By: Kevin Ramsell
The 53rd Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI always provides thrills and memories for both competitors and fans.
Part of the thrill and memories include the six championships to be decided during the four-day race weekend, which starts this Thursday, October 6th.
The best point battle heading into the weekend will be in the La Crosse Kwik Trip Late Model division as they will be competing in four 20-lap feature events on Thursday and Friday nights.
Mike Carlson holds a one-point lead over Brent Kirchner coming into Fest weekend. Steve Bachman is only 25 points behind Carlson in the standings.
Two features on Thursday and two features on Friday will determine the 2022 champion.
The opening night will crown two champions from the weekly La Crosse Speedway divisions as the LawnKeepers Sportsmen and Hornets will be decided their Fest feature events.
Sam Niles will be looking at becoming a back-to-back champion in the LawnKeepers Sportsmen division on Thursday night. Niles holds a 31-point lead over Justin Berg heading into their 20-lap feature event.
Lester Stanfield holds a 19-point lead over Kristopher Berg heading into the Hornets 20-lap main event on Thursday night. Joseph Johnson III is only 25 points behind Stanfield in the standings.
Three touring series will crown their champions on Saturday night at Fest.
The Big 8 Series will be heading to La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday, fresh off their main event at this past weekend’s National Short Track Championships at the Rockford Speedway. Their points have not been updated as of press time, but Dale Nottestad has a lead over Jerry Mueller with Will Race Jr. and Jon Reynolds Jr. within striking distance.
The Big 8 Series 38-lap feature will determine their champion on Saturday night.
A 25-lap feature event will determine the 2022 champion in the Mid-American Stock Car Series on Saturday at Fest.
Coming off their battle at Rockford Speedway this past weekend, Ron Vandermier Jr. has a solid lead over Clay Curtis in their standings. Curtis finished second behind winner James Swan at Rockford on Sunday while Vandermier finished sixth.
The Midwest Dash Series will have a 20-lap event on Saturday night to crown their 2022 champion, and it will go down to the wire!
Phil Malouf and Scott Ciesielski are basically tied for the championship coming into their main event. Marek Pankow is third in the standings.
The ARCA Midwest Tour’s Oktoberfest 200 on Sunday afternoon will not only determine the Oktoberfest champion, but also the Tour title as well.
Casey Johnson, defending Oktoberfest 200 winner, will be looking for his third ARCAMT title in the last four years. He has a comfortable 96-point lead over recent Jim Sauter Classic winner Gabe Sommers.
The 53rd Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend will get underway on Thursday, October 6th at 6pm with seven divisions competing on the quarter-mile and 5/8-mile track.
Visit oktoberfestraceweekend.com to purchase your tickets in advance and find out more information about historic four days of awesome racing action!