Breaking Down Fest’s Dick Trickle 99 Event

By: Kevin Ramsell

West Salem, WI — Friday nights during Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway have become known as the night of the Dick Trickle 99, one of the most unique Super Late Model race events anywhere in the country.

This event has a rich history, and this year Fest will celebrate the 20th year of this popular event with a unique twist.

The 99-lap event is broken down into three 33-lap segments, and many participants say they like the format because they have to race hard in each segment — and with good reason.

Dick Trickle 99 History

In 2007, John McKarns, president of the ARTGO Challenge Series and Oktoberfest promoter, approached his long-time friend Dick Trickle with the idea of having a race named after him. Trickle was very open to the idea and felt that Oktoberfest would be the proper place to have an event named after him. He gladly gave McKarns his blessing to go ahead with it.

But McKarns didn’t want it to be a typical race. He wanted something unique that fans hadn’t seen in the Midwest — an idea he’d seen at another track: the famous Milk Bowl at Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, VT.

In 1962, track promoter and NASCAR Hall of Famer Ken Squier came up with the Milk Bowl as a unique way to end the racing season. The event is broken into three 50-lap segments with inverts in each segment. The overall winner receives a glass of milk for their victory and is expected to kiss a cow.

McKarns was intrigued by the idea and had a few ideas of his own to make this a memorable event, not just for the fans but for the participants as well — an idea Trickle was on board with, and one he wanted to compete in himself.

With Trickle’s approval, McKarns reached out to Squier and Tom Curley, who both owned and promoted Thunder Road, and asked for their permission to take the Milk Bowl concept and turn it into the Dick Trickle 99. Squier and Curley graciously gave their blessing, and the first event was held in 2007.

Trickle did compete in the inaugural running in 2007; it was also the last year he raced competitively.

This year marks the 19th running of the event in the past 20 years, as it was rained out in 2017.

The winners list (below) is a who’s-who of popular Midwest drivers. Both Ty Majeski and Dan Fredrickson have four victories each.

Last year, two-time Oktoberfest 200 winner Andrew Morrissey took home the win.

How Do You Win the Dick Trickle 99?

This isn’t your traditional race where the first car across the line wins. Instead, drivers earn points in each segment: first place in a segment earns one point, second place earns two points, third earns three, and so on.

The driver with the lowest total points after all three segments is declared the winner of the Dick Trickle 99.

Qualifying for the Dick Trickle 99

The first test for drivers comes Friday afternoon, when they try to qualify their way into the main event. The top 15 in qualifying are locked into the Dick Trickle 99 automatically.

Drivers who don’t make the top 15 get a chance to advance through 10-lap last-chance races. Depending on the number of last-chance races, the top two or three finishers advance to the Dick Trickle 99.

The top 15, the six to eight drivers coming out of the last-chance races, and two promoters’ choices will make up the 2026 field for the Dick Trickle 99.

Drivers who don’t qualify into the main event will run “The Stubby,” named after the late John McKarns, father/grandfather of current Fest promoter Gregg McKarns.

Segment One

The field is set by a single dice roll to determine the invert for the first 33 laps. This segment is important for drivers to establish their base heading into the scoring for segments two and three.

With the fastest six cars starting up front, expect a lot of jockeying for position as each driver looks to earn the fewest points. Also keep in mind that some drivers who didn’t qualify well may still race well and move up front in a hurry.

Segment Two

This 33-lap segment can produce some intense, side-by-side racing. The big reason is the invert: lead-lap cars are inverted by ten positions plus a dice roll.

Yes, it’s possible for the winner of the first segment to start as far back as 16th in this one. That separates the veterans from the young lions, since tire management comes into play — drivers are expected to run the same four tires through all three segments.

Segment Three

The lineup for the final segment has another twist: lead-lap drivers line up based on how many points they’ve accumulated across the first two segments. From there, another invert of ten positions plus a dice roll is applied.

This segment mixes intense racing with strategy, as teams run their calculators to figure out where their drivers need to finish at the checkered flag.

At the end of the segment, the driver with the lowest total points across all three segments is the overall winner of the Dick Trickle 99. In the event of a tie, it’s broken by finishing position in the third segment.

Other Information

Listen to the track announcers to find out where you can pick up a score sheet for the event.

Drivers aren’t paid out based on where they finish in each individual segment — only on where they finish overall, per the event rules, which can be found at oktoberfestraceweekend.com.

There’s a $999.99 bonus for any driver who wins all three segments, posting the lowest possible score of three points.

No matter how it ends, fans will enjoy the intense racing in each segment.

Make your plans to join us for all four days of the 57th Annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend, October 8–11, at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway in West Salem, WI.

Past Dick Trickle 99 Winners