Morris, IL- The ‘Stars and Cars’ of the ASA Midwest Tour will roll into Grundy County Speedway to battle Chicagoland’s best Super Late Model drivers this Saturday night August 16 during the 37th Wayne Carter Classic presented by Rod Baker Ford and D’Arcy Chevrolet. Racing begins at 7pm for this Saturday Night Special Event. The $5,000 top prize has attracted a stacked field of teams from six states which includes five former Chicagoland Super Late Model Champions and four Midwest Champions from north of the Wisconsin/Illinois border.
Defending Race Winner Paul Shafer, Jr and current Grundy County Speedway point leader and defending track Champion Eddie Hoffman will lead the charge for the Chicagoland brigade at the Morris Fairgrounds on Saturday. Shafer, a former Grundy and Illiana Champion is a two-time Wayne Carter Classic winner while Hoffman, a nine-time Chicagoland and former ARTGO Champion has won this event three times.
Ricky Baker will look for his third Midwest Tour triumph and second Wayne Carter win at the track where he has been crowned Champion twice. Former Illiana Motor Speedway Champion Blake Brown will also be in action. Brown, who won last Friday’s feature, currently sits second in Grundy County Speedway points, just twenty one markers behind Hoffman. Additionally, 2022 Grundy County Champion DJ Weltmeyer, whose Father Dave won the 1996 edition of this event has also entered his stout #16 machine.
The State of Wisconsin will be well represented on Saturday night, just as they were in 1975 when Rudoph, Wisconsin’s Tom Reffner captured the very first Wayne Carter Classic. Two-time defending ASA Midwest Tour Champion Gabe Sommers who finished second in the last two Carter Classics will be joined by three-time Tour Champ Casey Johnson, who has won three times on Tour thus far in 2025. Other Badger State Super Late Model Champions include Riley Stenjem who has posted a fifth and fourth place effort in his two Tour showings at Grundy and Justin Mondeik who raced to a fifth place showing in 2023.
Additional drivers entered for Saturday night with wins under their belts include Central Wisconsin winner and third place points man Levon VanDerGeest, Rookie point leader and former Hawkeye Downs Champion Kody King, past Big 8 and Tundra ROY Mitch Haver, former CARS Tour competitor turned Midwest Tour Ace Joe Valento, past ASAMT Rookie of the Year Harley Jankowski plus weekly Late Model winners Kyle Shear and Joseph Scholze.
An unexpected entry for this event is Florida Top Gun Michael Hinde. The Hernando, FL driver will make just his second Midwest Tour start on Saturday night, and first ever start at Grundy, trying to better his third place showing in last year’s Oktoberfest 200 at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. He will be behind the wheel of the Gearheadz Racing Entry, normally driven by five-time Tour Champ Ty Majeski. Hinde gained National attention when he won the World Crown 300 last October in Georgia.
Chicagoland drivers Stan Zolodz, Scott Koerner, Tristan Batson, Jeff Wakeman and Vince Keulbs have all filed their entries for Saturday Night. Zolodz has one win on the season following a triumphant win in last year’s 63rd Bettenhausen Memorial. He is joined by former weekly Super Late Model winner Scott Koerner who also frequents victory lane with his open wheel midget. Original Wayne Carter Classic competitor Lee Schuler’s Grandson is Tristan Batson. Batson has uncle Tracy Schuler, the 1991 Grundy Champion and former ARTGO and ASA Touring Star amongst his crew on Saturday night.
The Wayne Carter Classic honors Wayne Carter, who brought auto racing to the Grundy County area. Since 1975 when Art Frigo and John McKarns formed ARTGO Racing and began this event, the goal was to bring the top Wisconsin and Midwest drivers into Chicagoland to take on the top local talent. Just as it was 50 years ago, this Saturday night’s contest will continue the rich tradition of the Wayne Carter Classic.
Click here to purchase tickets online.
Tickets can be purchased in advance via the Ticket Hoss App or at the Grundy County Speedway ticket gate on Saturday beginning at 3pm. Adult General Admission tickets are $25, Seniors (ages 62 and over) are $20, Students (ages 12-17) tickets are $10 with ages 11 and under admitted Free.
Click here for the full event schedule.
Event Schedule:
1:00 Pit Gate Opens
3:00 Spectator Gates Open
3:30 Practice Begins
5:45 Qualifying Begins
7:00 Racing Begins
Racing Divisions: The ASA Midwest Tour will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series and Grundy Sixers.
Past Wayne Carter Classic Winners
1975 Tom Reffner
1976 Dave Watson
1977 Larry Phillips
1978 Mike Miller
1979 Mike Miller
1980 Mark Malcuit
1981 Larry Schuler
1982 Jim Sauter
1983 Tom Reffner
1984 Dick Trickle
1985 Butch Miller
1986 Joe Shear
1987 Dick Trickle
1988 Joe Shear
1989 Ted Musgrave
1990 Steve Carlson
1991 Kevin Cywinski
1992 Steve Holzhausen
1993 Joe Shear
1994 Joe Shear
1995 Joe Shear
1996 Dave Weltmeyer
1997 Joe Shear
1998 Eddie Hoffman
1999 Steve Carlson
2011 Ross Kenseth
2012 Eddie Hoffman
2013 Johathan Eilen
2014 Chris Weinkauf
2015 Eddie Hoffman
2016 Ty Majeski
2017 Ricky Baker
2018 Dalton Zehr
2020 Paul Shafer Jr.
2022 Austin Nason
2023 Paul Shafer Jr.
2024 Rained Out
