For Scott Wolf, running and driving a race is almost a concert seven nights a week.
Appleton’s 23-year-old has a more than trouble lead in Sizzlin’s fourth division of Wisconsin International Raceway’s Thursday Night Thunder program for fox River Racing Club.
Wolf is also afraid to “get dirty” on Saturday nights at the quarter-mile terracotta oval at 141 Speedway at Francis Creek. It’s been a smart year for Wolf, as he controlled for 4 feature-length victories on Thursday night at THE Quarter-Mile Oval and also a victory in 141. Although he missed some Saturday nights in 141, Wolf is tenth in the department issuing positions.
In addition to maintaining two four-cylinder race cars (one for dirt and one for asphalt), Wolf helped his colleague Dennis Chase with his ultra-late model.
“Dennis and I painted in combination at Bergstrom and I help them at the paint shop in car 47 a week and travel with them for out-of-town races,” Wolf said. “Dennis also helped me with advice on my WIR course of action and configurations. The car was wonderful at WIR and I had a lot of help in the paint shop to paint there the week.”
Wolf’s greatest credit for turning keys with Chase and corporate the maintenance component of his own racing program.
“It’s huge and even though it’s a four-cylinder, we go over the car and make sure there’s nothing loose and everything is in the position it deserves,” Wolf said. “I would like to think that I have developed extensive maintenance behavior with respect to the race car. There are other groups in our department that are putting that kind of effort into, I’m sure. The fastest groups anyway. But in general I would say that many are not as meticulous as we could be. We have been worth it so far this year.”
The weekly race on two other surfaces made Wolf a better driver.
“In 141 on the ground, the maximum night when our functions are executed, the track is pretty smoothed anyway like the pavement,” Wolf said. “Then, honestly, this component is not very different. During warm races, the track can be a little heavier.
Wolf went through the race virus when he was only 3 years old.
“My mom (Bev Wolf) took me to the races at WIR and they had fireworks one night,” Wolf said. “I was frightened when the fireworks started exploding. I even hid under the blanket. But I enjoyed race cars. I encouraged Terry Van Roy in street racing and Tom Gee Jr. when he was still running in sports trucks. And in NASCAR, my favorite driving force has been Bobby Labonte.
Not that Wolf wore green colors and a number 18 in his 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, as was Labonte in his Winston Cup race at NASCAR.
Wolf has been fighting in the elegance of Sizzlin Four for three and a half years. It’s a department that has noticed that 51 drivers from Wisconsin and Michigan compete for weekly issues in 2020, more than any other Thursday night department.
“It’s a pretty affordable elegance to get in if you need to run,” Wolf said. “You can regularly buy a used race car halfway for around $1,500 or so. You can find donations towards the end of the year, as groups sell their products and buy anything else or progress in a division.”
This is Wolf’s third season with his Pontiac Sunfire.
Despite his leadership problems, Wolf did not take any chances and planned to run hard to win the last two nights of the weekly WIR race.
“Beattie’s circle of relatives has been hard to beat all year round and I think I’m in fourth place,” Wolf said. “We went 100 percent every night, because it would only take a mistake. They’d be there to deserve it.”
As for the future, Wolf points to a part of a mile of WIR on the road.
“I’d like to have a backward look at WIR, but there are a lot of decisive points involved, and one of the most important is money,” Wolf said. “But I think I’ll keep the sidewalk and the WIR. This is the track I grew up on and I love it there.”
Wolf’s source team consists of his mother Bev, father Chuck and brother-in-law Justin Polzin. Wolf’s sponsor team includes Kimberly and Greenville’s Romenesko Family Dentistry, Appleton’s Doughlicious and Appleton’s The Hideout Bar.
WIR Point Battles: After the ultra-late style feature that was filled with last Thursday’s fall, one would wonder if one of the points drivers sought to win the track championship. During a flurry of accidents, the 4 drivers most sensitive to problems in the early afternoon were all involved in separate incidents. When the dust settled, welsh rookie R.J. Braun captured the career of feature films. Bobby Kendall of Montello finished with a two-point credit on Darboy’s Sawyer Effertz in the division, with Jeff Van Oudenhoven of Appleton just 27 issues from first place. Last Thursday night, Ryan Farrell of Big Bend took the wheel of the Chase Motorsports race. Farrell scored a quick time and finished eighth in the feature film. WiR has two nights of weekly grocery shopping left, and Rockin ‘Roval V6 races return as a component of the Rich Somers Memorial night program. The track action begins at 6:30 p.m.
TUNDRA Preview: Freedom’s Brent Strelka and Appleton’s Jordan Thiel are among the expected participants for the tuNDRA fourth round series surpassed at Marshfield Motor Speedway on Saturday. The Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on the half-mile paved oval. Ultra-defeated models will be joined by Midwest Dash Series and Vintage riders.
ARCA MT Notebook: Former WIR series champion and ARCA Midwest Tour, Casey Johnson of Edgerton, placed fourth in the Wayne Carter Classic at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Illinois, on Saturday. The former NASCAR truck forces Rich Bickle Jr. from Edgerton sixth, while Dalton Zehr of Madison 12th. The race won through Paul Schafer Jr. of Portage, Indiana. The series ends Friday at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wisconsin, for the Howie Lettow Classic 100. Races start at 7:30 p.m.
Seymour Notebook: The champions will be on Friday at the Outagamie Speedway in Seymour.
In IMCA’s changes, suamico’s protective champion Johnny Whitman has a 24-point credit to Little Suamico’s Josh Long. Whitman will have to qualify for the film to win the championship.
Eric Arneson of Oconto Falls has a 20-point lead over Travis Van Straten of Hortonville in the IMCA Stock Cars. If Arneson makes the film, he’ll win his first apartment crown.
Tyler Sobiesczyk of Shawano is looking to win his first track championship in IMCA Sport Mods. Sobiesczyk has an 18-point credit to Jayden Schmidt of Seymour, who is the protective champion of the track. Sobiesczyk will have to finish 17 or more to win the big trophy.
The most tight-ended theme war before the championship final is at Unified Street Stocks, where two Beaver Dam drivers compete. Defending champion Jesse Krahn has a two-point credit to James Fletcher. In the IMCA Sport Compacts, Black Creek’s Jake Peters is by his first name as he has six points worth over Oshkosh’s Cody Booth.
The race at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds at 7 p.m.
Dirt Kings returns to Plymouth: Dirt Kings’ late model tour returns to Plymouth Dirt Track for Mueller’s Sales – Service 30 on Friday. Justin Ritchie of New London is the theme leader of the series with a 10-point credit to Ron Bern of Abrams. Shawano’s Brett Swedberg is third, 14 issues from first place. The race action begins at 7 p.m. at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds.