By: Paul Reichert
October 11, 2026
The final day of 57th Oktoberfest Race Weekend always brings out the big guns for the main event title fight where legends are made and great racing history is achieved. The big 200 lap feature always involves so many twists and turns that you have no idea what the final outcome will be. After seeing great racing names from the past achieve Oktoberfest immortality, we are now watching the sons and daughters of those greats looking to make a name for themselves. Ty Fredrickson had proven that he has the talent to follow in his dad Dad’s tire tracks. Now he has his first Oktoberfest championship to add to dad’s four crowns, and Fredrickson becomes the youngest winner ever at only 17 years young. The Fredricksons become only the second father-son duo to hold Oktoberfest titles 42 years after Bryan Reffner joined dad Tom as the first to accomplish the feat.
The 200-lap season finale for the ASA Midwest Tour saw TUNDRA champion Riley Stenjem (Utica, WI) drove under Bryce Miller (Columbus, WI) to show the way in the early stages of the race. Levon Van der Geest (Merrill, WI) peeked to the inside of Miller for second on lap three, but Miller stood his ground and held onto the position. Justin Mondeik (Gleason, WI) made contact with BIlly Mohn (Elko New Market, MI) while battling over fourth on lap 11, and that allowed Paul Shafer, Jr. (Portage, IN) to swoosh by both of them to settle into fourth. Mondeik regrouped and powered underneath Shafer, Jr. to put himself back in fourth on lap 14. Mondeik and Shafer, Jr. looked to take third away from Van der Geest, and Mondeik was able to pull off the move on the outside on lap 18. The Dixieland 250 winner proved he was on a mission to get to the front as he dove low on Miller to take over the runner-up position. Mondeik has a mountain of work to do with Stenjem holding a sizable advantage on the field. By lap 30 Mondeik had slowly whittled away at Stenjem’s lead to cut it down to just under one-half of a second. Mondeik dove low on Stenjem entering turn one on lap 33 to move into the lead. Mondeik got on his horse and knew it was time to go with Ty Fredrickson (Webster, MN) running third and seeking the lead. Meanwhile, Ty Majeski (Seymour, WI) was working over Van der Geest for fifth and he finally got the position on lap 40. A lap later Frederickson caught and passed Stenjem to move up to second and set his sights on Mondeik. Majeski drove around Shafer, Jr. for fourth on lap 48 and remained focused on getting to the front. Using the lapped cars allowed Mondeik to maintain a healthy advantage over Frederickson as we passed the quarter-pole of the race. The first yellow flew on lap 57 as we reached the competition caution to give the teams a chance to work on their race cars. Fredrickson went right to work on Mondeik and charged into the lead at the end of lap 64. Mondeik ran a bit wide entering turn one two laps later and that gave Majeski the chance to take over second. Majeski was trying to make a dent in Fredrickson’s lead, but the young lion had an equally strong race car to maintain his advantage. Yellow returned on lap 82 after Marshfield champion Jerad deBoer (Sherry, WI) looped his race car in turn four. This gave the leaders a chance to make adjustments and replenish their cars. Shafer, Jr. assumed the lead on the restart, but Ryan Farrell (Big Bend, WI) had his hands full dealing with Fredrickson and Majeski. Both drivers dropped Shafer, Jr. back to third on lap 92 as they took over the top two positions. Yellow flew on lap 98 after Joseph Scholze (Holmen, WI) lost control coming out of turn four and tagged the inside front straight wall. It took Majeski 105 laps to go from starting at the rear to wrestle the lead away from Fredrickson. Contact between Luke Fenhaus (Wausau, Wl) and Van der Geest sent them hard into the turn one wall on lap 107 along with Farrell.
Before we resumed the racing action, 2023 Oktoberfest champion Gabe Sommers (Plover, WI) had to pit to try and figure out why the car was not turning over. Back on the track Fredrickson got a good run on the outside of Majeski to settle into the lead on lap 120. Majeski was slowly reeling back in Fredrickson as the fight for first was becoming a little more intense. Majeski was running well entering the turns, but Fredrickson was getting better coming out of the turns to allow him to slowly open his gap again. Meanwhile the fight for the championship was getting interesting as Casey Johnson (Edgerton, WI) and Penn Sauter (DeForest, WI) fought over who would stay in the top five. Majeski began to catch back up to Fredrickson little by little as the fight for the win intensified a bit more. Lapped traffic was starting to play into Fredrickson’s hands as he began to see Majeski grow smaller and smaller in his mirrors. Braison Bennett (Larsen, WI) went for a solo loop-de-loop in turn two with 52 laps remaining, and now the question for the drivers and teams was if this was the right time to make the ‘money stop’ and go the rest of the way. The leaders stayed on track anticipating another yellow and waiting to make that ‘money stop’ later in the race. A great side-by-side battle on the restart saw Fredrickson get back in front of Majeski with 45 laps remaining. Four car lengths was the distance that Majeski would have to make up on Fredrickson to achieve Oktoberfest immortality and a big payday at the end. Weston Marthaler (Glenwood, MN) lost a right front tire that sent him hard into the turn one wall with 36 laps left to run. Would there be any takers on pit road this time? Not this time as everyone was happy with what they had. Fredrickson and Majeski battled each other side-by-side on the restart before the pink 36 machine got back to the lead. Andrew Morrissey (Greenville, WI) lost control in turn two with 28 laps remaining. We returned to green flag racing with only 25 laps left as Fredrickson got a great run out of turn four to get back in the lead. Majeski stuck to the inside for a peek, but could not complete the pass. The lead grew between the leaders to ten car lengths as Fredrickson was on a mission to add another Oktoberfest title to the family’s racing resume. Behind them Johnson was maintaining fifth with Shafer, Jr. in between him and Sauter in the championship title fight. As we passed ten laps remaining, the lead continued to swell to nearly a half of a straightaway. There would be no denying Ty Fredrickson from being forever known as an Oktoberfest champion as he locked up his second Midwest Tour win of the season. A safe and steady run of fifth place would lock up a second straight Midwest Tour title for Casey Johnson, which would be the fifth of his career.
A pair of 602 Late Models led the way in the Gandrud Performance 602 Cratetoberfest Challenge as Jake Arneson (Melrose, WI) shot past Shane Radtke, Jr. (Cambridge, WI) for the top spot. Soon a third 602 Late Model would join the battle as Mike Carlson (West Salem, WI) powered around Radtke, Jr. to take over second on lap four. Just as Carlson was about to make his move on Arneson, Ashtin Quinnell (Arkdale, WI) spun out on the front straight on lap eight. Carlson went right to work on wrestling first place away from Arneson on the restart. Veteran racer Mark Noble (Blooming Prairie, MN) did some agricultural racing after spinning earlier in the race, but this time lost it on the track in turn four on lap 11. After giving the drivers a chance to have the safety team clean leaves off of their grills, Carlson suddenly dove into the pits with an issue but did return. Grant Griesbach (Concord, WI) and Brad Warthan (Sparta, WI) both quickly drove around Eugene Gregorich III (Amherst Junction, WI) on the restart and got into their own battle for first. Brent Kirchner (LaCrosse, WI) and Tyler Noble (Arena, WI) tangled entering turn one a lap later. Both drivers took a hard hit into the wall with Noble’s truck sitting on the wall. Greisbach maintained a few car lengths over Warthan on the restart, but Warthan needed just a couple of laps to stick right behind Griesbach. As we reached five laps to go, Griesbach began to wonder when Warthan was going to make his move. The lapped traffic was allowing Griesbach to pull ahead of Warthan by three or four car lengths. Last year’s ‘Futures’ winner checked out on his competition as Greisbach captured the 602 feature win. While the race was under red for the cleanup of the big accident, Gregg McKarns held the drawing for the brand new 602 crate motor and it was awarded to Kirchner.
John Osterman (Niagara, WI) and his Ford Thunderbird convertible lead the early laps of the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series feature. A fast pack of vintage race cars began to close quickly on Osterman as Dan Linnehan (Leon, WI) was first to break from the pack and took the lead on lap five. Todd Korish (Holmen, WI) and Nathan Haseleu (Marshall, WI) powered around Linnehan to take over the top two spots on lap seven. Korish maintained a few car lengths on Haseleu as he tried to get close enough to challenge for the lead. The battle between Korish and Haseleu was just as hot as the ‘indian summer’ weather we were experiencing. Coming to the white flag, Haseleu suddenly pulled into the pits with a mechanical issue. He may not have won a feature during his 2012 championship run, but Korish ends up collecting an Oktoberfest feature win to add to his trophy room.
Thank you to all the race fans and teams that traveled from all parts of North America to continue to make Oktoberfest the last big racing get-together of the season. You should have the dates of October 7, 8, 9 and 10 of 2027 circled in red on your calendar to return to the LaCrosse Speedway for the 58th running of the Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Thank you to our very loyal and supportive race fans and teams that continue to make the LaCrosse Speedway the place to race on Saturday nights. Gregg and Angie McKarns, Chuck and Holly Deery, Austin and Bethany Wells, and the Motorsports Management Services crew gives a big shoutout to all of our LaCrosse Speedway staff in the pits, in concessions, in the souvenir trailer, at the gate and in the tower for making every Saturday night show run as smoothly as possible.
Another long, cold winter is on the horizon, and we have a treasure trove of racing memories to look back on from the 2026 season. We celebrate the champions of 2026 at our Champions’ Banquet in January, but a lot of news and announcements concerning what will take place in 2027 will be coming at you fast and furious. Be the first to know about what is scheduled for 2027 by visiting our web site at lacrossespeedway.com and liking the track’s Facebook page so you can make your plans and schedule your vacation days. As soon as we have a clear picture of what will be taking place during 2027, you can call the track office at 608-786-1525. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Regional race track, part of the NASCAR Local Racing Series powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts.
RESULTS
Sucker Punch ASA Midwest Tour
Feature (200 laps): 1. 36-Ty Fredrickson, 2. 91-Ty Majeski, 3. 44-Justin Mondeik, 4. 72-Jacob Goede, 5. 5J-Casey Johnson, 6. 7S-Paul Shafer, Jr., 7. 5S-Penn Sauter, 8. 17-Billy Braun, 9. 77-Riley Stenjem, 10. 11-Bryce Miller, 11. 7H-Mitch Haver, 12. 8-Billy Mohn, 13. 39-Andrew Morrissey, 14. 9B-Braison Bennett, 15. 2-Jerad deBoer, 16. 100-Weston Marthaler, 17. 13-Nick Egan, 18. 87-Brent Edmunds, 19. 15-Gabe Sommers, 20. 80-Ryan Farrell, 21. 4-Luke Fenhaus, 22. 23-Levon Van der Geest, 23. 58-Joseph Scholze, 24. 33-Matthew Henderson, 25. 9S-Wesley Slimp
Gandrud Performance 602 Cratetoberfest Challenge
Feature (25 laps): 1. 60G-Grant Griesbach, Watertown, WI [10], 2. 22-Brad Warthan, Sparta, WI [11], 3. 21W-Eugene Gregorich Jr, Amherst Juncition, WI [9], 4. 7L-Jackson Lewis, Sun Prairie, WI [5], 5. 76-Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, WI [8], 6. 2W-Jake Arneson, Melrose, WI [1], 7. 48-Ethan Rose, La Valle, WI [7], 8. 70-Brady Bill, Reedsburg, WI [4], 9. 2C-Michael Carlson, West Salem, WI [6], 10. 28S-Tom Steinbach, Arlington, WI [16], 11. 52-Shane Radtke Jr, Cambridge, WI [2], 12. 5E-Dave Edwards, Salem, WI [14], 13. 19-Ty Fietzer, Greenville, WI [3], 14. 33W-Grant Witcraft, Black River Falls, WI [18], 15. 60L-Jacob Lodermeier, Rosemount, MN [24], 16. 49A-McKayla Adams, Sun Prairie, WI [30], 17. 55-Charles Muller, Tomah, WI [25], 18. 14-Melissa Rusch, Galesville, WI [27], 19. 42-Adam Cartwright, Rockford, IL [31], 20. 74-Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, MN [23], 21. 5Q-Ashtin Quinnell, Arkdale, WI [29], 22. 8K-Brent Kirchner, Stoddard, WI [33], 23. 7N-Tyler Noble, Sauk City, WI [12], 24. 1V-Charles Vian Jr, Sparta, WI [34], 25. 3L-Laney Osborne, Janesville, WI [19], 26. 36-Kyle Wahlgren, Mcfarland, WI [21], 27. 32-Philip Meyerhofer, Hilbert, WI [20], 28. 21S-Bill Schott, West Salem, WI [32], 29. 19L-Brady Liddle, Brooklyn, WI [26], 30. 45-Austin Powers, Wisconsin Dells, WI [13], 31. 97-Alex Ruedinger, Larsen, WI [17], 32. 49M-Ryan Manthei, Green Bay, WI [28], 33. 1W-Eugene Gregorich III, Amherst Junction, WI [15]
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. 22-Brad Warthan, Sparta, WI [5], 2. 28S-Tom Steinbach, Arlington, WI [1], 3. 48-Ethan Rose, La Valle, WI [4], 4. 7N-Tyler Noble, Sauk City, WI [2], 5. 32-Philip Meyerhofer, Hilbert, WI [6], 6. 60L-Jacob Lodermeier, Rosemount, MN [7], 7. 21S-Bill Schott, West Salem, WI [9], 8. 49M-Ryan Manthei, Green Bay, WI [8]
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. 2C-Michael Carlson, West Salem, WI [4], 2. 60G-Grant Griesbach, Watertown, WI [5], 3. 45-Austin Powers, Wisconsin Dells, WI [2], 4. 19-Ty Fietzer, Greenville, WI [3], 5. 97-Alex Ruedinger, Larsen, WI [1], 6. 36-Kyle Wahlgren, Mcfarland, WI [6], 7. 55-Charles Muller, Tomah, WI [7], 8. 1V-Charles Vian Jr, Sparta, WI [9], 9. 5Q-Ashtin Quinnell, Arkdale, WI [8]
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. 7L-Jackson Lewis, Sun Prairie, WI [4], 2. 5E-Dave Edwards, Salem, WI [2], 3. 52-Shane Radtke Jr, Cambridge, WI [3], 4. 33W-Grant Witcraft, Black River Falls, WI [1], 5. 21W-Eugene Gregorich Jr, Amherst Junction, WI [5], 6. 19L-Brady Liddle, Brooklyn, WI [7], 7. 49A-McKayla Adams, Sun Prairie, WI [8], 8. 17-Ryan Schroeder, Mosinee, WI [6], 9. 8K-Brent Kirchner, Stoddard, WI [9]
Heat #4 (8 laps): 1. 70-Brady Bill, Reedsburg, WI [4], 2. 2W-Jake Arneson, Melrose, WI [3], 3. 76-Jason Weinkauf, Merrill, WI [5], 4. 3L-Laney Osborne, Janesville, WI [1], 5. 42-Adam Cartwright, Rockford, IL [8], 6. 14-Melissa Rusch, Galesville, WI [7], 7. 1W-Eugene Gregorich III, Amherst Junction, WI [2], 8. 74-Mark Noble, Blooming Prairie, MN [6]
Qualifying: 1. 22-Brad Warthan 20.204, 2. 60G-Grant Griesbach 20.240, 3. 21W-Eugene Gregorich III 20.449, 4. 76-Jason Weikauf 20.459, 5. 48-Ethan Rose 20.494, 6. 2C-Mike Carlson 20.569, 7. 7L-Jackson Lewis 20.721, 8. 70-Brady Bill 20.738, 9. 8K-Brent Kirchner 20.819, 10. 52-Shane Radtke, Jr. 20.859, 11. 19-Ty Fietzer 20.859, 12. 2A-Jake Arneson 20.921, 13. 7N-Tyler Noble 20.981, 14. 45-Austin Powers 20.997, 15. 5E-Dave Edward 21.004, 16. 1W-Eugene Gregorich, Jr. 21.019, 17. 28S-Tom Steinbach 21.033, 18. 97-Alex Ruedinger 21.043, 19. 33W-Grant Witcraft 21.168, 20. 3L-Laney Osborne 21.187, 21. 32-Phillip Meyerhofer 21.204, 22. 36-Kyle Wahlgren 21.280, 23. 17S-Ryan Schroeder 21.330, 24. 74-Mark Noble 21.442, 25. 55-Chuck Muller 21.740 26. 19-Brady Liddlg 21.917, 27. 14-Melissa Rusch 21.978, 28. 49-Ryan Manthei 22.000, 29. 5Q-Ashtin Quinnell 21.084, 30. 49A-McKayla Adams 22.090, 31. 42-Adam Cartwright 22.397, 32. 21S-Bill Schott 22.626
Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series
Feature (15 laps): 1. 99K-Todd Korish, Holmen, WI [14], 2. 98-Tom Gille, Machesney Park, IL [11], 3. 32L-Dan Linnehan, Sparta, WI [12], 4. 78-Jerimy Wagner, Onalaska, WI [9], 5. 21H-Sean Herzog, Rothschild, WI [10], 6. 43-Ken Lewis, Black River Falls, WI [6], 7. 91-Roger Peterson, Necedah, WI [8], 8. 80-Kent Eastlick, Cannon Falls, MN [7], 9. 3J-John Ostermann, Niagara, WI [1], 10. 3G-Russ Grossen, Brooklyn, WI [2], 11. 99D-McLean Dolphy, Ham Lake, MN [4], 12. 30-Michael Breckenridge, Northfield, MN [16], 13. 28-Lloyd Wilkinson, Hixton, WI [5], 14. 5-Shawn Johnson, Edgerton, WI [15], 15. 4-Paul Dolphy, Saint Paul, MN [3], 16. 32H-Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville, WI [13]
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. 28-Lloyd Wilkinson, Hixton, WI [6], 2. 3J-John Ostermann, Niagara, WI [1], 3. 43-Ken Lewis, Black River Falls, WI [7], 4. 3G-Russ Grossen, Brooklyn, WI [2], 5. 30-Michael Breckenridge, Northfield, MN [8], 6. 4-Paul Dolphy, Saint Paul, MN [3], 7. 5-Shawn Johnson, Edgerton, WI [5], 8. 99D-McLean Dolphy, Ham Lake, MN [4]
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. 32H-Nathan Haseleu, Pardeeville, WI [7], 2. 99K-Todd Korish, Holmen, WI [8], 3. 98-Tom Gille, Machesney Park, IL [5], 4. 78-Jerimy Wagner, Onalaska, WI [3], 5. 32L-Dan Linnehan, Sparta, WI [6], 6. 21H-Sean Herzog, Rothschild, WI [4], 7. 91-Roger Peterson, Necedah, WI [2], 8. 80-Kent Eastlick, Cannon Falls, MN [1]