WAUSAU, Wis. – Five former Larry Detjens winners have filed entries for this Saturday night’s Dun-Rite Exteriors Detjens Memorial 125 at State Park Speedway.
The traveling ARCA Midwest Tour “Stars and Cars” will have their hands full with Central Wisconsin’s finest Super Late Model Drivers including six former Track Champions.
The race will be broadcast live by SPEED SPORT affiliate MidwestTour.TV.
Here’s a glimpse at some of the drivers to watch.
SPS Champion Luke Fenhaus
The 2018 State Park Speedway returns home this weekend in search of his first Detjens Memorial triumph. The 2021 Slinger Nationals winner and Slinger Super Speedway Track Champion posted his first career Midwest Tour win this April and is primed for his second tour win on Saturday night. Running the CARS Tour in the Southeast this season has limited the starts for the 2021 Alive for 5 Champion who finished fifth in last year’s Detjens 125.
Former Detjens Winner Casey Johnson
Johnson is coming off his worst tour finish of the season, a fourth at Grundy, a race he challenged for the win at before an ignition wire again caused his car to sputter. He had the same issue at Milwaukee but he overcame the jolts of pushing the wire back in multiple times to win there. Johnson’s tour season has been tough on his fellow competitors, second at Slinger, winning the Joe Shear Classic at Madison, third at Jefferson and winning at Milwaukee. Last season he won his second Red, White and Blue State Championship by winning the White and Blue races at WIR. In addition to three Jefferson titles, Johnson has amassed two championships at Wisconsin International, two in Big 8, two Tundra titles, six Wisconsin State Championships, the 2013 and 2016 MIS Triple Crowns and two National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway. Johnson won the 2018 Larry Detjens Memorial.
SLM Champion John Beale
Beale may be a sleeper in this field. Beale, fresh off a win at Marshfield Super Speedway two weeks ago has 2018 tour champion Dalton Zehr wrenching on his car. The same combo had Beale sixth and Zehr fourth in the 2021 Detjens Memorial. Now with their concentration on one car Saturday night, the former CWRA, WCS and Marshfield Super Late Model Champion will be one to watch.
Former Detjens Winner Mark Mackesy
Always a fan favorite at State Park Speedway, Mackesy seeks his record-setting fourth Larry Detjens Memorial win. Mackesy, a four time State Park Speedway Champion knows the quarter mile oval as well as anyone and outpaced the Midwest Tour Stars and Cars to claim victory when the tour visited his home track in 2011.
Former Detjens Winner Gabe Sommers
Sommers recorded his breakthrough win at the Larry Detjens Memorial at State Park Speedway in 2019, to date his only Tour win. He went on to become the 2019 Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year and backed up that effort with a runner-up points finish in 2020 and fifth a season ago. During the tour’s most recent event, Sommers charged from his seventeenth starting position to finish second. It has become commonplace to find the 15 car running up front. He currently sits second in tour points on the strength of a fifth at Slinger, seventh at Madison, second at Jefferson, sixth at Milwaukee and his second place effort at Grundy two weeks ago.
Former Detjens Winner Justin Mondeik
He is the two time and defending State Park Speedway Track Champion and is currently second in SPS points on the strength of four wins. Mondeik’s lone tour win was recorded during the 2020 Larry Detjens Memorial, he placed second a year ago. In addition to his Wausau success, Mondeik has posted back to back Stateline Challenge wins at Norway Speedway in the UP of Michigan and collected the Champion’s Hardware the past two seasons at Golden Sands Speedway. Mondeik finds himself fifth in the tour point standings as the ‘Stars and Cars’ near the halfway mark of their season.
Former Detjens Winner Chris Weinkauf
Three times a Detjens Winner, Chris Weinkauf will make his first tour start since a year ago when he finished tenth, now looking to win his record fourth Detjens trophy on Saturday night. Weinkauf is the 2010 State Park Speedway Track Champion and won the track’s Flip Merwin Memorial that season. He sits third all-time on the fast qualifier chart with twelve fast times in tour action and recorded his Midwest Tour victory at Grundy County Speedway in 2014, hoping to add a second tour win this weekend closer to home.
Tour Champion Jonathan Eilen
The 2012 ARCA Midwest Tour Champion and 2007 tour rookie of the year has a total of five career feature victories including the first ever tour event in 2007 held at his home track, Elko (Minn.) Speedway. Eilen, who is seventh on the all-time wins list will make his 148th tour start on Saturday Night. While some on-track incidents have hindered a few of his solid runs this season, Jonathan sits fourth in the tour point standings.
SPS Bando Champ Kolton Guralski
The 2017 State Park Speedway Bandolero Champion moved into late models last year. The transition for the former SPS Pure Stock Point Runner-up proved to the masses what many had known, Kolton can drive. Taking his talents to Jefferson (Wis.) Speedway last season, Kolton showed he belong, not only by winning the track’s rookie of the year accolades, but finishing second in the point standings and winning on championship night. Now Guralski will make his first Midwest Tour start in his Super Late Model on Saturday night.
SPS Champion Jeremy Lepak
A former Slinger Super Speedway Champion (2011) and two-time Rockford Speedway National Short Track Championship winner (2006, 2007); Lepak will be making a rare ARCA Midwest Tour start during Saturday’s Detjens Memorial 125, a race in which he finished sixth in 2019. Lepak is the 2015 SPS Track Champion.