By: Paul Reichert
October 4, 2025
‘Championship Saturday’ at the Oktoberfest Race Weekend has always had a reputation of bringing dramatic season long championship fights to nail biting conclusions. At this year’s 56th edition of Oktoberfest, we witnessed drama get set up by late race cautions in the final few laps of all four feature races Regardless of whether a championship was on the line or not, fans were left on the edge of their seats to witness some incredible late race heroics on the next to last day of racing at the LaCrosse Speedway. Not only was there a ground swell of donations in only a few hours for the ASA MIdwest Tour ‘Ultimate Challenge’ bonus, some familiar racing names and a couple new faces would add a very important Oktoberfest championship to their racing resumes.
The final 48 laps of the 2025 Big 8 Late Model Series season would be a showstopping performance by the 27 drivers that took the final green flag start to the year. Michael Guderski (Markesan, WI) battled hard with Ryan Kamish, Sr. (Farmington, MN) for the opening lap before getting a big run in turn one to assert himself into first on lap two. The outside was working well for Chris Weinkauf (Merrill, WI) as he drove past Kamish, Sr. for second on lap four. Yellow flew on lap eight for the stalled race vehicle of Jimmy O’Meara (Randolph, MN). Guderski pulled away from Weinkauf on the restart, but soon Weinkauf began to reel back in the leader and started to peek to Guderski’s inside. Point leader Randy Sargent shot past Chris Marek (Lakeville, MN) to settle into the top five on lap 12, but wanted more as dove low on Kamish, Sr. to wrestle away third on lap 15. Weinkauf began to have looks again to get around Guderski for the lead with Sargent closing up on the lead pair. Weinkauf got a great run out of turn four to stake his claim to the lead on lap 20. Sargent dove to the inside of Guderski to claim second on lap 21, then Jacob Goede (Carver, MN) shot past Guderski for third a lap later. Both former Big 8 winners Sargent and Goede were trying whatever they could to inch a bit closer to veteran racer Weinkauf as we reached the halfway point of the race. Steve Bachman (Bangor, WI) began to inch closer to both Sargent and Goede and make a real race of it for second, while Weinkauf continued to show the way with a healthy advantage. Sargent left Goede to fend off Bachman for third as he tried to catch Weinkauf, but lapped traffic was not helping him out. Goede caught back up to Sargent as both Bachman and him kicked Sargent out of the top three with ten laps left in the season. Lapped traffic was Weinkauf’s saving grace as he maintained his lead. Then everything was reset when former Big 8 champion Jeremy Miller (Rockford, IL) slowed and stopped in turn four with just seven laps left to run. Goede cleared Bachman down the back straight on the restart, then quickly caught and passed Weinkauf entering turn one with six laps to go to assume command of the race. Bachman moved into second with four laps to go, but was not making a large enough of a dent in Goede’s lead. Goede held a two car length lead over Bachman to capture his fifth Oktoberfest victory. A strong third place run ends Sargent’s impressive season with his first Big 8 Late Model Series championship.
All 31 cars in attendance started what would turn into a wild and chaotic 25 lap season finale feature for the Mid-Am Racing Series. Kevin Murphy (Manhattan, IL) was shot out of a cannon as he took the top spot away from Bobby Turzinski, Jr. (Mauston, WI). Newly crowned Late Model Rookie champ Jason Stark (Wisconsin Dells, WI) started to eat away at Murphy’s lead as the rest of the field tried to sort themselves out. Rick Tackman, Jr. (Hartford, WI), Mark Sontag, Jr. (Joliet, IL), Andrew Meyerhofer (Menasha, WI) and Marqus Hoover (Seneca, IL) got tangled up with each other in turn four to bring out the yellow after only six laps. Murphy would quickly get around Stark to hold onto the top spot, despite choosing the outside lane for the restart. Cameron Preisler (Braidwood, IL) began to apply pressure to Stark as things intensified for the runner-up position. Preisler found his way around Stark to take over second on lap 12 and set his sights on Murphy, who was a half of a straightway ahead. Stark suddenly pulled off the track with a mechanical issue that ended his race with ten laps remaining. Preisler was doing everything he could to catch Murphy and make a race of it in the closing laps. Reports of oil on the track forced officials to bring out the yellow with seven laps to go. Preisler went right back to work on Murphy for the lead, when chaos returned on the back straight. Dusty Mann (Farmington, MN) and Rick Redig-Tackman (Waukesha, WI) collected each other at the end of the back straight. It unfortunately ended Mann’s night six laps away from the finish. Preisler was relentless in his pursuit of Murphy again on the restart, but Murphy began to open up a slight lead as we got closer to the finish. 20 cars somehow survived this grueling 25 lap race of endurance as Murphy captured his first career Mid-Am Racing Series feature. Scotty Gardner, Jr. brought his car home to a fifth place finish, which gave him the championship for the second consecutive season.
The 25 lap feature for the Midwest Truck Series saw Jordan DeVoy (Lake Geneva, WI) surge to the front even with Scott Cieslelski (Plover, WI) trying to come back on him. Dillon Hammond (Grand Marsh, WI) turned their battle into a three-way fight for the lead. Cieslelski got a few good looks to the inside of Devoy and shot by him down the back straight to settle into first place on lap eight. While Cieslelski began to pull away from his competition, Chester Ace (Oregon, WI) began to look for a way by DeVoy for second. A mechanical issue slowed and ended Hammond’s night after just ten laps of racing. After cleaning up a little fluid in turn one, Cieslelski slid up in turn one on the restart and that gave DeVoy the opportunity to reclaim first place. Nick Van (Kaukauna, WI) powered around the outside of Cieslelski to take over second as the crossed flags were displayed to the field. A mechanical issue with the truck of Parker Cain (Big Bay, MI) forced him to come to a stop in turn four and bring out the yellow on lap 15. Van zoomed past DeVoy to take over the lead spot a lap into the restart. Eugene Gregorich III (Amherst, WI) and title contender Grant Griesbach (Pewaukee, WI) dismissed DeVoy from the top with eight laps to go. Cain lost it coming out of turn four and the trucks of Colin Reffner (Rudolph, WI) and Austin Warner (Dallas, GA) collided to avoid Cain and ended up in the wall. Van and Brandon Reichenberger (Appleton, WI) made contact on the restart to get to the inside line on the restart, and that allowed Grant Greisbach (Pewaukee, WI) to fight his title rival for second. Griesbach powered around Reichenberger for second with three laps to go, but did not have enough time to catch the leader as Van locked up feature victory number three in the last six races.
After Brandon Vines (Forest Lake, MN) spun in turn two to force a complete restart of the Midwest Dash Series feature, coming to the green created more headaches as Joe Kuehn (Wausau, WI) suffered right side damage after colliding with Mark English (Edgerton, WI). The third time was finally the charm as English shot past Mark Dewey (Janesville, WI) to lead the early going. Phil Malouf (Manitowish Waters, WI) was battling for second with his daughter Anna Price-Malouf for second, but soon they were joined by Karter Stark (Marshall, WI). Kristopher Berg (Mondovi, WI) and Pat Dickman (Marshfield, WI) got tangled up in turn three to bring out the yellow on lap four. Price-Malouf (Manitowish Waters, WI) quickly powered by English to settle into the lead on the restart. Stark would work around the outside of Malouf to take over second on lap seven. Stark would start to inch closer to Price-Malouf as we passed by the halfway mark of the race. Lapped traffic played a role in helping Price Malouf hold onto first place, but that would not stop Stark from charging around the young lady to take over the number one position with six laps to go. The Maloufs tried to work together to catch back up to Stark in the closing laps, but it was not to be as Stark added another Oktoberfest feature win to his family’s racing legacy.
The preliminaries for the ASA Midwest Tour got off to a very surprising start as Penn Sauter captured his first ever “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” award with a very impressive lap of 18.566 seconds in his Oktoberfest debut. That debut got more interesting with a lot of contributions from everywhere to make a massive bonus pot that was approaching $40.000 for The Ultimate Challenge. Sauter would have to accept starting shotgun on the field and win the 200 lapper on Sunday from last, and he did. The Odd and Even Dashes featured some thrilling racing action between the top 16 qualifiers in the ASA Midwest Tour show. Michael Hinde continued his impressive weekend with a dominant win in the Odd Dash. Joseph Scholze stuns everyone with an incredible run to win his first ever ASA race in the Even Dash. The two qualifying features for the ASA MIdwest Tour became positioning races. The drivers in the first qualifier would start on the inside behind the top 16, while the drivers in qualifier number two would follow up the top 16 on the outside lane. Newly crowned Marshfield champion Jerad deBoer outdueled last year’s Kaukauna champion Chad Butz to win the first qualifier. Newly crowned NASCAR National Champ Jacob Goede had to fend off a late charge by LaCrosse veteran Matthew Henderson to win the second qualifier.
After three days of on-track thrills and excitement during the 56th edition of Oktoberfest Race Weekend, the LaCrosse Speedway saved the best for last on Sunday, October 5. The 200 lap season finale for the ASA Midwest Tour will bring an exciting series championship dog fight to a dramatic conclusion. Not only is the points crown on the line, but so is the title of Oktoberfest Champion after 200 grueling and hard fought laps of racing. We have witnessed some intense competition during the previous six runnings of the Gandrud Performance 602 Cratetoberfest Challenge, and year number seven should be no different. The winner of this year’s race will once again do a blind draw out of a helmet after the race to see which of his fellow racers will be the lucky winner of a brand new Chevrolet 602 crate motor. We will also be taken back to some great Oktoberfest memories from the 70s and 80s as the drivers of the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series compete in many familiar cars from the past. Gates open at 8:30, combined practice and qualifying for the 602 Cratetoberfest Challenge kicks into high gear at 10:10, the Autograph Session for the fans begins at 10:45 and the last thrilling racing moments of 2025 hit the gas at 12 Noon.
For more information about the LaCrosse Speedway or the 2025 schedule of events, please call the track office at 608-786-1525 or visit our web site at lacrossespeedway.com. Be sure to check out oktoberfestraceweekend.com for the latest news and results on Wisconsin’s biggest racing weekend. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Regional race track, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
RESULTS
Big 8 Late Model Series
Feature (48 laps): 1. Jacob Goede, 2. Steve Bachman, 3. Randy Sargent, 4. Chris Weinkauf, 5. Michael Bilderback, 6. Carson Phillips, 7. Grant Brown, 8. Michael Ostdiek, 9. Michael Guderski, 10. Braison Bennett, 11. Ryan Kamish, Sr., 12. Jayden Johnson, 13. Jon Reynolds, Jr., 14. Ryan Varner, 15. Ty Fietzer, 16. Zach Riddle, 17. Brady Bill, 18. Noah Eisenhower, 19. Chris Marek, 20. Joshua Lundy, 21. Jeremy Miller, 22. Cole Howard, 23. Jerry Mueller, 24. Brandon Reichenberger, 25. Brent Runnells, 26. Brandon Laing, 27. JImmy O’Meara
Qualifying Feature #1 (12 laps): 1. Chris Marek, 2. Michael Ostdiek, 3. Brandon Reichenberger, 4. Ty Fietzer, 5. Braison Bennett, 6. Steve Bachman, 7. Jeremy Miller, 8. Zach Riddle, 9. Jayden Johnson, 10. Ryan Varner, 11. Jerry Mueller, 12. Jimmy O’Meara, 13. Brent Runnells, 14. Landry Potter
Qualifying Feature #2 (12 laps): 1. Michael Bilderback, 2. Chris Weinkauf, 3. Jon Reynolds, Jr., 4. Grant Brown, 5. Michael Guderski, 6. Randy Sargent, 7. Ryan Kamish, Sr., 8. Jacob Goede, 9. Carson Phillips, 10. Brady Bill, 11. Joshua Lundy, 12. Cole Howard, 13. Noah Eisenhower, 14. Brandon Laing
Qualifying: 1. Jeremy Miller 19.946, 2. Jacob Goede 19.971, 3. Steve Bachman 20.045, 4. Carson Phillips 20.063, 5. Jayden Johnson 20.111, 6. Randy Sargent 20.202, 7. Braison Bennett 20.203, 8. Brady Bill 20.227, 9. Zach Riddle 20.236, 10. Ryan Kamish Sr. 20.264, 11. Landry Potter 20.287, 12. Michael Guderski 20.290, 13. Chris Marek 20.322, 14. Chris Weinkauf 20.326, 15. MIchael Ostdiek 20.327, 16. Grant Brown 20.328, 17. Brandon Reichenberger 20.330, 18. Jon Reynolds, Jr. 20.343, 19. Ty Fietzer 20.348, 20. Michael Bilderback 20.400, 21. Ryan Varner 20.436, 22. Cole Howard 20.511, 23. Jerry Mueller 20.512, 24. Joshua Lundy 20.550, 25. Jimmy O’Meara 20.600, 26. Brandon Laing 20.717, 27. Brent Runnells 21.686, 28. Noah Eisenhower 21.689
Mid-Am Racing Series
Feature (25 laps): 1. Kevin Murphy, 2. Cameron Preisler, 3. Bobby Turzinski, Jr., 4. Joshua Nelms, 5. Scotty Gardner, Jr., 6. Mark Sontag, Jr., 7. Phil Speciale, 8. Bobby Gash III, 9. Tytus Helgestad, 10. Cody Clubb, 11. Andrew Meyerhofer, 12. Tim Schmidt, 13. Connor Kosowski, 14. Andrew Borntreger, 15. Ricky Mathis, Jr., 16. Shane Sapp, 17. Michael Gerike, 18. Marqus Hoover, 19. Rick Tackman, Jr., 20. Timmy Stewart, 21. Rick Redig-Tackman, 22. Dusty Mann, 23. Ron Vandermier, Jr., 24. Daniel Calhoun, 25. Tom Sorem, 26. Cris Harmon, 27. Jason Stark, 28. Joey Miller, 29. Kyle Brick, 30. Tadd Labuda, 31. Joshua Fehrmann
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Andrew Meyerhofer, 2. Bobby Gash III, 3. Kevin Murphy, 4. Cameron Preisler, 5. Scotty Gardner, Jr., 6. Jason Stark, 7. Connor Kosowski, 8. Tom Sorem, 9. Kyle Brick, 10. Joshua Nelms
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Timmy Stewart, 2. Dusty Mann, 3. Cody Clubb, 4. Tytus Helgestad, 5. Rick Redig-Tackman, 6. Ron Vandermier, Jr., 7. Mark Sontag, Jr., 8. Phil Speciale, 9. Bobby Turzinski, Jr., 10. Rick Tackman, Jr.
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Tadd Labuda, 2. Tim Schmidt, 3. Marqus Hoover, 4. Shane Sapp, 5. Ricky Mathis, Jr., 6. Cris Harmon, 7. Andrew Borntreger, 8. Michael Geirke, 9. Joshua Fehrmann, 10. Joey Miller, 11. Daniel Calhoun, 12. Sean Eurick
Qualifying: 1. Scotty Gardner, Jr. 20.779, 2. Ron Vandermier, Jr. 20.955, 3. Joshua Nelms 20.971, 4. Mark Sontag, Jr. 20.990, 5. Cameron Preisler 21.029, 6. Phil Speciale 21.073, 7. Jason Stark 21.123, 8. Rick Redig-Tackman 21.126, 9. Kevin Murphy 21.128, 10. Bobby Turzinski, Jr. 21.154, 11. Connor Kosowski 21.157, 12. Tytus Helgestad 21.198, 13. Bobby Gash III, 21.204, 14. Dusty Mann 21.221, 15. Kyle Brick 21.237, 16. Rick Tackman, Jr. 21.248, 17. Tim Schmidt 21.251, 18. Andrew Meyerhofer 21.268, 19. Timmy Stewart 21.278, 20. Tom Sorem 21.311, 21. Cody Clubb 21.314, 22. Daniel Calhoun 21.400, 23. Tadd Labuda 21.434, 24. Shane Sapp 21.449, 25. Ricky Mathis, Jr. 21.614, 26. Marqus Hoover 21.646, 27. Andrew Borntreger 21.659, 28. Cris Harmon 21.856, 29. Sean Eurick 21.918, 30. Michael Gerike 22.178, 31. Joshua Fehrmann 22.291
Midwest Truck Series
Feature (25 laps): 1. Nick Van, 2. Grant Griesbach, 3. Brandon Reichenberger, 4. Jordan DeVoy, 5. Brent Kirchner, 6. Chester Ace, 7. Scott Cieslelski, 8. James Swan, 9. James Lynch, 10. Derek Meyer, 11. Clay Curts, 12. Scott Kingswan, 13. Maxwell Schultz, 14. Robbie Rucks, 15. Eric Wisz, 16. Parker Cain, 17. Nick Quinnell, 18. Ryan Manthei, 19. Wyatt Kraiss, 20. Colin Reffner, 21. Tristan Swanson, 22. Austin Warner, 23. Kevin Knuese, 24. Kevin Zielezinski, 25. Eugene Gregorich III, 26. Dillon Hammond
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Kevin Knuese, 2. Wyatt Kraiss, 3. Nick Quinnell, 4. Ryan Manthei, 5. Austin Warner, 6. Eric Wisz, 7. Kevin Zielezinski, 8. Scott Kingswan
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Brent Kirchner, 2. Colin Reffner, 3. Tristan Swanson, 4. Jordan DeVoy, 5. Chester Ace, 6. Grant Griesbach, 7. Maxwell Schultz, 8. Clay Curts, 9. Parker Cain
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. James Lynch, 2. James Swan, 3. Robbie Rucks, 4. Derek Meyer, 5. DIllon Hammond, 6. Nick Van, 7. Eugegne Gregorich III, 8. Scott Cieslelski, 9. Brandon Reichenberger
Qualifying: 1. Brandon Reichenberger 20.084, 2. Grant Griesbach 20.219, 3. Eugene GregorichIII 20.234, 4. Maxwell Schultz 20.254, 5. Nick Van 20.318, 6. Dillon Hammon 20.329, 7. Chester Ace 20.329, 8. Parker Cain 20.463, 9. Scott Cieslelski 20.514, 10. Jordan DeVoy 20.519, 11. Derek Meyere 20.549, 12. Clay Curts 20.549, 13. James Swan 20.555, 14. Tristan Swanson 20.574, 15. James Lynch 20.578, 16. Brent Kirchner 20.595, 17. Robbie Rucks 20.605, 18. Colin Reffner 20.662, 19. Kevin Knuese 20.687, 20. Austin Warner 20.765, 21. Kevin Zielezinski 20.891, 22. Eric Wisz 21.183, 23. Nick Quinnell 21.309, 24. Ryan Manthei 21.350, 25. Wyatt Kraiss 21.578, 26. Scott Kingswan 22.072
Midwest Dash Series
Feature (20 laps): 1. Karter Stark, 2. Anna Price-Malouf, 3. Phil Malouf, 4. Mark Dewey, 5. Mark English, 6. Justin Schelitzche, 7. Cameron Kemnetz, 8. Travis Hill, 9. Shawn Grabinger, 10. Al Strobel, 11. Taylor Dawson, 12. Steve Dickson, 13. Zakary Chwala, 14. Jacob Iverson, 15. Talon Fielitz, 16. Justin Iverson, 17. Ashley Bell, 18. Josh Rusch, 19. Shane Kohlmeier, 20. George Sparkman, 21. Andrew Rhone, 22. Noah Pankow, 23. Kristopher Berg, 24. Kamren Hill, 25. Pat Dickman, 26. Joe Kuehn, 27. Tim Anderson, 28. Brandon Vines, 29. Tom Lecher
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Josh Rusch, 2. Justin Schelitzche, 3. Andrew Rhone, 4. Taylor Dawson, 5. Shawn Grabinger, 6. Brandon Vines, 7. Noah Pankow, 8. Zakary Chwala, 9. Pat Dickman, 10. Justin Iverson, 11. Ashley Bell
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Shane Kohlmeier, 2. Cameron Kemnetz, 3. Kamren HIll, 4. Al Strobel, 5. Steve Dickson, 6. Travis Hill, 7. Jacob Iverson, 8. Tom Lecher, 9. Kristopher Berg, 10. Talon Fielitz
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Karter Stark, 2. Mark English, 3. Phil Malouf, 4. Mark Dewey, 5. Anna Price-Malouf, 6. Joe Kuehn, 7. George Sparkman
Qualifying: 1. Karter Stark 22.178, 2. Tim Anderson 22.593, 3. Phil Malouf 22.618, 4. George Sparkman 22.728, 5. Anna Price-Malouf 22.731, 6. Mark Dewey 22.889, 7. Mark English 22.961, 8. Joe Kuehn 23.000, 9. Josh Rusch 23.016, 10. Cameron Kemnetz 23.224, 11. Shawn Grabinger 23.282, 12. Kamren Hill 23.321, 13. Justin Schelitzche 23.352, 14. Travis HIll 23.557, 15. Andrew Rhone 23.591, 16. Al Strobel 23.618, 17. Taylor Dawson 23.664, 18. Shane Kohlmeier 23.751, 19. Ashley Bell 23.840, 20. Steve Dickson 23.909, 21. Noah Pankow 24.136, 22. Kristopher Berg 24.353, 23. Pat Dickman 24.414, 24. Tom Lecher 24.487, 25. Brandon Vines 24.624, 26. Talon Fielitz 24.650, 27. Zakary Chwala 24.732, 28. Jacob Iverson 25.563, 29. Justin Iverson 27.055
ASA Midwest Tour
Qualifying Feature #1 (12 laps): 1. Jerad deBoer, 2. Chad Butz, 3. Bryce Miller, 4. Justin Mondeik, 5. RIley Stenjem, 6. Joe Valento, 7. Ridge Oien
Qualifying Feature #2 (12 laps): 1. Jacob Goede, 2. Matthew Henderson, 3. Derek Kraus, 4. Max Kahler, 5. Kody King, 6. Mitch Haver
Odd Dash (8 laps): 1. Michael Hinde, 2. Andrdew Morrissey, 3. Gabe Sommers, 4. Ty Fredrickson, 5. Dalton Zehr, 6. Nick Pantizke, 7. Penn Sauter, 8. Braison Bennett
Even Dash (8 laps): 1. Joseph Scholze, 2. Levon VanderGeest, 3. Casey Johnson, 4. Ty Majeski, 5. Kendrick Kreyer, 6. Brock Heinrich, 7. Jeff Storm, 8. Ryan Farrell
Qualifying: 1. Penn Sauter 18.566. 2. Ty Majeski 18.586, 3. Gabe Sommers 18.617, 4. Casey Johnson 18.635, 5, Dalton Zehr 18.667, 6. Ryan Farrell 18.706, 7. Michael Hinde 18.754, 8. Levon VanderGeest 18.777, 9. Andrew Morrissey 18.830, 10. Brock Heinrich 18.838, 11. Ty Fredrickson 18.839, 12. Jeff Storm 18.851, 13. Braison Bennett 18.855, 14. Kendrick Kreyer 18.886, 15. Nick Panitzke 18.960, 16. Chad Butz 18.963, 17. Joseph Scholze 18.963, 18. Jacob Goede 18.964, 19. Jerad deBoer 18.965, 20. Derek Kraus 18.973, 21. Bryce Miller 18.978, 22. Mitch Haver 18.999, 23. Justin Mondeik 18.054, 24. Matthew Henderson 19.056, 25. Riley Stenjem 19.060, 26. Kody King 19.070, 27. Joe Valento 19.069, 28.Max Kahler 19.101, 29. Ridge Oien 19.729, 30. Dillon Hammond 19.748, 31. Jeremy Miller 19.936
