ABC Raceway to Welcome Renegade Sprints

by Nick Gima

                Ashland, WI, June 24 — For the first time since 2018 – and only the second time ever – members of the Northern Renegade Sprint Car Series will compete at the ABC Raceway on Saturday night.

                In a program to be presented by the NAPA Auto Parts Stores of Ashland & Washburn, the northeastern Minnesota-based traditional (non-winged) sprint tour will headline a six-division program on the historic northern Wisconsin red-clay oval. Joining the sprints will be WISSOTA-sanctioned Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds and Hornets, as well as the Raceway’s own Six-Cylinders for a full night of heat- and feature-race action.

                The Northern Renegades cars represent racing in its one of the purest and most traditional forms – inexpensive powertrains placed in lightweight chassis, no wings to create downforce, and huge tires to put the power to the ground. The cars can be quite a handful at speed, so it takes talented drivers paying complete attention to the task at hand.

                But with this series, rules regarding engines, tires, suspensions and other components are designed to keep costs as low as possible, resulting in drivers with lower budgets being just as competitive as the “big-time” race teams. And that, in turn, translates to exciting racing.

                “We appreciate the support and cooperation of the members of the Northern Renegades tour,” Raceway president Eric Erickson recently said. “These drivers will put on a whale of a show for our fans. It will be thrilling to see these cars fly around our red-clay oval at speeds reaching nearly 100 miles per hour!”

                A couple of drivers familiar to local race fans who are currently traveling with the Northern Renegades tour include former WISSOTA Late Model stars Harry Hanson of Eveleth, MN, and Caley Emerson of Grand Rapids, MN.

                The ABC Raceway originally planned to include the Late Models with this Saturday’s program, but scheduling conflicts forced the Raceway to change its offering for Saturday. The track’s Sixes have been added in their place; WISSOTA Pure Stocks still will have the night off.

                For this Saturday’s show, the pit gates will open at 4:30 pm, the grandstand gates will welcome fans in at 5, hot laps will kick off the on-track action at 6:15, and green-flag racing gets going at 7 pm. Adult grandstand admission tickets are just $13 per person, either at the gate or online via www.myracepass.com, and kids ages 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. Ten-race punch passes are also available at the Raceway’s ticket window on race nights, and advance pit passes are also available online.

                The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990, log on to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com, or check out the track’s FaceBook page.