Midwest Modifieds Added to ABC Weekly Schedule

by Nick Gima           

 Ashland, WI -- The regular weekly race programs at the ABC Raceway during the 2008 season will be bigger than in seasons past - if at the very least in the number of divisions running.

In August 2007 the Raceway’s Board of Directors voted to add the popular WISSOTA-sanctioned Midwest modified class to its weekly offerings. Beginning with the season opener on May 10, six divisions will compete in the summer-long Saturday night programs.

The new class will join the track’s WISSOTA-sanctioned modifieds, super stocks and street stocks as well as the track’s own six-cylinder and pure stock divisions on the docket.

A Midwest modified is a down-tuned version of the powerful modified race car, using a less-potent and less-expensive powertrain, smaller tires, and other assorted changes to make it more affordable to build and operate.

Since the addition of the class by the WISSOTA Promoters Association in 2001, the division has exploded in both numbers and popularity. In 2007 there were 705 drivers who tried their hand at the division, out of over 2,750 total racers in WISSOTA - by far the largest driver count of the sanctioning body’s six national divisions.

The decision was not an easy one to come to, and it was initially met with some anxiety, as some observers theorized that at least one of the track’s current divisions needed to be eliminated in order to make room for the wildly-popular class.

The street stock division seemed to be considered as the target for the cut. Numbers in that class had been dwindling here over the past two years, and several other regional track promoters had eliminated the division from their programs altogether during recent seasons, as single-digit car counts became the norm rather than the exception.

But the Ashland track’s Board reasoned that it could add the additional class of cars without abandoning a division that has been a mainstay here since the track’s very earliest years.

“We have a great group of street stock drivers who have been very loyal to our track,” said Board member Eric Erickson at the time. “It would be foolish to turn our backs on them just because their numbers are down.

“At the same time, this was a business decision. Overall, we’ll add more cars to our weekly show, which we hope in turn will improve our show quality and draw more fans into the stands.”

The Midwest modified division has competed at Ashland four times over the past season and change. In August 2006 Mickey Nosser of Phillips won the first-ever feature event for the group, and three different drivers earned A-main wins in the three visits by the division in 2007 - Canada’s Jeff Marshall, Bryce Johnson of Turtle Lake and Proctor’s Clint Larson.

The addition of the Mid-mods has prompted several local drivers to move into the new division. Among those that reportedly will be campaigning Mid-mods here include former ABC six-cylinder champ Steve Stuart of Ashland, defending track pure stock champ Glenn Dammer of Duluth, MN, and six-cylinder driver Pat Cook of Washburn.

During the ‘07 season Ashland’s Chris Bretting raced what was essentially a Mid-mod against the more powerful modifieds for seven nights to gain some valuable knowledge about the class. He added a second car to his race team, with Mike Brennan of Ashland behind the wheel, during invitational season last September.

Other area Mid-mod drivers that have expressed interest in making the ABC Raceway their regular Saturday night haunt include Larson and Proctor’s Nick Lavato, as well as Nosser.

The track’s directors have also taken measures to attract solid fields in all six divisions by fine-tuning the weekly payout. Drivers at Ashland will see a generous bump in their earnings based on a restructured purse that, pending car counts, could easily exceed $14,500.

All but the finishing touches have been recently put on the upcoming season’s schedule as well. Highlights include two visits by the Como Oil Modified Series, including the tour’s championship round during Red Clay Classic weekend September 26-27; a stop by the AmsOil Late Model Series on Friday, July 25; special events for the super stocks, street stocks, pure stocks and sixes; and traditional favorites like the kids’ bike races, vintage stock car races, and Fan Appreciation Night.

The season will include weekly Saturday night shows from May 10-August 23, plus other dates. More detailed schedule information will be released soon.

The ABC Raceway will be represented at the annual Media Day activities in Proctor in early May, and a pre-season car show and swap meet will kick off the area’s race season on Saturday, May 3, at FastLane Motorsports, on Highway 2 East in Ashland.