By Jason D Searcy
It is finally Spring so the annual preseason Race Team Fundraisers are in full swing, whether they are called a Beer Bust, a Beer Bash, or a Smoker they all serve the same purpose, as a fundraiser to help support a race team financially and it also serves as a motivational tool both for you and the race team. The annual Wolff Motorsports event was recently held at Turtles Bar in Shakopee (MN).
“This is our 9th or 10th event like this, we had one at Fireside one time, other than that it's always been at Turtles (owned by former racer Bryan Turtle), everyone loves this place, it’s not hard to get people to come here. You get to see all the faces you haven't seen in a while and it kind of triggers everybody to get excited for what is to come soon.”
Wolff Motorsports charged a $10 entry fee that provided free tap beer and ½ price drinks. The place was packed with hundreds of family, friends, sponsors and fans who also participated in a 50/50 raffle where the winner cashed in about $1,000. Numerous businesses and individuals donated prizes that were given away by picking a random ticket out of the drawing bucket also raising funds.
“All of a sudden we got all this stuff donated, people are great out there, it was a great event” said Wolff.
Andover (MN) resident Jamie Hurd owner of J&L Collectables donates over a hundred die-cast cars to drivers in exchange for putting a sticker on their car, he attends a race fundraiser nearly every weekend of the Spring attending about 7 of them every year in MN and WI.
Dan Diecher is the announcer at LaCrosse (WI) Fairgrounds Speedway and Tomah-Sparta (WI) Speedway. For about 16 years Diecher has donated his time to race team “Smokers” in Wisconsin, where he sets up DJ equipment and is the event MC, he usually will do somewhere between a handful to a dozen of these events every Spring. “I see between 10-20 different drivers, from different divisions and different tracks at everyone else’s smokers. I think family, friendship and the unity keeps local racing strong.”
Wolff said he is going to race the #32 Late Model at Elko (MN) Speedway full-time in 2022 and race the Thunder Car mainly at special events away from home. Last year they found out that racing all three cars (including bando #32 driven by Jake Lipinksi) was a difficult task to do well and the 2022 ELKO schedule has Bandoleros on the schedule every race night. The Late Model will be the primary focus this year, “We've been working on the car but not 'hard core,’ so this is kind of our sign to get our butts in gear and get it done,” said Wolff.
These preseason race team fundraisers can be a very important part of a successful race team. There are a bunch of these events coming up in April and early May so I encourage race fans to follow your favorite team on social media, attend their local event and contribute. You most likely will have a great time and it is sure to get both you and the race team motivated for the upcoming 2022 race season. I can’t wait to open the microphone and say “the Green is out and Here we Go!”
(I sent two photos)
Leave a Reply