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WISSOTA Modifieds top five included (L to R): Champion Blake Adams; Simon Wahlstrom 2nd (accepted by Bob Wahlstrom); Aiden Hoffman, 3rd; Bryan Hessler, 4th; and Joe Chaplin, 5th. (Brent Creaser Photo)

Rice Lake gives 2025 season its final send-off during its annual awards banquet

By Ed Reichert

WISSOTA Super Stocks top five included (L to R): Champion Leslie Leu; Alex Myers, 2nd; Ryan Olson, 3rd; Curt Myers, 4th; and Michael Anderson, 5th. (Brent Creaser Photo)

RICE LAKE, WI – Saturday night, February 21, racers, crews, sponsors and fans of Rice Lake Speedway joined with track owners Dick Kalow, Dean and Kolby Kiehl (Rice Lake Speedway LLC) to celebrate the second year of racing under the new ownership group and to honor those racers who led the way at the speedway in 2025.

For the first time ever, the track banquet was held at St. Croix Casino in Turtle Lake and the entire evening was a resounding success. What was believed to be the largest crowd in modern history for the track's race banquet was on hand to honor the top five competitors in each of the track’s five divisions, along with rookies of the year in each class and other special awards and presentations.

WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds top five included (L to R): Champion Blake Adams; Cody Cimfl, 3rd; Mike Schnider, 4th; Jake Stai, 5th. Not pictured: Travis Anderson, 2nd. (Brent Creaser Photo)

Heading the list of honorees were the five point champions at the speedway. Winning those titles were Cameron’s Blake Adams in both the Modifieds and Midwest Modifieds, Medford’s Leslie Leu in the Super Stocks, Mondovi’s Danny Richards in the Street Stocks, and Cameron’s Rob Grabon in the Pure Stocks.

Along with receiving their 6-foot trophies as point champions, each of the champions was honored with a highlight video of their season at Rice Lake, which was produced by Cushion Banger Media.

Joining Adams in the top five for the Modified class were runner-up Simon Wahlstrom from Mikana, Aiden Hoffman from Rice Lake, Bryan Hessler from Chetek, and Joe Chaplin, Jr. from Cameron.

WISSOTA Street Stocks top five included (L to R): Champion Danny Richards; Cole Richards, 2nd; Cody Cimfl, 3rd; Zach Beaulieu, 4th; and Connor Franson, 5th. (Brent Creaser Photo)

Along with Leu in the Super Stocks, others in the top five were Alex Myers from Cameron, Ryan Olson from Ladysmith, Curt Myers from Cameron and Mickey Anderson from Dallas.

As a multiple winning driver, Adams was joined in the Midwest Modifieds by second-place finisher Travis Anderson from Colfax, Cody Cimfl from Chetek, Mike Schnider from Chetek and Jake Stai from New Auburn.

It was another great year for the Richards family in the Street Stocks as Danny Richards was followed in second place by his son Cole, also from Mondovi. Cimfl was also a double honoree in third, while Zach Beaulieu from Chetek was fourth and Connor Franson from Conrath had his best finish ever in fifth.

WISSOTA Pure Stocks top five included (L to R): Champion Rob Grabon; Bob Wahlstrom, 2nd; Steve Karshbaum, 3rd; Mark Barta, 4th; and Marlene Lannet, 5th. (Brent Creaser Photo)

Behind champion Grabon in the Pure Stocks were Bob Wahlstrom from Chetek in second, followed by Steve Karshbaum from New Auburn, Mark Barta from Rice Lake, and Marlene Lannet from Rice Lake.

The top rookie driver in each class was also honored. To complete a remarkable racing season at the Rice Lake Speedway, not only did Blake Adams win the point title in both the Midwest Modified and Modified class, he was also the rookie of the year in the Modifieds. Chris Gross from Turtle Lake was the Super Stock rookie of the year, finishing 21st in the track standings. Cade Johnson, the seventh-place finisher in the Midwest Modifieds, came all the way south from Iron, Minnesota every Saturday night to earn the honors in that class. Layla Chaplin from Cameron finished 14th in Street Stock points to earn rookie-of-the-year honors in that class and Mark Barta, who finished fourth in Pure Stock points, earned honors in that class.

The Unsung Hero Awards, as picked by the track ownership, were track employees Brian Rinehart and Jeff Bender.

During the 2025 racing season Curt Myers broke the track record for all-time feature wins in the Super Stock class, a record held by Don Drew and for a long time considered untouchable. Myers announced his retirement from racing following the season and was honored with a video trubute put together by track announcer Ben Brost and Built 2 Media.

The casino has already been selected to host the banquet again in 2027.

Racers at the speedway should be looking for a press release to be issued soon that will detail some exciting changes for them for the 2026 season.

The opening night for the 74th consecutive season of racing at Rice Lake Speedway is Saturday, April 25.