West Salem, WI – A record purse has been posted by Sleepy Hollow Auto Group for asphalt Super Late Models at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. The Inaugural Tom Reffner 88 will open the 133rd LaCrosse Interstate Fair on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Featuring twin 44-lap features which will each pay $8,888 to win, a $2,224 bonus will be awarded to the top overall finisher, making it possible for one driver to walk away with an unprecedented $20,000 payday.
The twin 44-lap Super Late Model features on the sweeping 5/8 mile paved oval will also award a minimum of $888 to start the Reffner 88. Utilizing Hoosier Racing Tires ST1 and ST2 compound for the four-tire event and no entry fee, this one-day event will comply with the newly established Wisconsin Super Late Model package.
Joining in the fair time fun will be the Central Wisconsin Racing Association. The regionally based Late Model group, of which Reffner was a major influence, will contest twin 25-lap features on the newly repaved quarter-mile at LFS. In all, four Late Model features will be part of the Sleepy Hollow Auto Group Reffner 88 event on Wednesday, July 17.
Tom Reffner was a three-time CWRA Champion (1987, 1990, and 1993). Additionally, he captured three Oktoberfest feature wins at LaCrosse beginning with the very first Fest in 1970 before winning again in 1975 and 1983. Tom was a three-time LaCrosse Interstate (Fairgrounds) Speedway Champion (1976, 1986, 1987).
A pipefitter by trade, Tom Reffner won a total of 391 feature races in his career that began at Stratford Speedway and Wausau in 1959 before going to the first asphalt track in central Wisconsin at Griffith Park Speedway in Wisconsin Rapids in 1960. His first track championships came in 1965 at Griffith Park and Black River Falls Speedway.
But of all his accomplishments, the miracle season of 1975 for the ‘Blue Knight’ really stands out. In that season, Reffner won an amazing sixty-seven features driving an AMC Javelin. This includes sixteen at Madison, thirteen at LaCrosse Interstate Speedway, eleven at Golden Sands, nine at State Park, six at Dells Motor Speedway, three at I-70, two each at WIR and Elko, and one at Berlin, Columbus, Grundy, and Tri-County (Ohio). He also notched a track championship at Golden Sands and the ARTGO title during that 1975 season.
His 1976 season wasn’t bad either as he won thirty-nine races and titles at LaCrosse Interstate Speedway and State Park Speedway. He also won the World Cup 400 at Odessa, Missouri.
Tom Reffner Championships
Griffith Park Speedway (1965)
Black River Falls Speedway (1965)
Golden Sands (1975, 1977, 1993)
ARTGO Racing Series (1975, 1978)
LaCrosse Interstate Speedway (1976, 1986, 1987)
State Park Speedway (1976, 1987, 1993)
Dells Motor Speedway (1987, 1990)
*Thank you to Gary Schmelzer and Stan Kalwasinski for historical information
LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway is located at the LaCrosse Interstate Fairgrounds, at the intersection of Highway 16 and County Road M in West Salem. For additional information visit www.lacrossespeedway.com or call 608-786-1525. Interested Super Late Model teams are encouraged to contact Gregg McKarns at 815-703-0285.
