Saturday night marks the fifth annual Racing for a Reason at the Shawano Speedway.
This is one of if not the most important nights of racing each season.
In the first four years, $43,000 has been raised through Racing for a Reason, which is a fundraiser for Child Life Services at St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay and Heal Art of Red River.
The Racing for a Reason idea came after Bonduel youth Reed Luepke was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2009.
Reed, whose father, Brad, is the marketing and promotions director for the Shawano County Fair and the Shawano Speedway, has now been cancer free for nearly two years.
The fight still goes on though against childhood cancer.
On Saturday, there will be more items up for grabs than I can list in this article, either through silent auction or bucket drops. A few of the highlighted items are the highly coveted racing T-shirt quilt, a football signed by Barry Alvarez, a race helmet signed by the drivers of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Chicagoland Speedway tickets, Green Bay Packers tickets, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers tickets, Milwaukee Admirals tickets, and a football signed by Packers kicker Mason Crosby.
On the track, the night always attracts racers who don’t normally race at Shawano. This week, drivers Brekken Kleinschmidt, Andrew Meyerhofer and Stephen Hiles have stated they plan to race at Shawano.
Also, former Hobby Stock track champion and Late Model feature winner Mark Mitchell will be racing a Mike Schmidt IMCA Stock Car. Mitchell and Lucas Hacker have also said they will donate their race winnings to Racing for a Reason. Jason Czarapata donated $275 after winning the IMCA Modified feature two weeks back. I’m certain that there will be more.
If you only get to the races once this summer, this weekend is the time to do it.
Taking a look at the current point standings, as we are at the midpoint of the season, Nick Anvelink, Jerry Wilinski, Travis VanStraten, Lucas Lamberies and Brad Wedde sit atop the standings.
Of course, there is plenty of time yet for things to change in the points. It is always good to see new drivers break through with their first career feature wins. Last week, it was Shawano’s very own Hollie Welch racing to victory in the Mighty Four division. Who will be be the next first-timer?
To find out, I’ll see you at the speedway.
