DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Butch and Linda Erickson spent the first week of February in Daytona Beach getting a first-hand look at what NASCAR has to offer its track promoters. The Ericksons, owners of Superior (Wisc.) Speedway, took part in the activities and meetings during DIRECTV Speedweeks that NASCAR hosts.
Beginning with its 2009 season, the .375-mile red clay oval located in the northwestern corner of Wisconsin near Lake Superior, will be part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
“The name ‘NASCAR’ brings a lot of excitement, but the NASCAR points fund and structure lead a long list of pluses,” said Butch Erickson. “Our drivers are excited. We get calls every day from people wanting to know more. We’re so happy to be able to work more closely with Cedar Lake Speedway.”
Cedar Lake is located just south of Superior, in New Richmond, Wisc., and joined NASCAR in 2008. In addition to Superior and Cedar Lake, Wisconsin also features NASCAR racing at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
“Wisconsin has a rich tradition of NASCAR racing and we are very pleased to welcome Superior Speedway to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Operations. “We are looking forward to the exciting short-track racing at Superior that has become the hallmark of NASCAR.”
Wisconsin has been the birthplace of many famed NASCAR racing stars. Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, was from Greenfield, Wisc., while 2003 series champion Matt Kenseth is from Cambridge, Wisc.
The track’s featured division and Joey Jensen was the 2008 champion. Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds and Pure Stocks also compete on a weekly basis.
More information on Superior Speedway is available at www.superiorracetrack.com.
Other all-time greats of NASCAR racing, such as 2007 NASCAR Whelen All- American Series national champion Steve Carlson and 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year Dick Trickle, call Wisconsin home. Ross Kenseth, Matt Kenseth’s 15-year-old son, won for the first time at LaCrosse last fall, 15 years after his father won the Ocktoberfest Late Model race there.
Competitors at the track are now part of NASCAR’s North American network of hometown speedways across the United States and Canada. At each track, the featured division participants will be eligible to compete for track and state championships, points funds and ultimately, the series’ national title.
State or provincial champions in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series are determined by drivers’ highest 18 finishes at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks within a state.
Since its inception, NASCAR’s local racing series has served as a springboard in the careers of many top-tier NASCAR drivers. Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Kurt and Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler and Brian Vickers all began their careers in the NASCAR short-track program.
