With a history dating to 1980, the Slinger Nationals is one of the premier asphalt short track racing events in the country, counting NASCAR champions and winners of the sport’s biggest races among its alumni.
The 45th edition, with $20,000 paid to the winner, is next week at the high-banked quarter-mile Slinger Speedway. Here’s a look.
When are the Slinger Nationals and what is the schedule?
As it has been in recent years, the Nationals is a two-day event with Monday available for practice and then a full program Tuesday headlined by a 200-lap super late model feature.
Spectator gates open at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. with opening ceremonies at 6:20.
Where is Slinger Speedway?
The track is located at 280 Cedar Creek Road in Slinger, between I-41 and Highway 144/Kettle Moraine Drive.
Full-price admission is $35 at the gate. There are discounts for advance purchase, children 9-15 or those older than 61. Children under 9 get in free.
Admission is free Monday with the grandstand open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
How can fans watch the Slinger Nationals on television or streaming?
The 45th Slinger Nationals is available for streaming on racingamerica.tv for $29.99.
What’s the origin and history of the Slinger Nationals?
The event was started by then-track owner Wayne Erickson and Wisconsin Rapids short-track standout Dick Trickle as a way to get the barnstorming Trickle to the track. Tuesdays fit his schedule.
Since then, Erickson and his successor, Todd Thelen, have brought in numerous NASCAR stars, attracted top super late model racers from around the country and benefited from a long line of Wisconsin drivers who went on to national acclaim.
For a time, the Nationals involved two rounds a month apart with individual race winners and an overall champion. A round also was run at Madison International Speedway when Erickson owned that track.
What famous drivers have raced in the Slinger Nationals?
The event came to prominence with the help of drivers such as Bobby and Davey Allison and Dale Earnhardt.
Mark Martin and Wisconsin’s own Alan Kulwicki won the Nationals before their Hall of Fame NASCAR careers took off. Daytona 500 winners Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin and Michael Waltrip came later.
Kyle Busch, a winner of 231 races across NASCAR’s national divisions, took the trophy in 2011, and his Cup Series champion brother, Kurt, also raced in the event.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth, a Cambridge native who grew up on the Wisconsin short tracks, is the all-time victory leader with eight Nationals titles, two earned before winning the 2003 Cup Series championship and six since.
The field last year included Chase Elliott, NASCAR’s perennial most popular driver, and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, the 2022 Nationals champion.
Can fans bring their own food and drinks to Slinger Speedway?
Tailgating is permitted but carry-ins are not.
Who are drivers to watch in the 45th Slinger Nationals?
Ty Majeski, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular from Seymour, has won the Nationals three of the past six years and contended in those he didn’t win. He is on a roll at Wisconsin short tracks with victories at Slinger, Madison and Wisconsin International Raceway already this season.
Wausau native Luke Fenhaus won in 2021, becoming the event’s youngest winner at age 17, and went on to win the track championship. He dominated last year before being passed by Majeski after a restart with four laps to go. He was also second in 2022.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece is scheduled to make his Slinger debut, driving for Kevin Harvick Inc. with help from longtime Wisconsin competitor Travis Dassow. Preece’s roots are in modified racing, although he has competed a handful of times in the Snowball Derby, the premier race for super late models.
West Coast standout Derek Thorn has finished third the past two years.
Gio Ruggiero, a standout on the ASA STARS National Tour and part-time NASCAR truck racer, is scheduled to race the Nationals with the team that took Byron to victory lane in ’22.
Rich Bickle, who has stepped away from racing several times, plans one more run in the Nationals that coincides with his most familiar car number, 45. Bickle, 63, won the Nationals in 1992, ’96, 2003 and ’13.
Stratford native Derek Kraus has been hot and cold with a finish as high as second in 2021.
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