August 23, 2017
Today, officials from the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway released the schedule for the 48th Oktoberfest Race Weekend.
The historic event, to be held October 5th-8th, is the upper Midwest’s season-ending “special” for most asphalt racers. The weekend builds up with many different divisions, before concluding with the season finale of the ARCA Midwest Tour, the Oktoberfest 200.
The most noticeable change this year will be the swap of dates for the Great Northern Sportsmen Series and the Mid-American Stock Car Series. “This event has so many ‘behind-the-scenes’ details that the fans and race teams never see, commented Race Director Jeff Garbers. It’s just as much about logistics for us, as it is racing. In trying to reduce the late night “Hauler-in, Hauler-out” procedures after each race night, the switch will help reduce the overall number of teams that have to move; those that will use pit parking spots for several nights in a row,” concluded Garbers.
Thursday night features All LaCrosse Speedway divisions and their 2017 Track Champions will be decided. Heading into the season finale, Nick Panitzke leads Steve Carlson by eleven points, and is trying to earn his first track title in the Late Model Division. The only change from last year includes the addition of the LaCrosse Street Stocks Division, but will again include the Futures Super Late Models and the Double-O race.
Friday again features the JE Pistons Dick Trickle 99 for the Super Late Models, the Mid-American Stock Car Series as well as the Midwest Trucks. The Trickle 99 has been one of the most popular events on the Oktoberfest Schedule for ten years, because of its three 33-lap segment format, with an overall winner at the conclusion.
The Big-8 Late Models highlight the Saturday night racing show, and will be joined by the ARCA Midwest Tour, which will be running heats and qualifying features. The Great Northern Sportsmen Series and Midwest Dash Series will also run their Oktoberfest Features on Saturday night.
Sunday will be the “big-day” of the weekend. Fans and racers are welcome to join everyone at the 4-H Charity Pancake Breakfast in the Exhibition hall, a non-denominational Church Service before setting up for the on-track autograph session, which runs from 10:45 to 11:45. Racing will begin at Noon, and include the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series, the JMcK 63 Late Model Invitational, and of course the ARCA Midwest Tour’s Championship race, the Oktoberfest 200.
To view the detailed Fan Schedule of events, please visit and to visit the Race Team’s detailed Schedule of events, including practice sessions.
Be sure to follow Oktoberfest Race Weekend on Facebook (/OktoberfestRaceWeekend) and Twitter (@RaceOktoberfest, #FestisBest). For more information, visit OktoberfestRaceWeekend.com or call the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway office at 608-786-1525.