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Promoters and race track representatives gathered for the WISSOTA annual meeting, held November 7-8 in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Administrative and car rule changes come out of 41st WISSOTA annual meeting in November

By Scott Hughes
All The Dirt! Racing News

ST. CLOUD, MN (Nov. 7) - The 41st WISSOTA annual meeting got underway Friday morning with representatives of 31 member tracks on hand.

After introductions by all in attendance, I-94 Speedway (Keyanna Shaw) requested there be an addition to the Late Model rules discussion on Saturday's agenda. A motion was made by Devils Lake Speedway (Heather MacDonald), seconded by Jamestown Speedway (Tim Baldwin), to add that item to the agenda. The motion passed 29-0.

WISSOTA President Tim Carlson then requested a motion to approve minutes from the 2024 annual meeting: Grand Rapids Speedway (Bob Broking) made the motion, which was seconded by Fiesta City Speedway (Brittany Scott). The motion passed 28-0.

The room was then cleared, with the exception of the board and one voting member from each track, to discuss confidential financial matters in the treasurer’s report.

When the full meeting resumed, General Manager Nikki Cook and Operations Manager Callie Sullivan reminded the promoters in attendance the policies for scheduling and rescheduling events and asked for their continued cooperation after a successful 2025 season in that regard.

Attention then turned to nominations for board elections. Cook stressed that those accepting nominations understand WISSOTA has a “working board” and the responsibilities are equivalent to maintaining a separate part-time job throughout the year, and includes not only regular meetings but also the WISSOTA 100 week and the annual meeting weekend.

With that, Cook asked for nominations from the floor. There will be two open three-year positions on the board. Mike Jordet indicated that he would like to run again as an incumbent board member. The other open position was that of the late Scott Engfer, who died in late 2025. Those nominated included: Brian Riedemann from Granite City Motor Park, Deb Engfer from I-94 Speedway and Troy Hoyles from Madison Speedway.

Those who were nominated then had an opportunity to introduce themselves to the gathered promoters and provide their backgrounds and qualifications prior to elections Friday afternoon.

Chris Stepan then provided a report on the 2025 Late Model Challenge Series. Eighteen of 21 events were completed and 140 drivers raced at least one event (142 in 2024). Structural Buildings has signed on to be the title sponsor through the 2027 season. Momentum Truck Group, the presenting sponsor, has also renewed its sponsorship through 2027 and Stepan provided a long list of other series sponsors. The series averaged 31 cars per event and at the banquet, champion Dave Mass will receive the largest champion check in history, $12,000, plus a $2,500 bonus in 2026 sponsorship from Structural Buildings. The 2025 series was a profitable endeavor once again following a good 2024 turnaround.

Jacy Norgaard then provided a report on WISSOTA's website and social media. He and Stepan managed that aspect of WISSOTA's communication efforts in 2025 on all relevant platforms.

Norgaard also provided an update on Dirt Race Central, which has become a major partner for WISSOTA and premier source for WISSOTA video content on the web. DRC has grown from a single handheld Sony camcorder in the hands of owner Ben Kruchten to multi-camera broadcasts like the WISSOTA 100. DRC provided video from approximately 30 tracks in 2025.

Attention then turned to discussion about WISSOTA administrative policies, through agenda items requested both by promoters and the board of directors.

Bemidji Speedway (Tonja Stranger) asked that the number of show points given on race night be determined by the division's car count, so if a track does not have at least nine cars, the show points awarded mirror the division's car count that night. After discussion, no motion was made.

Bemidji Speedway also asked that WISSOTA consider developing a private social media page or a place where tech officials and promoters can provide information to each other and have discussions that are not available to the public. Norgaard suggested using Slack for this application. On a related matter, Bemidji Speedway also inquired about making a weekly DQ (disqualification) report available as it had always in the past.

Bemidji Speedway asked if there is anything that can be done WISSOTA-wide to deter or punish negative social media users and interactions. Cook said WISSOTA's legal counsel indicates that WISSOTA cannot do anything about this but at the track level, promoters are free to delete comments, ban users, fine drivers, etc. if warranted.

Bemidji Speedway also requested that WISSOTA create a scholarship program in honor of longtime WISSOTA tech official Bill Engelstad, who died unexpectedly on Thanksgiving Day 2024. She envisions a scholarship available to young people who wish to get a technical education in an automotive-related field. Bemidji Speedway made a motion for $10,000 to be set aside with procedures and criteria to be developed by a committee. The initial proposal failed to pass. However, after more discussion, the scope for the idea was widened to “In Memory Of Those Lost Close To WISSOTA” as a scholarship program. A motion was made by Devils Lake Speedway (Heather MacDonald) and seconded by Nate Fischer of Ogilvie Raceway. The motion passed on a 30-0 vote. A small group of volunteers agreed to be on a committee to develop criteria.

River Cities Speedway (Brad Seng) asked for a discussion to remove heat points for all Late Model events. According to Stepan, WISSOTA is the only national sanction in the US that awards heat points for Late Model events. Seng said he believes the system used now gives outsized importance to heat points. Others agreed. Sullivan indicated that the move back to the point system used in 2025 generated more multi-track point champions, whereas the system used prior to that seemed to end with a wider disbursement of track champions. Other discussion centered on how tracks could adjust the sizes of their heat races more easily if no heat points were used. Seng made a motion to return Late Models to the previously-used point system (prior to 2025) in 2026, seconded by I-94 Speedway (Keyanna Shaw). Further discussion highlighted the importance of doing some comparison of systems side-by-side prior to making any changes. A canvas of tracks in attendance indicated that about half of the tracks were interested in learning more about returning to the previous point system, while about half believe the 2025 system worked well and does not need to be changed. The motion was rescinded prior to a vote. The topic will be discussed again Saturday after further research.

Brown County Speedway (Kent Arment) also asked for a discussion on points and lineups. He indicated drivers at his track would like to utilize a point average system, and would like to know if each track could decide on its own which lineup system to use. KRA Speedway (Justin Hedtke) made a motion that WISSOTA return to a three-week point average for lineups, and remove all DNF (did not finish) results from the three-point average calculations. The motion was seconded by Gillette Thunder Speedway (Ed Kirchoff). The motion failed on a 13-15 vote.

Madison Speedway (Troy Hoyles) and KRA Speedway asked for a clarification of rookie status eligibility because of a situation that occurred at their tracks in their local Pure Stock class and the WISSOTA Street Stock class in 2025. No official action was taken, but during the discussion of the topic, Kirchoff stated that he felt communication between the tech committee and board to the promoters and drivers can be improved, and made several suggestions to make that happen.

KRA Speedway asked for clarification on the rookie status rule with regard to the WISSOTA 100, which is three separate shows. He asked if a driver hoping to be a rookie the following year could race unlimited shows after Labor Day (in the current year) which would not count toward the five shows allowed before a racer loses “rookie” status. He did not make a motion and no official action was taken.

Devils Lake Speedway asked the promoters to consider changing the Late Model mileage requirement and number of national point shows. Grand Rapids Speedway (Bob Broking) made a motion that WISSOTA returns to a 20-show limit for Late Model national points; however, there was no second to the motion so no vote was taken.

Callie Sullivan explained that the previously published “No Points, No Pay” conduct rule was inadvertently deleted from the current rule book, and that some tracks had then been confused about whether they should be disqualifying drivers from both the heat and the feature, or just the feature. She asked for clarification so all tracks treat the situation the same — either all points should be taken away, or no points should be taken away. A motion was made by Devils Lake, seconded by Hibbing Speedway (Jonathan Powers), to strip drivers who violate the conduct rule of all points and pay for that show. The motion passed on a 27-0 vote.

There was a lengthy discussion focused on how WISSOTA as an organization, and the tracks as individual operations, can agree to a policy which allows WISSOTA sponsors to be aired during tracks' livestreams at all events which include WISSOTA classes. There will be inherent conflicts between some local sponsors and some WISSOTA sponsors, and track operators asked the wording to be refined so there is no unreasonable requirement placed upon them by WISSOTA.

Josh Holt of My Race Pass and Joe Vinson of Raceceiver spoke with the promoters about product and service updates for the coming year.

Cook also brought a proposal for promoters to consider regarding an increase in membership fees. Many of the fees that tracks currently pay to be members of WISSOTA have not been increased for years — in a few cases, decades. She asked the promoters to spend the evening considering options she had outlined in the proposal.

Time was also set aside for a promoter roundtable discussion, based on a survey that had been sent to the tracks. Twelve tracks had sent replies to a questionnaire and the anonymous results were shared with the group.

To finish the day’s events, board election results were announced. Incumbent Mike Jordet was re-elected to his board position and Brian Riedemann was also elected to serve a three-year term on the WISSOTA board.

On Saturday, the morning session began with a brief visit from Shanon Rush of Hoosier Racing Tire and Scott Willis of Hoosier Tire North. Rush offered his condolences to WISSOTA's members on the loss of former technical director Bill Engelstad, then moved on to discuss Hoosier's testing programs of the Hoosier 35W tire used in a variety of WISSOTA classes. They have been attempting to replicate and solve the issue of some tires delaminating (chunking out tread) during on-track use. Through in-factory testing, followed by on-track testing at both Boone Speedway and Ogilvie Raceway, they believe they have identified the reason a number of tires have delaminated. For 2026, they intend to produce the same tire, using the same compound, but also plan to test a slightly different compound, in controlled conditions, at a variety of WISSOTA tracks in 2026, to ensure they solve the problem rather than risking the creation of a different problem. Rush also stressed that drivers should not use cleaners, chemicals, or anything other than water to wash their tires, because the ingredients in many cleaners, solvents and tire treatments (anything other than water) pull essential moisture and oils out of the tires. He said you should wash your tires as soon as possible after racing, just to get the clay out of all the grooves, because when clay dries, it also pulls moisture from the tires. He stressed: no cleaners, no chemicals, just water.

Cook then directed the conversation back to a couple of topics which were tabled from Friday's agenda.

With regards to the WISSOTA national point system, she stressed that the board’s opinion was there should be no snap decisions made at this annual meeting and there was a motion by Ogilvie Raceway, seconded by Red Cedar (Johnny Johnson) to have the board analyze the point system and results in 2026, using the current system but comparing it to the old point system (with no heat race points) to see what different results that may yield. The motion passed on a 26-0 vote.

The second topic was a discussion about the promoter contract and WISSOTA's desire to have WISSOTA national sponsor logos or ads placed into all track livestreams. The concern is that some tracks have local sponsors who conflict with WISSOTA national sponsors, so they do not wish to have them on their local track livestreams. The contract will be revised to express that WISSOTA “strongly encourages” tracks to incorporate national sponsors in all possible instances, rather than using the word “must” or “mandatory” in the promoter contract. Brown County Speedway promoter Kent Arment reminded all of the promoters in the room that THEY are WISSOTA, and satisfying a simple request like this should not be a problem. There was then a motion by Ogilvie Raceway, seconded by Red Cedar Speedway, to make that change to the promoter contract. The motion was approved on a 28-0 vote.

The promoters also voted to accept a proposal from the board which will increase both annual and weekly sanction fees beginning in 2026.

WISSOTA will also clean up wording to clarify that national points can be awarded to classes which make up a rained-out feature from the regular season but is made up during the special event season.

With that completed, conversation turned to car rules and the changes being implemented for 2026 by the tech committee, who introduced themselves. Committee member Justin Pogones then led a discussion on rule changes which will be enacted for 2026, including the following:

Multi-Class:

• A single 12-volt battery only may be used in the Midwest Mod, Super Stock, Street Stock, Pure Stock and Mod Four divisions.

• The Willy’s Equalizer carburetor will be allowed in the Midwest Modifieds and Street Stocks.

• Implement a new fuel cell plate (a rollover protection device). See rule book for further details.

• A restrictor plate will be determined for open class Late Models and Modifieds to compete in WISSOTA events (such as when traveling series or drivers are in the area). There may also be a limited license developed to attract such drivers to run in WISSOTA events.

• Any body supports used may not be covered in any way or by any material.

• The crankshaft weight for Mopar engines, where allowed by rules, must be a minimum of 51 pounds.

• The engine protest fee will be: Late Model and Modified $500 top end or $1,000 complete; Super Stock, Midwest Mod, Street Stock, Mod Four and Pure Stock $300 top end or $600 complete.

• Crate engines must have an inspection hole in the oil pan (subject to revision by tech committee; see rule book for confirmation).

Late Models:

• Body rules will be aligned with the Lucas Oil Series and World Of Outlaws rules.

• Rock guard rule will be instituted to match the current rule in the Modifieds.

• If using the Late Model 525 Crate, the maximum spoiler height is 8" and you must have 25 pounds added on frame rails both sides of engine. The RPM limit will stay at 7200, and there will be no timing curve rule.

Modifieds:

• Rear shocks must be mounted no more than 25 degrees from a vertical position.

• No over-indexing of rear bird cages is permitted. A solid stop (bolt) may be installed to prevent over-indexing. Packers, bump stops, biscuits, chains or any other materials meant to limit suspension travel are not allowed.

• The top edge of the rear quarter panel and complete door where it joins the hood must be in a straight line, front to back and left to right, with 1” of tolerance on both sides of car.

• Right front frame height can be a maximum of 7.5”.

Super Stocks:

• Must have straight body side-to-side. The whole body needs to be a maximum width of 75” and a minimum width of 72”.

• Total body clearance of the lower part, including the nose, must be a minimum of 4” from the ground.

• The tech committee will test the Edelbrock 2701 intake with a spec spacer for potentially allowing its use in the future.

Midwest Mods:

• A digital rev limiting box allowed only; no chip boxes allowed.

• The minimum car weight for all engine and rear end packages will be 2625; if you are required to have weight in front of the mid-plate because of the engine package you use, that rule also still applies.

• The tech committee will continue testing of the Howe manufactured frame.

• No header covers are allowed.

• Right front frame height can be a maximum of 7.5”.

Street Stocks:

• The open engine with GM heads will be allowed in 2026 (final year), but not in 2027. In 2027, the EQ-headed engine will be the only one allowed.

• A digital rev limiting box allowed only; no chip boxes allowed.

• The tech committee will develop a suggested exhaust pipe length to get heat directed away from the drivers’ feet.

• In 2027, the transmission rule will be the same as in the Midwest Mod division.

• The Speedway Motors manufactured Hobby Stock frame 916-78881 will now be allowed.

• Parts from the Speedway Motors frame 916-78881 may be used on the front stub or rear clip to repair stock frames.

• In 2027, the transmission rule will be the same as the current Midwest Mod rule. For 2026, the existing Street Stock rule remains in force.

Mod Fours:

• The spec spacer height restriction for the 2.3 engine is 1.25” maximum.

• No adjustable dials or manual switches for power steering in cockpit. No adjustable power steering at all allowed.

• Ford 9” rear ends will be allowed in 2026 (stock or aftermarket, with a spool), on a test basis. Drivers and promoters are asked to provide the tech committee with the names of drivers utilizing 9” rear ends in the coming season.

Pure Stocks:

• Tires must be used Hoosier 35W with a tread depth maximum of 7/32” (.219).

• No digital tach and/or gauges allowed.

• In 2027, powerglide transmissions with SFI approved bell housing are allowed.

Hornets:

• No racing wheels; same rims must be used side to side, and they must be stock OEM wheels. Must use same wheels side to side and front to rear.

• Power steering and alternator are optional.

Drivers should refer to the 2026 WISSOTA rule book for additional information and clarifications for all rules in all classes. The new rule book should be available prior to January 1, 2026.

The tech committee has stated that once the approved 2026 rule changes are implemented, a rules freeze will be in effect through the end of the 2027 racing season. Exceptions may be made only for safety-related updates, product availability issues, or to address a competitive advantage.

A motion to approve the 2026 promoter contract was made by Proctor Speedway (Donnie Lofdahl) and seconded by KRA Speedway. The motion to approve was 22-0.

As is customary, The Crash Carlson (Gondik Law Speedway) made the motion to adjourn the meeting.