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 July 13 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 four states which includes five former Chicagoland Super Late Model Champions and six 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 Champion in his own right is a two-time Wayne Carter Classic winner while Hoffman, a nine-time Chicagoland 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 Champions Anthony Danta and Blake Brown will also be in action. Brown currently sits second in Grundy County Speedway points, just six markers behind Hoffman.
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. Defending ASA Midwest Tour Champion Gabe Sommers who finished second in the last two Carter Classics will be joined by five-time Tour Champ Ty Majeski, the 2016 event winner. 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, Justin Mondeik who raced to a fifth place showing last year, John Beale and Max Kahler.
Additional drivers entered for Saturday night with wins under their belts include Central Wisconsin winner and second place points man Levon VanDerGeest, Rookie point leader Ty Fredrickson and past Dells winner Braden Berge plus weekly Late Model winners Kyle Shear and Joseph Scholze. With the Midwest Truck Series as part of this event for the first time, former Truck Series winners Joe Valento and Andy Jones will be behind the wheel of their Super Late Models. Another driver to keep an eye on is James Lynch. The Palos Park pilot has won in Super Late Model action at Grundy and in the Trucks, he was this event’s fastest qualifier just a year ago.
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 nearly 50 years ago, this Saturday night’s contest will continue the rich tradition of the Wayne Carter Classic.
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.
Event Schedule:
1:00 Pit Gate Opens
3:00 Spectator Gates Open
3:30 Practice Begins
5:40 Qualifying Begins
7:00 Racing Begins
Racing Divisions: The ASA Midwest Tour will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series and Midwest Dash Series.
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.
