By: Paul Reichert
October 26, 2024
We have witnessed a lot of racing action, racing memories and racing history made at Tomah-Sparta Speedway over the course of its 60 years. New racing history was made over the course of the 2024 campaign, and it was time to recognize those who were a part of that racing history. On a gorgeous fall evening the racing community gathered once again at Club 16 in Sparta to celebrate the racing season just completed. After enjoying another delicious buffet-style dinner from C&C Catering, it was time to hand out a plethora of trophies and recognize a ton of accomplishments.
The historic performances started with Great North Legends champion Ayrton Brockhouse, who swept all four features and nearly scored four clean sweeps in winning them. Bentley Thompson drove off with his second straight INEX Bandolero championship, and Tomah was just one part of this incredible year as Thompson captured the season points titles at all six Wisconsin race tracks that run the Bandoleros. Grant Witcraft entered the title race for the Hobby Stocks with only two weeks left to run, and he would drive away with his first track championship in the tightest points race ever. It was a back and forth fight between Bruce Backus and Cole Scholze for the first Crown Vic season title, and in the end it was Scholze coming out on top after winning the last feature of the year.
Families also put in some very impressive showings throughout the racing campaign. Mike Gratz was third in Hobby Stock points, was named the Hobby Stock Rookie of the Year, and earned a Competition Achievement Award from Paul Reichert for rebounding from his bad wreck on August 2nd to stay in the title fight right up to the very end. The Finnigan boys also had good racing seasons to receive some recognition for their accomplishments. Tristan finished second in Hornet points and earned the Hard Charger Award, while brother A.J. took fifth in the TACU Credit Union Six Shooter points and won the Middle of the Pack Award.
There were a few individuals that put in a strong season on the track and received some year-end glory. Aubrie Leis was named Most Improved Driver to go along with her fourth place effort in Hornet points and being named the Rookie of the Year. Her family, along with the Schwartz family, were the recipients of the Family of the Year Award from Pastor Andy Buhrow. A strong season with seven feature wins propelled Mark Challet to the Sportsman points crown, plus he was named the winner of the Ambassador Award. Christopher Neal had a consistent year in the TACU Credit Union Six Shooters to finish fourth in points and be named their Rookie of the Year.
The night came to a dramatic conclusion with the revealing of this year’s recipient of the Sportsman of the Year Award. The distinguished honoree for the award this year would be Pastor Andy Buhrow, who has been the chaplain for both Tomah and LaCrosse for over 20 years. He has been there for the race teams and their families for years, and now he will enjoy a well deserved retirement after a very fruitful life working for God.
Now that we have closed the books on a memorable 2024 season, we can now look forward to new and exciting things happening with the new owners in 2025. While the new racing season will not officially start until May, we anticipate a great start to the new year with the return of the Impact Survival Series and the running of the Chill Chaser Enduro on January 1st. We will keep our fingers crossed for a snowstorm to challenge the drivers in this thrilling 200 lap race to rev up the new racing year in Wisconsin. Be sure to ‘like’ the track’s Facebook page to keep up to date on the happenings going on during the upcoming season. Make sure you visit us often on our website at tomahspartaspeedway.com. Once we know more about the 2025 season, call the track office at 608-461-1920.
2024 CHAMPIONS’ BANQUET RESULTS
Sportsmen
Top Two–Mark Challet (Champion) and Troy Dobbratz
Hobby Stocks
Top Five–Grant Witcraft (Champion), Seth Gnewikow, Mike Gratz, Landon Lockington, Shelby Lockington
Rookie of the Year–Mike Gratz
Hornets
Top Seven–Glen Bush, Jr. (Champion), Tristan Finnigan, Jordan Finch, Aubrie Leis, Ashtin Quinnell, Jamie Pearson, Matthew Heim
Rookie of the Year–Aubrie Leis
TACU Credit Union Six Shooters
Top Seven–Ryatt Dobbratz (Champion), Tim Murphy, Sr., Greg Brown, Christopher Neal, A.J. Finnegan, Alex Lueth, Jay Raines
Rookie of the Year–Christopher Neal
Crown Vics
Top Three–Cole Scholze (Champion), Bruce Backus, Matthew Heim
Finish Line Towing High School Racing Association
Top Five–Curtis Hellickson (Champion), Caleb Arneson, Monty Odegard, James Gratz, Alivia Moore
Great North Legends
Top Three–Aytno Brockhouse (Champion), Robby Carter, Elliott Weiler
INEX Bandoleros
Top Three–Bentley Thompson (Champion), Wesley Baumeister, Axel Oldenhoff
Enduro Triple Crown Series
Top Three–Alex Liebsch (Champion), Garrett Strachota, Jason Witte
‘Cause It’s Fun Award–Raymond Hardy
Sportsmanship Award–Tim Murphy, Sr.
Middle of the Pack Award–A.J. Finnigan
Most Improved Driver Award–Aubrie Leis
Hard Luck Award–Greg Brown
Hard Charger Award–Tristan Finnigan
Ambassador Award–Mark Challet
Competition Achievement Awards–Mike Gratz (Given by Paul Reichert), Matthew Young (Given by Barry Folgate, Sr.), Paul Finch (Given by Chris Rada), Doug Oliver (Given by Lee Wildes)
Family of the Year Award presented by Pastor Andy Buhrow–Schwartz/Leis Family
Sportsman of the Year–Pastor Andy Buhrow
