Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: Older car endures for Minnesota racer
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Josh Zimpel (Tim Anderson photos)
Josh Zimpel ended his 2024 Dirt Late Model season with a thud. The 25-year-old Braham, Minn., racer was running second in the season finale at his home track, Ogilvie Raceway, when he smashed the wall.
The 2017 model Victory by Moyer car needed significant repairs that Zimpel and his crew made in mid-January at fellow racer and sponsor Don Shaw’s shop, but Zimpel wasn’t convinced his low-budget team had successfully whipped the chassis back into tip-top shape.
"I was absolutely stressed out the whole (offseason) until the first night wondering if this thing's even gonna go around in a circle,” Zimpel said. “Then the first night — we had a practice before and I thought it went pretty good — and you just never know until you get out and actually race. Then these first few weekends, I think it might be even a little better.”
A classic Weekend Warrior at the dirt track, Zimpel started the season with four consecutive top-five finishes, the second-best such stretch of his four-year Late Model career as he aims for his best-ever season. He added a solid fourth-place run Sunday in Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series action at Granite City Motor Park Speedway in Sauk Rapids, Minn. Zimpel notched single victories in his rookie season in 2022 and in ’23, when he posted a career-high 17 top-five finishes, but went winless in 2024 and will try to rebound in ’25.
Zimpel, who is joined in the Late Model division at many events by older brother Jared, first got into racing because his father and grandfather were longtime sponsors of standout WISSOTA drivers including Joey Jensen and Justin Jones.
“We just kind of fell in love with it,” said Zimpel, who is atop DirtonDirt's Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends.
While at Braham High School, being active in three sports met Zimpel’s competitive appetite. The 5-foot-11 athlete was a wide receiver on a football team that twice went to the state playoffs and finished his basketball career as a 1,000-point shooting guard, among the school’s top all-time points producers. Then it was on to racing.
“After sports, I had to have some competition,” Zimpel said. “Then we hit it hard in racing.”
First competing in the super stock division, Zimpel got the bug to move up to the higher profile Late Model class. Shaw, the champion driver who also promotes I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn., traded Zimpel an aging Late Model chassis for a super stock while connections to Georgia’s standout racers Brandon and Cody Overton also fueled Zimpel’s move into the top division.
Among five top-five finishes in his rookie Late Model season, he won at Granite City, then in 2023 grabbed at victory at I-94 Speedway.
After racing two seasons in Shaw’s vintage Victory by Moyer car — as the story goes, it’s the second such car produced by Hall of Fame driver Billy Moyer — Zimpel bought a 2017 model of the same chassis previously driven by Omaha, Neb. driver Troy Daly, in part because he already had the components and in part because he didn’t have enough money to buy a new car.
For the 2024 season, Zimpel ran fewer weekly races and more WISSOTA Challenge events against tougher competition and had some struggles.
"I got a lot more comfortable, I feel like, so I was getting myself in the worse situations with getting into wrecks or hitting a wall or stuff like that,” he said. “Then with a new car, I guess it was kind of a little bit of a curve at first, just cause I mean they're a little different.”
At Ogilvie’s 2024 weekend finale, Zimpel had a promising preliminary night that put him in the fourth starting spot for the next night’s feature. But motor problems forced him to swap his brother Jared’s powerplant into his car for the next night’s action.
In the 40-lap feature won by Pat Doar, Zimpel was up to third and catching the leaders when he “hit a rut and drove right in the wall and bent the car all up.”
A broken engine. A wrecked car. A season ended.
“We sat there for probably an hour and a half afterwards just putting on some used parts we had to be able to load it in the trailer,” Zimpel said. “It ended up knocking out all the right-front suspension, J-bar, driveshaft, rear end, the frame we had to pull over. It was like 3 inches bent over.”
Because Shaw’s shop was used late in 2024 to prepare cars for his winter racing in New Mexico and Arizona, Zimpel didn’t get into the shop until mid-January to make repairs on his Late Model.
“(Shaw) was back for a weekend so he came in there and just talked us through what we need to be doing and helped us pull it back straight,” Zimpel said. “We needed to strip the whole thing and then and throw it up on the jig and see where it was. It wasn't too bad. (Shaw) had to do it a few times, so I think he knows what he was doing.”
The car repaired, Zimpel’s grandfather pitched in to help him buy a new GM CT525 powerplant, and the car “seems like it’s working pretty good,” Zimpel said last week.
Zimpel, a construction laborer who works on concrete high-rise projects in the Twin Cities, may not get to run as many WISSOTA Challenge Series events because of his work schedule, but he’s eager to run regularly at I-94 and Ogilvie, which this year has a special $5,000-to-win points fund thanks to longtime racing supporter, sponsor and team owner Pat Kapella of Kapella Machine Electronics. Proctor (Minn.) Speedway has a similar KME-sponsored points fund, so Zimpel hopes to run those events, too.
“That's why this year I've been having a blast, because just running up (front) and being able to compete with them at all is kind of pretty cool I think,” he said.
Still a relative Late Model novice, he’d like to get more confident with more aggressive suspension setups on his car. Predicting what the car needs as the track surface transitions later in the racing program has been a challenge.
"I really feel like that's what I've been trying to do this year is just knowing what to do with the car towards the end of the night,” Zimpel said. “Like I feel like my setup in the beginning of the night's pretty good, but getting towards the end and making the right moves and decisions and knowing when to go and when to kind of sit and just let it play out, I'd say like that's a lot of the things I need to work on.
"I feel like I still don't have a huge grasp of what I'm doing, so I won't take big enough swings to really get me to that next step of really being able to drive around people.”
He’s just glad to be racing after the worries over his offseason repairs. Because the team completely stripped the car, added fresh components and made sure the frame was straight, perhaps the 8-year-old chassis is better than ever.
“Maybe it’s just flexed to perfection,” he said.
Weekly highlights
• Jeff Rine of Danville, Pa., ended a dry spell of more than two years at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway to become the track’s all-time winningest Super Late Model racer. Rine’s May 9 victory gave him 38 career division victories, one more than retired Bedford standout Scott Haus.
• Scoring a two-victory weekend, Ken Schaltenbrand of Sarver, Pa., won May 9-10 at his hometown Lernerville Speedway and then Marion Center (Pa.) Raceway. His Lernerville victory came dramatically as frontrunners Michael Norris and Logan Zarin collided in turn four on the final lap, allowing Schaltenbrand to sneak past.
• A May 10 winner at Willamette Speedway, Joey Tanner of Portland, Ore., is unbeaten in four Super Late Model starts this season at the Lebanon, Ore., oval.
• Cleared to return to racing after surgery, Mike Harrison of Highland, Ill., returned to the seat of the Steve Lampley-owned No. 33 Super Late Model with a May 10 victory at the Brownstown (Ill.) Bullring. Harrison had been sidelined because of minor vision problems after a cancerous spot — at the corner of the left eye and affecting his eyelids — was removed in an April 7 procedure.
• National touring racer Max Blair of Centerville, Pa., made a brief return to local racing with a vengeance on May 9-11, winning Super Late Model features at Tri-City Raceway Park in Franklin, Pa., Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., and Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa. He also won Crate Late Model features on the RUSH tour at Stateline and Eriez with the five victories paying more than than $15,000 in earnings.
• Mitch Johnson of Hickson, N.D., one of the state’s winningest all-time Dirt Late Model competitors, won his 2025 opener May 9 at Buffalo River Speedway in Glyndon, Minn., for his first Late Model feature victory since 2011 (he retired several years ago and returned to racing in 2021).
• Making a last-lap pass of Mike Bores on May 9, Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, remained a perfect 5-for-5 in Super Late Model competition in 2025 at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park.
• Chad Becker of Aberdeen, S.D., had a two-victory weekend with a May 9 triumph at his hometown Brown County Speedway and May 11 victory at Buffalo River Speedway.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Winning May 10 at Elkins Raceway in Kerens, W.Va., Kris Southern of Jane Lew, W.Va., notched his first Super Late Model victory.
• A multidivision winner and champion for four decades at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va., Donnie Dotson of West Union, W.Va., broke through May 10 with his first career Super Late Model victory.
• Winning May 9 at Kankakee County Speedway in Kankakee, Ill., Ryan Miller of Lincoln, Ill., scored his first career Crate Late Model victory.
• Matt Tifft of Cleveland, Ohio, who has competed in NASCAR divisions, notched his first Super Late Model feature victory May 10 at Hummingbird Speedway in Reynoldsville, Pa.
• Winning May 10 at Mudlick Valley Raceway in Wallingford, Ky., Lucas Crooks of Grayson, Ky., notched his first Super Late Model victory. He’s the 19-year-old grandson of Hall of Fame racer Charlie Swartz.
• Winning May 10’s Super Six Late Model opener, Mike Mullen of Seymour, Wis., notched his first career Plymouth (Wis.) Dirt Track victory.
Weekly news briefs
• River Cities Speedway has continued the Hart Luck Award for a second season, which awards $100 to the 14th-place finisher Late Model features the Grand Forks, N.D., track. The award is in memory of former No. 14 Late Model racer and track Hall of Famer Bruce Hart, who died in 2023 at the age of 63. Hart’s sister, Angie Lommen, funds the award, which at May 9’s opener was won by Hart’s good friend and longtime racer Tom Corcoran.
• After the scoring loop broke at the May 10 season opener, The Dirt Track at Genesee in Batavia, N.Y., dug up the loop May 12 and replaced it. The track was debuting MyRacePass live timing at the opening event, where Dave DuBois won the Crate Late Model feature.
• DIRTcar’s weekly points haven’t been reported for 2025 as the organization puts the finishing touches on a new system. Director Sam Driggers said points updates should begin soon.
• Thunder Mountain Speedway in Corbin, Ky., has added a $2,500-to-win Memorial Day weekend special for the Crate Late Model division on May 24.
• With the passing of track co-founder Donna Green, difficult spring weather and loss of track prep time, Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, pushed back its season opener to May 17. The track’s four-division program will be highlighted by DIRTcar-sancctioned Super Late Models.
• Marion Center (Pa.) Raceway was able to complete its season-opening program despite losing partial power in the afternoon because of transformer problems. REA Energy Cooperative quickly dispatched a crew that made repairs, restoring the track lighting and full power to the concession stands. The race program was delayed less than a half hour. Ken Schaltenbrand of Sarver, Pa., won the Super Late Model main event at the track that hosts a World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series doubleheader on May 16-17.
• May 9’s opening night at Hidden Valley Speedway in Clearfield, Pa., was postponed Friday morning because the ambulance service wasn’t able to attend and a replacement wasn’t immediately available. The track’s opener is now on May 16’s Armed Forces night followed by May 23’s Shawn “Sheetz” McGarvey Memorial, a $3,000-to-win Super Late Model event.
• Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Mich., has been listed for sale nearly two years after its closure under owners Scott and Pam Phillips. The 3/8-mile oval’s sale includes all track equipment on the 32-acre property listed at $439,000.
• Some competitors and spectators may have to take a different route to Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway beginning the second half of the season. The U.S. 40 bridge across the Conococheague Creek will be closed in June for a 25-month repair project. Departing the track, all traffic must exit left out of the parking lot during the National Pike Bridge closure. The project will repair the support columns on the 89-year-old bridge.
• Winchester (Va.) Speedway announced that June 28's Jimmy Spence Memorial for Super Late Models will pay a minimum $5,091-to-win at the 3/8-mile oval. More information will be announced.
• Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., is looking for a flagger for the 2025 season. Send a message to the track’s Facebook page. The season opens May 30.
• After the track’s new surface debuted May 10, Shawano (Wis.) Speedway added 20 more truckloads of clay to try to continue track improvements. Some clay will be put in the infield for future use. Shawano also announced that June 7’s Hall of Fame Night honorees will be Joe Haferkorn and Jeff Teske along with John and Soon Stezenski.
• The XR Northern Storm miniseries moves to early-season dates in 2025 with four mid-June dates and a July 3 event for the finale at ABC Raceway in Ashland, Wis. Each independent WISSOTA-rules Late Model program pays $1,500-to-win with June 12-15 dates at Proctor (Minn.) Speedway, Gondik Law Speedway in Superior, Wis., Grand Rapids (Minn.) Speedway and Hibbing (Minn.) Speedway. The miniseries points fund pays $1,500 to the champion and pays back 10 places.
Weekly points
IMCA (Limiteds): Curtis Glover of Knoxville, Iowa, has 287 points to lead Zach Meitner (230) and Anthony Roth (227).
USRA (Limiteds): Cade Nelson of Hermantown, Minn., has 833 points to lead Lucas Peterson (786) and rookie Ryan Howe (739).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Chad Becker of Aberdeen, S.D., has 313 points to lead Tyler Peterson (312) and Devin Fouquette (259).
American All-Stars (Crates): Oscar McCown of Martin, Ky., has 192 points to lead Brandon Fouts (188) and Braeson Fulton (172).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Brett White of Kosciusko, Miss., has 395 points to lead Covy Parsons (377) and Zack Owens (337).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Shannon Lee of Lumberton, Miss., has 372 points to lead Sid Scarbrough (371) and Ban Davis (365).
RUSH (604 Crates): Multitime champ Jeremy Wonderling of Wellsville, N.Y., has 196 points to lead Demetrios Drellos (188) and Austin Allen (186).
Ultimate (Crates): Chandi Currence of Clarksburg, W.Va., has 66 points to lead Noah Whited (63) with Braeden Dillinger and Garret Paugh at 35 points apiece.
(Weekly points for DIRTcar, POWRi and RUSH haven’t been released).
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Hartford (Mich.) Speedway (May 16): The lone Super Late Model (unsanctioned) appearance of the season sets a $5,000-to-win purse with two lower divisions also on the card.
Kankakee County Speedway, Kankakee, Ill. (May 16): The track’s Crate Late Model division chases a $1,200-to-win purse sponsored by Big Rig Oil Pros (regular divisions in action with Crown Vic special).
Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway (May 17): The track’s regular-season Super Late Model feature pays $4,000-to-win with Rick Eckert atop the early points chase after four events.
All-Tech Raceway, Ellisville, Fla. (May 17): Tuning up for the Harvey Jones Memorial a week later, 604 Crate Late Models chase a $3,000-to-win program for the Jett Concrete-sponsored division.
