unique experience of sharing the victory lane stage with Dick Trickle, who passed away earlier this year. Holzhausen and five other drivers will have that ever-lasting memory. Steve Holzhausen (2007), Nathan Haseleu (2008), Chris Weinkauf (2009), Dan Fredrickson (2010), Neil Knoblock (2011), and Skylar Holzhausen (2012).
“To be the last one to receive a trophy from him and have it signed by him, that is special,” Skylar Holzhausen recently said. “Without him, it will be a bigger deal this year to win his race and celebrate his memory. Trickle was a friend to everyone and he will be missed at Oktoberfest this year.”
The seventh running of the “Dick Trickle 99″ will take place on the second night of the 44th annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend, on Friday, October 4th. This unique event is designed after the famous Milk Bowl held every Fall at Thunder Road Speedway in Barre, Vermont.
The 99-lap race is broken down to three 33-lap segments where drivers earn points from where they finish in each segment. The driver with the lowest number of points after all three segments is the winner. Point distribution is simple; it is one point for first, two points for second, etc.
“You have to qualify well for this event. You have to run good during every segment and you have to run hard giving it 100% the entire time,” Holzhausen said. “There is also more thinking involved because you are not only racing on the track, but also thinking about who you have to finish ahead of, or pass to win the overall race.
“It is also the event that typically has the highest car count of the weekend. It is very competitive. I also think it is a better show for the fans because they can count points as well with the scoresheets the track hands out. It is a very interesting event for a fan and a competitor. I bet fans do about the same strategizing like what we do in the pits.”
Last year, between the second and third segment, Holzhausen and Trickle had a quick discussion.
“After the second segment, we were sitting there parked close to the concession stands and Trickle walked over to talk to me and my dad,” Holzhausen recalls. “I told Trickle I would see him on the stage after the race and he gave me this look like I didn’t know what I was talking about. I won the race and as I was walking up onto the stage, Trickle looked at me and said, ‘You told me I would see you up here.”
“It was a special moment because my entire family has been friends with Trickle for a long time. It is a moment that I won’t ever forget.”
Holzhausen has a bigger goal this year at Oktoberfest.
“I would like to win the Oktoberfest 100,” Holzhausen exclaimed. “I want to win the big race on the last day of Fest. I want to get my name in the record books as an Oktoberfest winner. That win for me is like someone winning the Snowball Derby or the Daytona 500.”
The 44th annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend will take place on October 3,4,5,6 at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin. More information about this historical racing weekend, please visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com.