By: Kevin Ramsell
(Wisconsin Dells, WI) – This Saturday’s Jim Sauter Classic 200 presented by Don’s Auto Truck Center & Hableman Bros., Company at Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells, WI, will be the 200th event for the Midwest Tour.
On April 28, 2007, an idea spawned by Tim Olson and Steve Einhaus, along with the assistance of the late ARTGO promoter John McKarns, Carl Schultz of Five Star Stock Car Bodies, and Dennis Huth of ASA Racing, came to life with the first-ever ASA Midwest Tour event at Elko Speedway in Elko, MN.
Jonathan Eilen was the first-ever winner that night, and a new series was underway and has kept going strong for 18 years.
In December of 2014, Gregg and Angie McKarns took over as the new owners of the series. At the end of the 2022 season, Track Enterprises purchased the Tour with the McKarns still overseeing the popular series.
The series continues to be a premier super late model series in the Midwest with many events at some of the popular short tracks honoring some of yesterday’s heroes.
In the first 199 events, there have been 54 different winners, with Ty Fredrickson being the latest at the last event, the Wayne Carter Classic 100 at Grundy County Speedway.
Over 570 drivers have competed in at least one Midwest Tour event and have competed at 22 different tracks in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Many drivers who competed in a Midwest Tour event have gone on to compete in the top levels of NASCAR, winning monumental races and championships.
Recent NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski is, by far, the most successful driver in the Midwest Tour.
The Seymour, Wisconsin driver has five championships, 39 victories, 16 fast qualifier awards, 60 top-fives, and 67 top-ten finishes in 91 starts.
Other champions include: Casey Johnson (3), Gabe Sommers (2), Steve Carlson (2), Dan Fredrickson (2), Dalton Zehr (1), Jonathan Eilen (1), Andrew Morrissey (1), and Nathan Haseleu (1).
Jonathan Eilen leads the drivers with 157 starts. Andrew Morrissey is second with 138. Dan Fredrickson has 99, with Nate Haseleu having 98. Chris Weinkauf has 97.
Ty Majeski has 91 starts with 39 victories and has won 42.9% of the ASAMT events he has competed in so far in his career.
Please join us in celebrating 200 Midwest Tour events this Saturday night at Dells Raceway Park for the Jim Sauter Classic 200 presented by Don’s Auto Truck Center & Hableman Bros. Company.
Tickets for this Saturday night’s Jim Sauter Classic 200 presented by Don’s Auto Truck Center & Hableman Bros. Company are on sale now by clicking here.
***CLICK HERE FOR THE EXPECTED ASA MIDWEST TOUR ENTRY LIST***
About Jim Sauter: Jim Sauter won back-to-back ARTGO Challenge Series Championships in 1981 and 1982. Over the course of his career he recorded twenty ARTGO feature wins and seven ASA National Series wins before heading south where he made seventy-six NASCAR Winston Cup Series starts, recording four top-tens in the process. Over the course of his career, he won some of the biggest short track races of the day including the North Star 500 at the Minnesota State Fair, Rockford’s National Short Track Championship and the All-American 400 at Nashville Fairgrounds.
Schedule of Events for Jim Sauter Classic, Saturday August 30, 2025:
12pm Pit Gate Opens
2pm Spectator Gates Open
2pm Practice Begins
4:30pm Qualifying Begins
6pmRacing Begins
Ticket Pricing: ***CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS***
Adults: $25 advance / $30 Day of Race
Senior (65+), EMS and Military $20 advance / $25 Day of Race
Students (ages 13-17) $12
Kids (ages 6-12) $5
Children ages 5 and under Free
Family Pack (2 adults and up to four youth ages 17 and under) $60
Divisions: The ASA Midwest Tour will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series and 602 Outlaw Late Models.
Location: Dells Raceway Park is located at N1070 Smith Road in Wisconsin Dells, WI. For additional information visit www.dellsracewaypark.com or call 608-253-7223
Past Winners Jim Sauter Classic
2021- Rich Bickle, Jr
2022- Gabe Sommers
2023- Ty Majeski
2024- Max Kahler
Other Past ASA Midwest Tour Winners at Dells Raceway Park
2007- Kenny Richards
2008- Donny Reuvers
2009- Steve Carlson, Frank Kreyer
2010- Tim Schendel
2013- Dan Fredrickson
2014- Travis Sauter
2016- Derek Kraus
2017- Ty Majeski
2018- Johnny Sauter
2019- Ty Majeski
2020- Johnny Sauter
