By: Paul Reichert
August 30, 2025

The concept of enduro racing was hatched at a racetrack in New Hampshire about 40 years ago, and it has been running nonstop at race tracks across the country ever since. The challenge of running an enduro has been keeping your race car in one piece while going 200 or even 300 laps, sometimes with a break at the halfway point, without suffering a mechanical issue or not getting collected in a major calamity on the track. Ever since the first enduro took place at the LaCrosse Speedway back in 1999, the ‘action track’ quarter-mile has lived up to its name with hair raising and exciting enduro racing that has seen as many as 110 cars competing on our unique quarter-mile bullring. The 2025 edition of the Big Cheese 200 Enduro proved to be extremely thrilling and competitive once again with another group of enduro racing daredevils battling hard for 200 laps. Luke Geisler fell a few laps down to the leader at the halfway break thanks to a flat tire, but put on an amazing drive in the second half to claim the laps he went down. Geisler surged past Jack Barta for the lead with less than 20 laps to go to make history as he became the first repeat of the Big Cheese 200 Enduro.

60 drivers in various four and six cylinder cars and mini-vans prepared for 200 laps of close quarter and fender rubbing enduro action. Defending champion Shelden Berg got off to a quick start to take the early lead and quickly caught the end of the lead lap cars after completing the opening circuit. John Huebner and Bordy Courtney tangled in turn two on lap five, but were able to continue on. At the same time Kyle Meyer and Blake Renhelt collided on the front straight, but they were also able to resume racing. Former winner Luke Geisler powered by Berg to move into first on lap 11. Berg got collected in a four car mess on the back straight on lap 13, but was able to get out of it and rejoined the festivities. Mitch Hauson rode the wall in turns three and four with an issue on lap 18, while Beauty Contest winner Alayan Scholl got turned in turn four on lap 20 in front of everybody. Somehow she was able to straighten things out and get back to racing as the field continued to maneuver around her. 12 laps later she spun to avoid Renhelt in front of everybody again. She got things straightened out again with a few bumps of contact and proved she is a fighter. Aaron Grattan and Joey Miller got together on the front straight on lap 37, and Ian Zimmerman got mixed up in their disagreement over position. Somehow all three drivers got things sorted out and returned to battle. Garrett Loustuen got turned by a mini-van on lap 37 but did not hit anything and got back in the race. Michael Weiltzman.ran into the turn two tires on lap 40 and was pushed by the jam truck to the pits. Tires began to sit against the back straight wall as first Dan Deegan clipped them on lap 44, then another racer hit them harder a lap later. That sent one of them rolling down the back straight and into Deegan’s path in turn three. John Davis ran into the turn one tire on lap 48 and made the rest of the field take some evasive action around him. Geisler was suddenly dealing with a flat left rear tire that was making him slide around just past the one-quarter mark of the race and put his lead in jeopardy. Geisler was finally forced into the pits to deal with that tire on lap 58. Matthew Miller and Brandon Rssel tangled coming out of turn four on lap 64, but got themselves righted and rejoined the action. Jameson Peterson got a little too aggressive with his racing and caused problems for the jam truck that forced officials to black flag him on lap 69. Loustuen spun in turn three on lap 74 after losing his right front tire and forced the night’s first red flag situation. Alex Haines took advantage of Geisler’s misfortune to take over the top spot as the race went back to green. A loose rear bumper in the middle of turn three made racing a bit more interesting on lap 81. Scholl got turned by Eric Mauss in turn two on lap 84, but she was able to right the ship and soldier on. Andrew Mohn ran into the turn two tires on lap 89 but quickly got out of them and continued to fight. That was the result of a bent right front wheel that forced his retirement. Gabriel Jiminez spun and bounced off the back straight wall on lap 98, but got turned around and sailed on in the competition. As the red flag was displayed for the halfway break, Dennis Barta made hard contact with the front straight wall.

30 cars returned from the mid-race break to battle in the second half of the Big Cheese Enduro. Hunter Peterson looped his machine in turn three on lap 109, but made a Dukes of Hazzard-style spin to right his car and keep on racing. Paul Servais and Alayna Scholl collided hard on the front straight on lap 114, and that incident unfortunately sent Scholl to the pits with another flat tire. Brandon Ressel shot past Tristan Drazkowski to settle into first place on lap 118, but a few laps later found himself in some heavy lapped traffic that briefly stymied his efforts to pull away from the rest of the pack. The field had to negotiate more debris on lap 125 thanks to a lost rear bumper in turn four from one of the mini-vans. John Davis spun right in front of Ressel in turn three on lap 128, but spun his way into the infield and out of harm’s way. Aaron Grattan continued to race despite puffing a lot of smoke from the rear of his car. Cole Deegan and Dennis Barta collided on the front straight on lap 135 and sucked in a couple other drivers into their mess. All four competitors were able to separate and rejoin the fray. Michael Hubbard turned Grattan into the turn one wall on lap 139, but Grattan was able to drive his machine back to the pits. Drazkowski got turned in turn one on lap 145, but struggled to get his car fired up again. It finally came to life after a few laps but Drazkowski fell from second place. Matt Mohl got turned down the back straight on lap 149 by a mini-van, but he would get his car pointed in the right direction and get back in action. Just past the 50 laps remaining mark, Ressel’s right front wheel began to rub on his fender and forced him into the pits to fix the problem. That handed the lead to enduro veteran Jack Barta, who made a last minute call to join us for enduro action after the race he was going to suddenly got canceled. Guy Hamermil stuck it out on the outside for several laps, and every time he came out of turn two he came dangerously close to the tires. Drazkowski began to have issues with his car down the front straight as his runner-up spot was on the brink of going away. Geisler was making his way through the field at a sonic pace as he unlapped himself and took advantage of Barta being caught up in lapped traffic to take the lead with 14 laps remaining. Dylan Loppow suffered a broken and flat right front tire with less than ten laps left to run, but was able to drive his car back to the pits. Geisler drove away from the pack in the closing laps to become a two-time champion of the Big Cheese 200 Enduro.

Get a good seat, sit back and relax at the LaCrosse Speedway next Saturday, September 6 as our drivers and stuntmen do all the hard work to entertain you. They will provide the smashing, bashing, crashing and destroying fun you expect at the 34th annual Night of Destruction presented by Western Technical College. You will witness a lot of fun competitions like the Rollover Contest, the Steel Wall Crash, the Pool Splashtacular, Go ‘Til They Blow and more. Monster trucks and motorcycles will leave you speechless with big air and amazing tricks. A second Trailer Race of Destruction will leave a lot of metal and debris all over the track. Two fireworks shows will wrap up the night. First on the ground with the Magdatude jet car, and then in the air thanks to Victory Fireworks. Racing will also take place as the Mini-Vans and the Six Shooters race one last time this season with championships on the line. Gates open at 5:15, qualifying roars to life at 5:45 and the nonstop metal mangling mayhem begins at 7.

For more information about the LaCrosse Speedway and the 2025 schedule of events, please call the track office at 608-786-1525 or visit our website at lacrossespeedway.com. LaCrosse Speedway is proud to be a NASCAR Regional race track, part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

RESULTS

Big Cheese Enduro (200 laps): 1. Luke Geisler, 2. Jack Barta, 3. Sheldon Berg, 4. Brandon Ressel, 5. Joe Schams, 6. Alex Haines, 7. Tayton Zimmerman, 8. Ian Zimmermann/Tristan Drazkowski, 9. Dean Dahl, 10. Maggie Hardy, 11. Eric Mauss/Simon Seymore, 12. Hunter Peterson, 13. Jason Schloegel, 14. Alex Rud, 15. Dylan Loppow, 16. Dylan Peterson, 17. Dave Nelson, 18. Cole Phillips, 19. Chubbs Kelly, 20. Aaron Grattan