West Salem, WI- The marquee event of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend returns to its roots this Sunday afternoon October 5th, at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway, as the Championship event is once again 200 laps in length. At its inception in 1970 when Tom Reffner placed his name in the record books, the prestigious event was known as the Oktoberfest 200.
“Our goal is to make Sunday afternoon’s ARCA Midwest Tour feature the marquee event of asphalt Super Late Model racing and set it apart from Friday night’s Dick Trickle 99. All we had to do was take a lesson from Fests of past and there was the answer. Not only the 200 laps with pit stops, but by combining the enjoyment of traditional events such as the Pancake Breakfast, Champion’s Re-union and returning the Fan Autograph Session to Sunday morning. All of these aspects should help add to the already magical feeling of Sunday at Fest,” commented Oktoberfest promoter Gregg McKarns. “Whether fans are able to make it all four days or just a few, we want to make each day of Fest the best it can be. My dad coined the phrase ‘Fest is Best’ and it sure has been fun to see everyone using it, leading up to this year’s event.”
In addition to the ARCA Midwest Tour 200, the JMcK 63 feature winners’ invitational and Vintage cars will be on the Sunday card with racing beginning at noon. With the return to 200 laps comes the excitement of pit stops. “This is a seven tire race for the teams, and as a race fan myself, I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. A lot of strategy and hard fought racing is going to determine who goes in the record books this year.” concluded McKarns. Past winners Nathan Haseleu, Travis Sauter, Danny Fredrickson and Tim Schendel are amongst the pre-entries for Sunday.
The 45th Oktoberfest Race Weekend at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway begins Thursday night October 2nd, featuring seventeen divisions of racing and will conclude on Sunday afternoon October 5th with the running of the 200 lap ARCA Midwest Tour Championship feature. For additional information regarding the Oktoberfest Race Weekend please visit www.oktoberfestraceweekend.com or call the Speedway Office at 608-786-1525.