Dells Raceway Park formerly known as the Dells Motor Speedway, is a car racing raceway

Race track

A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...

 located in the town of Lyndon

Lyndon, Juneau County, Wisconsin

Lyndon is a town in Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,217 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 29.6 square miles , of which, 28.3 square miles of it is land and 1.3 square miles of it ...

, in Juneau County

Juneau County, Wisconsin

Juneau County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the population was 24,316. Its county seat is Mauston. It should not, however, be confused with the city of Juneau, Wisconsin, to which it has no connection.-Geography:...

, north of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells is a city in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2,418 as of the 2000 census. It straddles four counties: Adams, Columbia, Juneau, and Sauk. The city takes its name from the dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic, glacially formed gorge that features striking sandstone...

 just off of U.S. Route 12

U.S. Route 12

U.S. Route 12 or US 12 is an east–west United States highway, running from Grays Harbor on the Pacific Ocean, in the state of Washington, to downtown Detroit, for almost . As a thoroughfare, it has mostly been supplanted by I-90 and I-94, but remains an important road for local travel.The...

/Wisconsin Highway 16. It is a 1/3 mile asphalt track that is used for stock car racing

Stock car racing

Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...

. The track has hosted races featuring the ARTGO

ARTGO

The ARTGO Challenge Series was a United States midwest late model short track racing series that ran from 1975 until 1998. Many race car drivers have used the ARTGO series as a stepping stone to get into ASA, ARCA, and NASCAR. A guy by the name of Art Frigo created the series with the help of Bob...

 Challenge Series, the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Midwest Series

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Midwest Series

The AutoZone Elite Division, Midwest Series is a defunct racing league that operated from 1998 to 2006 under the direction of NASCAR. The series raced light-weight late model race cars....

, the ASA Midwest Tour

ASA Midwest Tour

The American Speed Association Kwik Trip Midwest Tour Presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment is a pavement Super Late Model Touring Series based in the Midwest United States...

, the Mid-American Stock Car Series

Mid-American Stock Car Series

The Mid American Stock Car Series is a traveling Sportsman Series in the Midwestern United States. The series races exclusively on paved racetracks. The cars are based on a 108" metric stock frame, less costly suspension parts and a maximum of 358 cubic inch engine...

, the Wisconsin Challenge Series, and the Must See Racing.com Xtreme Sprint Car Series. The track, which opened in 1958, sits on 38 acres (153,780.7 m²) of land.

The track closed during the middle of the 2006 season over a bank fraud case, but the track
was purchased during the following off-season by a group of three investors that included NASCAR driver and Dells area native Frank Kreyer

Frank Kreyer

Frank Kreyer is an American racecar driver from Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. He has started in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series.-Racing career:...

. It reopened in 2007.

Howard Johnson, one of the original track owners, like to call the track "Home of the Biggies". The track has a reputation of being "what a short track should be." Dick Trickle

Dick Trickle

Richard "Dick" Trickle is a retired American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle has competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC.In more than an estimated 2,200 races, Trickle has logged...

described driving the track, "You drop low in the corners and then drift high on the straights. You try to make the track into the roundest oval possible."

Track Shutdown in 2006

Bryan Severson, the owner of 5 County Towing in Reedsburg, bought the track from then owner Luke Herring in 2002. During the 2006 season the track was having financial difficulties with paying the drivers, and by mid-July Severson was forced to shutdown the track after his arrest on federal charges of bank fraud. Further investigation found that back in 2002 and 2003 Severson had received bank loans from Mark Hardyman, the president of the First National Bank of Blanchardville, and used his towing business and Dells Raceway Park as collateral. To cover up the loans from the bank's board of directors, Severson had written several worthless checks worth millions of dollars. The bank eventually did collapse in 2003. Severson was sentenced in February 2008 to nearly 12 years in federal prison after being convicted of 28 felony counts. Severson was ordered to repay the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation about $6.4 million that he was responsible for in the intended loss to the bank, less about $700,000 the FDIC received from another bank that bought some of Severson's loans which used the track as collateral.

Lyle Nabbefeldt Memorial

The only fatality in the track's 50 plus year history occurred on May 26, 1973 when Wisconsin Rapids driver Lyle Nabbefeldt lost control of his car entering turn one during time trials, crashed into the outside wall and was killed instantly. The Lyle Nabbefeldt Memorial began in 1974 as a tribute to the driver, and it became the Dells' annual marquee event until its last running in the late 1990s. The first running of the event was a 100-lap feature, but the feature format was changed the next year to running two 55-lap features with an overal champion being declared. The change was made to reflect the number 55s that Nabbefeldt ran throughout his racing career. Another unique part of the Nabbefeldt Memorial was the winner's trophy, known as the Nabbefeldt Traveling Trophy. The overall champion of the Nabbefeldt Memorial was allowed to keep the trophy until the following year's running of the race. If any one driver was able to win the Nabbefeldt Memorial three years in a row, that driver would take permanent possession of the trophy and a new one would be introduced. Three drivers were able to win the Nabbefeldt Memorial two years in a row, but no one was able to the win the race three straight years.

Track Records

• Super Late Models: Jeff Kendall, Montello - May 10, 2008 - 13.194 seconds
• Limited Late Models: Kevin Tunks - August 4, 2002 - 14.088 seconds
• Super Stocks: Travis Hancock - September 6, 2008 - 14.629 seconds
• Pure Stocks: Brad Luck - May 1, 2010 - 15.722 seconds

External links

• Dells Raceway Park website