PORTAGE, Wis. (April 17, 2020) – The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes in conjunction with officials from Wisconsin International Raceway have postponed the series’ visit to the half-mile until Sunday, September 20.

“Due to Mr. Evers’ decision to prolong his ‘safer at home’ order in the state of Wisconsin, we have been forced to reschedule our May 16 event at WIR,” said TUNDRA representative Matt Panure. “Thankfully, we were able to find a date that worked for both the series and the track. This will provide a unique scenario where we crown our Champion at WIR for the first time.”

TUNDRA is now scheduled to open its season with the Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial at Marshfield Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 6. 

PORTAGE, Wis. (March 24, 2020) – If not for a couple bad-luck moments in the middle section of the 2019 TUNDRA Super Late Model Series schedule, Chad Butz may easily have been further up the final point standings than his Tenth Place finish.  He and his team are hoping to see better results this season, and may have some extra help on their side too.

Butz is a semi-finalist for the Kulwicki Driver Development Program.  Drivers such as Ty Majeski, Reagan May, and Justin Mondeik have carried the program through TUNDRA seasons in the past.  Butz is hoping 2020 will provide his turn to bring the program along for the ride.

“So many guys from the Midwest have run it and won it in the past years here,” Butz said. “I feel like we have all the pieces in place to do the exact same thing.”

One of those past Champions from the Midwest is Majeski – who won the first KDDP Cup in 2015.  Just a few years prior, Majeski drove for Butz’s family team in weekly action at Wisconsin International Raceway.  Chad, his brother Matt, and parents Mike and Patty were all part of that team, forming a relationship that Butz values dearly, seeing Majeski as a mentor of sorts.

“I look up to Ty the most.  He’s the most level-headed driver and person I’ve met,” Butz said.  “You can talk to him now just like you could five years ago.  He’s very humble and that’s what I like about him.  To see him go through the Kulwicki Program too is something really special.”

Modeling his career in much the same way, Butz has taken his program on the road and has been learning at many different tracks.  He says he enjoys the challenge of going to new venues and sees TUNDRA as a great avenue to satisfy that craving.

“In my opinion TUNDRA is one of the best series in the country and the car count shows it,” he said. “Traveling helps a ton, just learning different lines and getting into the groove of the car and the setup side of it.  It’s good to fill notebooks and gain experience.”

The results on the track spoke volumes for the development Butz has begun to see.  After a full-time season at WIR a couple of years back, he had a breakout effort with a Sixth Place finish and an appearance in the dash in the TUNDRA season opener.  Although WIR is his home track, and he has the most laps around the half-mile, Butz was again quick to credit traveling for his improvement.

“I think traveling makes you a twenty-times better driver,” he said.  “Kaukauna is one of my home tracks.  That’s a place where you have to drive it in hard as you can and then get it to the floor again as hard as you can.  But then you go to a place like Wausau where you have to be easy in and you never really get to full throttle, so that helps with car control.  I just take everything I learn at different tracks and try to apply it to all the different places we go.”

What adds to the intrigue of Butz’s success is his tight-knit team, which is composed of his family members.  He says that’s a huge advantage because they know exactly how to trust and communicate with each other.

“Most times at the track it’s just us as a family and no one else.  I think that helps in some aspects,” Butz said.  “My dad knows what to do to the car.  If I say it’s five out of ten tight in the center, he knows what adjustments are needed.”

However, it’s important to realize that family – while seemingly small compared to some other crews – is just as formidable and experienced.  They have worked with the likes of Matt Kenseth, Terry Baldry, Eddie Hoffman, Jeff Van Oudenhoven, and many others.  That success is starting to show through Chad.

“When we go to the race track, we go with the intention to win,” Butz said.  “I think we had a good car at the TUNDRA races last year.  In the middle of the season we had some wrecks ruin our finishes.  In 2020 our goal is to go for the Championship and get some wins.”

Should Butz fulfill his goal, he’ll feel as though it will parallel that of Kulwicki’s success.

“He started with essentially nothing when he went down south and slowly built up his team,” Butz said.  “I feel like we have a lot of correlation to that, with this being a family team.  Plus, we work our butts off in the shop.  We build other people’s cars and mount their bodies to help pay for this hobby.”

What’s more, Butz has proven to be savvy in the areas of social media and sponsorship promotion – something strongly promoted by the Kulwicki Driver Development Program.

“Social media is something that a lot of people look at, and it’s easy to use,” Butz said.  “In this day and age, it’s hard to find sponsors, so, the ones you do have and are loyal to you, you have to do everything in your power to keep them satisfied and happy.”

Butz and his team will welcome his fellow TUNDRA Travelers to his home turf at Wisconsin International Raceway for the season lid-lifter on Saturday, May 16.  TUNDRA will be joined by the Midwest Dash Series and Wisconsin Sport Trucks.  Racing is scheduled to begin at 2 pm.

Wisconsin International Raceway is located just beyond the intersection of highways 55 and KK outside of Kaukauna, Wis.  For more information visit http://www.wirmotorsports.com.

Jess Riedner (JR Photography) Photo

PORTAGE, Wis. (March 17, 2020) – When it comes to cutting his teeth this season, Stoughton’s Riley Stenjem has one mantra – discipline.  It’s a word the soon-to-be TUNDRA Super Late Model Series rookie uttered repeatedly when describing how he’s been successful and how he plans to be successful when he joins the series in 2020.

“There are a lot of tracks that are low grip on this schedule and a lot of different tracks,” Stenjem said. “That will be a totally different animal.  We’re going to need a lot of discipline at these places all year seeing as how different they are.”

Stenjem and his team decided to make the jump to TUNDRA this season after two strong years in weekly Late Model racing at Jefferson Speedway – the fourth stop of this year’s TUNDRA campaign.  He said he learned a lot battling with a stout field on the way to a Fifth Place finish in his rookie season and a Second Place point finish in 2019.

“It was really kind of a coming out for our team,” the Milwaukee School of Engineering student said of last season. Although they hadn’t planned to chase points, strong runs kept them in the hunt. “We got into the points battle in the middle of the season and thought we had chance at the Championship, so we kept running.  In August we had some mishaps and difficulty getting through the field.” 

Although he and his team fell shy of the title, last season proved two things for Stenjem.  It was an incredible learning experience and a major momentum boost to rev up his team for their first season in Super Late Model racing.

“If you want to learn discipline, I’d suggest going to Jefferson,” Stenjem said. “You’re racing side-by-side with a guy for a win on the last lap, and it’s crazy to think to yourself how disciplined you have to be to get off the corners and put yourself in position going to the checkered.”

Jefferson has proven to be a breeding ground for strong race drivers.  Three-time and defending TUNDRA Champion Casey Johnson began his Late Model career at the quarter-mile.  He has since gone on to become one of the most recognizable names in Super Late Model racing across the country.  Growing up in the stands, Stenjem was sure to pay close attention. He also may have been staring into a crystal ball.

“Growing up at Jefferson I saw Casey as the guy to beat there for the last 10 years.  He knows the place inside and out,” Stenjem commented.  “My car owner is Bruce Lee, who used to own Casey Johnson’s Super Late Models when he got into Super Late Model racing.  The car we’re going to be running is actually Casey’s first Super Late.”

If that’s not enough, Stenjem has been receiving advice from Ty Majeski, who he said is helping him learn the ins and outs of Super Late Model racing.  Stenjem is hoping Majeski also forged a path he can follow.  Majeski was the first Kulwicki Driver Development Program Champion.  As of this writing, Stenjem is in the hunt to become a finalist for the program.

“Making the top seven of the Kulwicki program would be huge for myself and my team.  It’s really the only way to get recognized at the national level while racing at the regional level,” Stenjem said.  “Not only that, you can use that recognition to represent Alan, as well, and tell his story to people who may not have heard it.  It’s just a really cool program that allows grassroot racers, family teams like myself, to get their names out there at the national level in ways they may not have been able to before the program started.”

Should he be accepted, he’ll be one (perhaps of several drivers) to carry on the KDDP legacy in TUNDRA.  He hopes that will be a boost of momentum for his team, which will be treading into brand new territory this year.  Although he knows Super Late Model racing brings many different variables, Stenjem said that TUNDRA is a great avenue to dip his toes in.

“We’re new to the Super Late Model thing.  It’s new to our team and it’s new to me,” he said.  “We decided, with the diverse schedule TUNDRA has, it’s the affordable way to run Super Late Models in the Midwest, and maybe across the country.  We can get great experience at all of the different tracks and there is a great core group of drivers who race the series every year.”

What’s more, he’ll get to welcome those drivers to his home turf on July 21.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Stenjem said of TUNDRA’s stop at Jefferson.  “It will kind of be the midway point of our Super Late Model season. Hopefully we’ll have learned some things by then and can have a really good run there.”

Ultimately, Stenjem believes some success is on the horizon.  He knows, however, that it will take hard work and discipline to achieve his and his team’s goals in 2020.

“Our goal is to win Rookie of the Year,” he said.  “Maybe if we can get our program rolling we’ll click off a Top Five or two, or maybe even a podium – that would be a win for us.  Running Top Ten at every race would be another great goal for us to achieve starting our Super Late Model career.”

Stenjem and his fellow Travelers of the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series begin the 2020 season on Saturday, May 16 at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wis.  TUNDRA will be joined by the Midwest Dash Series and Wisconsin Sport Trucks.  Qualifying is scheduled for 12:15 with racing beginning at 2 pm.

Wisconsin International Raceway is located just beyond the intersection of highways 55 and KK outside of Kaukauna, Wis.  For more information visit http://www.wirmotorsports.com.

PORTAGE, Wis. (March 6, 2020) – EPYK Media Inc., of Onalaska, Wis., will be the presenting sponsor of the 2020 TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Rookie of the Year program.  EPYK will provide bonuses at each race as well as to the series’ top rookie.

“I have been really impressed with the rookies each year in TUNDRA, and wanted to be a part of the program,” said EPYK owner and TUNDRA Race Director, Drew Kreibich. “It looks like once again the rookie field will be strong, and I can wait to see them battle it out on the track each round.”

The top rookie at each race will receive a $100 cash bonus on behalf of EPYK. The 2020 TUNDRA Rookie of the Year will get a $250 bonus at the year-end banquet.

EPYK specializes in marketing and brand management in the traditional and social space and strives to brand you and/or your company in more effective ways.  Among the services EPYK offers are: social media, vinyl, wraps, banners, photography, marketing proposals, strategies, and more.  For more information visit www.epykinc.com or follow them on any social media platform.

The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series begins on Saturday, May 16 with an afternoon lid lifter at Wisconsin International Raceway.  TUNDRA will be joined by the Midwest Dash Series and Wisconsin Sport Trucks.  Racing begins at 2 pm.

PORTAGE, Wis. (October 22, 2018) –The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes will hold its annual awards banquet on Saturday, January 18 at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells.

An RSVP form is available on this link:

Tickets are $35 per person and include dinner. All tickets for the banquet must be purchased through TUNDRA by January 3. Additional tickets will not be available at the door.

Check in will begin at 5 p.m. Prior to the banquet there will be a social hour from 6 to 7 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7 with awards to follow.

Special lodging rates will be available from for the event. Rooms start at $149 per night plus taxes. They can be booked by calling 1-855-318-4712. The code is H46416.

Chula Vista Resort is located at 1000 Chula Vista Pkwy in Wisconsin Dells, Wis.. For more information visit http://www.chulavistaresort.com

PLOVER, Wis. (September 2, 2019) – In front of a spirited hometown crowd, Gabe Sommers smoothly sailed to his second win of the season with the TUNDRA Super Late Model Series Powered by Wisconsin Potatoes on Labor Day at Golden Sands Speedway.

Sommers became the first driver since 2016 to claim multiple TUNDRA wins in a year. He secured the lead from the pole and showed the way for 106 of the 108 laps in The Cleaver 108 Presented by RacePal. His first win came in the North American Cup Dedicated to Carl Wegner on July 6 at Dells Raceway Park.

It was a solid ending to the year for the young driver, who enjoyed a memorable sophomore campaign. His performance on Monday locked him in as the runner-up in the 2019 TUNDRA season standings. However, Casey Johnson had a nearly insurmountable lead entering the day. By qualifying into the dash and starting the feature, Johnson grabbed his second straight (and third overall) TUNDRA Championship. He would quietly maneuver his way to a Third Place finish late in the race.

While yellows may have benefitted Johnson in his run to Third, the caution flag was causing Sommers to cringe. Sommers seized the top spot from fellow front-row starter Justin Mondeik and started to build a lead until the first pause of the action came on lap seven.

The field settled in after the next restart and Sommers was able to build a lead over the next 40 laps. As he did, Jordan Thiel, Wyatt Brooks, and Darek Gress began to work through the field. Another caution on lap 48 brought Thiel to Sommers’ outside. Although Thiel was able to lead a lap, Sommers wrestled the top spot back. Thiel was left to deal with a speedy Gress, who secured Second and looked to run down Sommers in lapped traffic.

A debris caution brought Gress to the front row with Sommers with 33 laps to go. It also brought a cascade of yellows. Gress would have opportunities on Sommers’ outside again with 30 to go, 26 to go, and 18 to go. Each time, Sommers was able to get away from Gress. With 15 laps remaining Brooks was able to slide around Gress and secure Second just before another yellow flew.

Once again Sommers was too strong on the restart. He survived two more restarts – one with Brooks on his outside and one single file – to dash away to the win. Brooks held strong for Second, Johnson secured Third, Gress held Fourth, and Fast Qualifier Colin Reffner rounded out the Top Five.

Although marred by caution, the race had plenty of intrigue for Brooks, Johnson, Gress, and Reffner. Each driver passed seven cars on their way into the Top Five. The finishes also helped drivers improve their points positions. Brooks jumped from 13th to Seventh, Gress from 12th to Eighth, and Reffner to 11th.

For Sommers the win was an exclamation point on a strong season with only one major hiccup in the first race at WIR. He ends the season Second in points, 70 behind Johnson, but with two wins and a Second Place finish in five events.

Johnson again was the model of consistency. Along with his win at Wausau in Round Five, Johnson scored two Second Place finishes, a Third Place, and a Fourth Place finish. He also set fast time twice and had four dash appearances in five races.

With a measure of his own consistency, Rich Schumann Jr. wrapped up the Rookie of the Year title. He concluded the season with a Tenth Place finish at Golden Sands.

The TUNDRA Super Late Model Series ends it 2019 season with 53 races competing in five events and 21 teams running all five races (a sixth, scheduled race at Jefferson was rained out).

More information about the 2019 Awards Banquet and 2020 season will be available in the coming weeks through the TUNDRA web site.