With the racing world paused amid the COVID-19 outbreak, SPEED SPORT is highlighting race tracks around the United States. This is part of that ongoing series.
Track of the Day: Slinger Super Speedway
Address: 280 Cedar Creek Rd., Slinger, WI 53086
Website: www.slingersuperspeedway.com
History: Known now as the World’s Fastest Quarter-Mile, Wisconsin’s Slinger Super Speedway opened on July 10, 1948.
The track was the brainchild of Bill Johnson Sr. and Rollie Heder, who partnered to build the original fifth-mile dirt track. Midget cars were the main attraction in the early years of the speedway, which eventually become solely owned by Heder.
The last dirt race at the track took place in 1973. When the track reopened the following season, Heder had transformed the facility into a high-banked quarter-mile paved oval. It remains that way to this day.
One year later, Wayne Erickson took over as promoter from Heder, eventually buying the track in 1976. He handed the reigns to Todd Thelen and Rodney Erickson in 2013 before Thelen took over as the sole promoter of the historic track in 2019.
The Midwest’s best asphalt late model drivers dominated Slinger Super Speedway through the years, with drivers such as Joe Shear, Alan Kulwicki, Tony Strupp, Rick Bickle Jr., Al Schill, Robbie Reiser, Conrad Morgan, Lowell Bennett, Brad Mueller and, most recently, Steve Apel reigning as track champions.
In addition to weekly competition, Slinger Super Speedway annually hosts to the Slinger Nationals, which debuted in 1980 with Larry Detjens claiming the inaugural event. In the years since the event has been won by the some of the best racers in the country, including Kulwicki, Dick Trickle, Mark Martin, Shear, Butch Miller, Bickle, Kyle Busch, Bubba Pollard, Ty Majeski and eight-time event winner Matt Kenseth.
