Photo above taken by student, Amber Zawistowski, May 2014
History:
There were racers and racing fans in the Slinger Area before the race track was built. In fact, the race track seemed to have been built because people already had the desire to race. According to Mark Gundrum’s segment in the Slinger Historical Album: 150 Years, motocross racing was being done up what would become the Little Switzerland ski hill. Also, Bill Johnson, Sr. and Rollie Heder and others were building race cars and racing already and looking for a place to build a race track.
Bill Johnson, Sr, according to Gundrum, bought his first midget car in 1938 and the next year, when his son, Bill Jr. began to race, they built an impromptu track in their backyard (p. 60).
In fact, according to Fr. Dale Grubba’s book, The Milwaukee Modified Era: 1959 to 1973, Bill Johnson, Jr. was quite the midget car racer. He began to race midgets at age sixteen in 1941 finishing fourth at State Fair Park in the season standings point total and first in 1942. After serving in the Marines, he returned to Slinger and resumed racing midget cars finishing in the top ten at State Fair Park in 1946 and 1947 (p. 75-76).
Miles Melius, who would go on to become arguably one of the strongest racers in SE WI racing history, discussed the presence of a racing culture in the early 1940s in his interview with five Slinger racing students in the fall of 2013. “Well, I was 9 years old and hauling my mother around in the 1931 Chevy. I’d pull loaded trailers to the mill and back. Of course, I spun the tires a few times. When I was 14 years old, I met ol’ Bill Johnson. I was mechanically inclined and Johnson had a junk pile with some parts and he’d always pick me up and bring me to his garage. There was a midget race car that I could work on there. Johnson helped me build my first race car. I ended up taking his midget car over to Sun Prairie to the Sunday Night races because Johnson was a deputy sheriff and had to work. Back in those days, every county had a half mile track (horse track). We’d go to Manitowoc and Two Rivers Sunday during the day and get to Sun Prairie by Sunday Night. At age 16, what really got me going with speed was when I quit school and took a job driving a panel truck for the West Bend News. Sometimes when delivering from Hartford to Barton, I’d take a roundabout way so I could get the truck up to 100 miles an hour. Got to love the speed. That’s what set me off.”
With Slinger area residents like Johnson, his sons, and Melius around with a desire to race, the idea of building a real Slinger race track was born.
Built in 1948 by Bill Johnson, Sr. and Rollie Heder, the Slinger race track was originally a 1/5 mile race track nestled snugly in the natural amphitheater between kettles on the east end of Slinger. Midget cars ran there originally and stock cars appeared in 1949. The Sunday Night tradition started in 1950 (Gundrum p. 60-61).
The 1950s and 1960s seemed to attract some very good racers and strong racing fans to a racing circuit according to Fr. Dale Grubba’s book, The Milwaukee Modified Era: 1959-1973. While Slinger racer, Billy Johnson, was often seen as a leader in midget racing, Slinger racer, Miles Melius (referenced more completely in a separate section of this website) was arguably the best during modified era. “There were a lot of great drivers during that era,” said the late John Reiser in the Grubba book. “Miles ‘Mouse’ Melius was the best. Man he could get out there and make his car run like no one else could. You could name some of today’s racing heroes and Mouse was better. What you had to remember is that the top ten in lap times got paid well. It was to your advantage to get a fast time, but they’d put the fastest times in the back of the pack. You’d have twenty-five to thirty laps to make it back to the front!” (Introduction page V, Grubba)
Slinger resident, Terry Taylor, remembers it well. “When I was young, we wouldn’t miss those races. We’d travel all over to see Melius, Johnson, Fassbender, race each other. Melius was the best. Not only would we watch them race at Slinger but we’d travel to Hales Corners and State Fair Park to watch them race. The races were very competitive. Miles ‘The Mouse’Melius vs. Billy ‘The Cat’ Johnson vs. Fuzzy “the Hound” Fassbender at Slinger each week was a real treat.”
Fuzzy “the Hound” Fassbender, a Slinger resident until moving to Rubicon, was generally in the top ten in points on the local race track circuits.
(Note on racing circuit: During the MSC modified circuit, Melius won track championships at Hales Corners in 1959, 1961, and 1967; Cedarburg in 1959, 1960, and 1967; Beaver Dam 1959, 1960, and 1967; Slinger in 1955, 58, 60, 61, 64, and 67; State Fair Park 1954, 57, 58, and 61.)
Events such as Slinger High School football games (Dick Mayer interview 2013) and rock concerts added to the lure of the race track as a place where exciting events would occur. “We played our homecoming game there in 1950,” said Slinger graduate, Dick Mayer in his fall of 2013 interview. “I remember picking rocks from the race track before playing a football game there.”
Heder, with the help of Wayne Erickson, changed the track from dirt to a high-banked ¼ mile paved oval in 1974. Erickson took over as owner in 1976 and added promotions and increased the visibility of the Slinger race track on the national scene. In 2002, Erickson resurfaced all four corners of the race track to smooth the surface and create faster lap times (Slinger Speedway website).
In 2013, Wayne Erickson transferred ownership to his son Rodney and Todd Thelen. In 2019, Thelen took over as sole owner/promoter of the race track. Interview excerpts from Rodney Erickson are below. Interview excerpts from Todd Thelen are on the culture page.
Some of the favorite stories of the race track by racers, racing crew, and community members from the surveys are listed below or on the culture page. (For all the stories, see the raw data in History and the Culture sections).
A link to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article concerning the history of the Slinger Speedway and some notable drivers who have raced there is included here.
Citations:
Grubba, Fr. Dale. Milwaukee Modified Era: 1959 to 1973. Stonechapel Publishing., Westfield, WI. 2013.
Mayer, Dick. Personal Interview. November 11th, 2013.
Melius, Miles. Personal Interview. November 19, 2013
Slinger Advancement Association. Slinger Historical Album: Schleisingerville to Slinger. 125 Years. 1984.
"Slinger SuperSpeedway." Slinger SuperSpeedway.com. Web. 17, January 2013.
Taylor, Terry. Personal Interview. December 12, 2013.
The Heders and the Christmans
The Heder and Christman racing legacy in the Slinger area largely is centered on race track ownership. Roland Heder was the original owner of the race track in Slinger, building it in 1948 and owning it until Wayne Erickson took over in 1976. He passed his passion down through the family. Every family member took on roles there growing up from running the concession stands to working in the pits. Roland's grandson, Paul, was even inspired to make a living in racing as he ended up working in various pit crews on the NASCAR circuit. (Written by Eric Kuhn)
Click below for a video capturing the specifics of the Heder and Christman story, which ultimately ends up telling part of the story of the racing and the race track in Slinger, Wisconsin. The video was created in May 2014 by senior social studies student, Eric Kuhn. Eric is Roland Heder's great-grandson. The idea for this video was created because of the data in the cultural section researched by earlier students: racing is a way of life for many families in the Slinger area.
The Heder and Christman racing legacy in the Slinger area largely is centered on race track ownership. Roland Heder was the original owner of the race track in Slinger, building it in 1948 and owning it until Wayne Erickson took over in 1976. He passed his passion down through the family. Every family member took on roles there growing up from running the concession stands to working in the pits. Roland's grandson, Paul, was even inspired to make a living in racing as he ended up working in various pit crews on the NASCAR circuit. (Written by Eric Kuhn)
Click below for a video capturing the specifics of the Heder and Christman story, which ultimately ends up telling part of the story of the racing and the race track in Slinger, Wisconsin. The video was created in May 2014 by senior social studies student, Eric Kuhn. Eric is Roland Heder's great-grandson. The idea for this video was created because of the data in the cultural section researched by earlier students: racing is a way of life for many families in the Slinger area.
Miles Melius
"My first sponsor was Roland Heder. He gave me a quart of paint for my car."
- Miles Melius
(Photo to left submitted by Mary Woerner, family photo files, graphic design by SHS student, Nick Egan)
You get a strong sense of how dominant Miles Melius was by reading Fr. Dale Grubba’s book: Milwaukee Modified Era: 1959 to 1973. The introduction to the book starts with quotes on Melius’ dominance. One quote, by the late John Reiser, said that “there were a lot of great drivers during modified era, but Miles ‘Mouse’ Melius was the best. He could get out there with that car and make it run like no one else could.” Later on, a whole chapter is devoted to Melius and part of another. By the time Melius retired from racing in 1969, he had won at 37 of the 39 tracks he raced at. He was very tough to beat and even had bounties put on him at local racetracks. To give an example of his dominance, in 1961, he was the final points leader at Slinger, Hales Corners, State Fair Park, Beaver Dam, and finished second at Cedarburg (Grubba p. 103). At the Slinger Speedway, he won the championship seven times. ( Slinger Advancement Association, p. 61). In the fall of 2013, Slinger students interviewed Melius at Slinger High School.
The attached story and audio based on an interview on November 19th, 2013 with student racers Jacob Schraufnagel, Zach Braun, Dale Kiley-Schaefer, Mike McAndrews, and Jeremy Kuhn
Click here for partial transcript from that interview. (TEXT)
Please click on the link here and scroll down to find Miles Melius' name to listen to AUDIO of Miles' interview including his memories of local race tracks during the modified era, his memories racing at Slinger, and some thoughts by his granddaughter, Mary Woerner.
Click here for a short AUDIO clip about Miles from Community member, Terry Taylor.
When students above asked current co-owner, Rodney Erickson, about Miles in an April 2014 interview, here was his response.
A. “I think he is an icon that helped create this area as a premier place for short track racing. He’s done a lot of stuff. My dad raced with him and he actually worked with him on occasions for my dad's construction company. He left an impression and one day should be in the history books as a founder of racing. He is one of the forefathers and he was very good. My dad said you couldn’t beat him. Heck of a guy.”
Q. “ Does he still come to the races?”
A “Yes every week usually."
(Melius died in 2019. See story from Judy Steffes of the Washington County Insider.)
Photos below from Nate Grimm and from the family archives of Mary Woerner.
"My first sponsor was Roland Heder. He gave me a quart of paint for my car."
- Miles Melius
(Photo to left submitted by Mary Woerner, family photo files, graphic design by SHS student, Nick Egan)
You get a strong sense of how dominant Miles Melius was by reading Fr. Dale Grubba’s book: Milwaukee Modified Era: 1959 to 1973. The introduction to the book starts with quotes on Melius’ dominance. One quote, by the late John Reiser, said that “there were a lot of great drivers during modified era, but Miles ‘Mouse’ Melius was the best. He could get out there with that car and make it run like no one else could.” Later on, a whole chapter is devoted to Melius and part of another. By the time Melius retired from racing in 1969, he had won at 37 of the 39 tracks he raced at. He was very tough to beat and even had bounties put on him at local racetracks. To give an example of his dominance, in 1961, he was the final points leader at Slinger, Hales Corners, State Fair Park, Beaver Dam, and finished second at Cedarburg (Grubba p. 103). At the Slinger Speedway, he won the championship seven times. ( Slinger Advancement Association, p. 61). In the fall of 2013, Slinger students interviewed Melius at Slinger High School.
The attached story and audio based on an interview on November 19th, 2013 with student racers Jacob Schraufnagel, Zach Braun, Dale Kiley-Schaefer, Mike McAndrews, and Jeremy Kuhn
Click here for partial transcript from that interview. (TEXT)
Please click on the link here and scroll down to find Miles Melius' name to listen to AUDIO of Miles' interview including his memories of local race tracks during the modified era, his memories racing at Slinger, and some thoughts by his granddaughter, Mary Woerner.
Click here for a short AUDIO clip about Miles from Community member, Terry Taylor.
When students above asked current co-owner, Rodney Erickson, about Miles in an April 2014 interview, here was his response.
A. “I think he is an icon that helped create this area as a premier place for short track racing. He’s done a lot of stuff. My dad raced with him and he actually worked with him on occasions for my dad's construction company. He left an impression and one day should be in the history books as a founder of racing. He is one of the forefathers and he was very good. My dad said you couldn’t beat him. Heck of a guy.”
Q. “ Does he still come to the races?”
A “Yes every week usually."
(Melius died in 2019. See story from Judy Steffes of the Washington County Insider.)
Photos below from Nate Grimm and from the family archives of Mary Woerner.
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The Erickson Family
*In addition to the Heders and Christman's, the Erickson name is synonymous with racing in Slinger. According to the Slinger Super Speedway website, Wayne Erickson was auto racing since 1963 and, with Tony Strupp, successfully raced at Milwaukee Mile, Hales Corners, Beaver Dam, Columbus, Madison, and Norway (Slinger Speedway site, Track History). Erickson promoted the Slinger race track and then eventually bought it from Roland Heder in 1976, and like with many changes in ownership, his style brought changes including with fan promotions and events. Erickson transferred ownership to his son, Rodney, and Todd Thelen in 2013.
The link below contains excerpts from an interview with Rodney Erickson conducted by students Dale Kiley-Schaefer, Zach Braun, and Ryan Bensemann.
*In addition to the Heders and Christman's, the Erickson name is synonymous with racing in Slinger. According to the Slinger Super Speedway website, Wayne Erickson was auto racing since 1963 and, with Tony Strupp, successfully raced at Milwaukee Mile, Hales Corners, Beaver Dam, Columbus, Madison, and Norway (Slinger Speedway site, Track History). Erickson promoted the Slinger race track and then eventually bought it from Roland Heder in 1976, and like with many changes in ownership, his style brought changes including with fan promotions and events. Erickson transferred ownership to his son, Rodney, and Todd Thelen in 2013.
The link below contains excerpts from an interview with Rodney Erickson conducted by students Dale Kiley-Schaefer, Zach Braun, and Ryan Bensemann.
| rodneyericksoninterview1.pdf |
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The Reiser Family
Sophomore student Elly Foerster was able to track down Ken Reiser for a few minutes to discuss his family background in racing. After her interview and discussion, Ken took a few moments to submit his family story in writing for history students. In addition to interviews with students, the Slinger Area/History Culture Committee is looking for more submissions like the model Ken is providing: student interaction followed by adults writing down their memories to help with understanding regional history better. Below is a story of one of the more prominent families in racing the Slinger area: the Reisers.
The Reiser Racing Team
Submitted by Ken Reiser (May 2014)
The Reiser Racing Team has been part of the Slinger racing history since 1958. John Reiser started his racing career at a young age with a car built by his buddies to race the dirt ovals of Slinger and over the years that circuit grew to include tracks in Hales Corners, Cedarburg, & Beaver Dam.
In 1959 John’s dad, Elmer joined his son as car-builder and crew chief. This Reiser Racing Team was a fixture at every scheduled event, racing four nights a week and working to improve their machine – all this while holding down full-time jobs. From adolescence, brother Ken worked as a mechanic and learned the ‘art’ of fielding a competitive car. Through the 60’s racing was #1 in the Reiser family. In 1970 Ken joined the fun behind the wheel; a new car was built for John and the Reiser Racing team fielded two modified, open-wheeled cars. This new car featured many innovative features, such as power steering, suspension adjustment & fuel injection settings from the driver’s seat.
After that 1970 season the racing sanctioning body changed the style of car so the Reiser Racing Team sold their modifieds and turned the page in their career – fielding a full-bodied late model design for the 1971 season. Dad, Elmer was the engineer/crew chief, while son John drove and son Ken served as the mechanic. This proved to be a good decision. The #71 Chevy Camaro set the bar of competition at a high level on a weekly bases. At one point, because Johnny Reiser turned so many fast times qualifying and then went on the win the feature event, one of the tracks set a reward for anyone that could qualify in the top 4 positions and beat Johnny in the feature race. At the end of that season the bounty still stood unclaimed. The following year (1972) Johnny piloted the Reiser Racing Team Chevy to the top and claimed the area track championship – the highlight of a very colorful career.
The following year with Elmer’s retirement & brother Ken following other interests, Johnny drove a later model for the Mueller Brothers Racing team, but shortly after young Robbie Reiser was biting at the bit to get his career started. Again, the page was turned for the Reiser family. With John serving as crew chief & young Robbie behind the wheel, a mark was being made in the record books of the Slinger Speedway (now high-banked asphalt) as well as a developing young star. Robbie started in the hobby-stock division and won back-to-back rookie of the year and then the track championship. Then this team moved up to the big horsepower of the super late models with great success following, Slinger Super Speedway championships in 1991, 1992, & 1993 combined with championships at the Madison International Speedway and several combined championships in grouped area events (total results from the Slinger, Madison, & Kaukauna tracks) set the stage for the next page in the Reiser history book – NASCAR. In 1994 Robbie moved to Denver, NC where he and dad, John established Reiser Enterprises. A few years in the Busch series brought changes to the team – Matt Kenseth as driver, Robbie as crew chief, & Johnny R. handling the business end of the operation. In 2000, another page turned in the Reiser history book. Along with several crew members from the Reiser Enterprise Busch team, this all-Wisconsin team created a Winston Cup team under the umbrella of Roush Racing & Johnny R. became General Manager of the Busch series for Roush Racing. Robbie’s team made their mark on the national scene with NASCAR rookie of the year in the Winston Cup series in 2000 and reaching the pinnacle of success with the winning of the Winston Cup championship in 2003. As things evolved over the years, Robbie Reiser currently serves as vice president of competition for the Roush Racing group which field four (4) teams in this top-level series. Through hard work they turned a hobby into a successful, nationally-recognized career.
For the last 56 years there has been a Reiser involved in racing & they have never forgot their roots and their peers have recognized their accomplishments. While John Reiser passed away in 2005, in 2011 he was inducted into the Wisconsin Racing Hall of Fame. In November, 2014 Robbie will be inducted to the same honored group of outstanding Wisconsin racers.
The Reiser Family
Sophomore student Elly Foerster was able to track down Ken Reiser for a few minutes to discuss his family background in racing. After her interview and discussion, Ken took a few moments to submit his family story in writing for history students. In addition to interviews with students, the Slinger Area/History Culture Committee is looking for more submissions like the model Ken is providing: student interaction followed by adults writing down their memories to help with understanding regional history better. Below is a story of one of the more prominent families in racing the Slinger area: the Reisers.
The Reiser Racing Team
Submitted by Ken Reiser (May 2014)
The Reiser Racing Team has been part of the Slinger racing history since 1958. John Reiser started his racing career at a young age with a car built by his buddies to race the dirt ovals of Slinger and over the years that circuit grew to include tracks in Hales Corners, Cedarburg, & Beaver Dam.
In 1959 John’s dad, Elmer joined his son as car-builder and crew chief. This Reiser Racing Team was a fixture at every scheduled event, racing four nights a week and working to improve their machine – all this while holding down full-time jobs. From adolescence, brother Ken worked as a mechanic and learned the ‘art’ of fielding a competitive car. Through the 60’s racing was #1 in the Reiser family. In 1970 Ken joined the fun behind the wheel; a new car was built for John and the Reiser Racing team fielded two modified, open-wheeled cars. This new car featured many innovative features, such as power steering, suspension adjustment & fuel injection settings from the driver’s seat.
After that 1970 season the racing sanctioning body changed the style of car so the Reiser Racing Team sold their modifieds and turned the page in their career – fielding a full-bodied late model design for the 1971 season. Dad, Elmer was the engineer/crew chief, while son John drove and son Ken served as the mechanic. This proved to be a good decision. The #71 Chevy Camaro set the bar of competition at a high level on a weekly bases. At one point, because Johnny Reiser turned so many fast times qualifying and then went on the win the feature event, one of the tracks set a reward for anyone that could qualify in the top 4 positions and beat Johnny in the feature race. At the end of that season the bounty still stood unclaimed. The following year (1972) Johnny piloted the Reiser Racing Team Chevy to the top and claimed the area track championship – the highlight of a very colorful career.
The following year with Elmer’s retirement & brother Ken following other interests, Johnny drove a later model for the Mueller Brothers Racing team, but shortly after young Robbie Reiser was biting at the bit to get his career started. Again, the page was turned for the Reiser family. With John serving as crew chief & young Robbie behind the wheel, a mark was being made in the record books of the Slinger Speedway (now high-banked asphalt) as well as a developing young star. Robbie started in the hobby-stock division and won back-to-back rookie of the year and then the track championship. Then this team moved up to the big horsepower of the super late models with great success following, Slinger Super Speedway championships in 1991, 1992, & 1993 combined with championships at the Madison International Speedway and several combined championships in grouped area events (total results from the Slinger, Madison, & Kaukauna tracks) set the stage for the next page in the Reiser history book – NASCAR. In 1994 Robbie moved to Denver, NC where he and dad, John established Reiser Enterprises. A few years in the Busch series brought changes to the team – Matt Kenseth as driver, Robbie as crew chief, & Johnny R. handling the business end of the operation. In 2000, another page turned in the Reiser history book. Along with several crew members from the Reiser Enterprise Busch team, this all-Wisconsin team created a Winston Cup team under the umbrella of Roush Racing & Johnny R. became General Manager of the Busch series for Roush Racing. Robbie’s team made their mark on the national scene with NASCAR rookie of the year in the Winston Cup series in 2000 and reaching the pinnacle of success with the winning of the Winston Cup championship in 2003. As things evolved over the years, Robbie Reiser currently serves as vice president of competition for the Roush Racing group which field four (4) teams in this top-level series. Through hard work they turned a hobby into a successful, nationally-recognized career.
For the last 56 years there has been a Reiser involved in racing & they have never forgot their roots and their peers have recognized their accomplishments. While John Reiser passed away in 2005, in 2011 he was inducted into the Wisconsin Racing Hall of Fame. In November, 2014 Robbie will be inducted to the same honored group of outstanding Wisconsin racers.
Note: The following racing stories are the results from a survey conducted in November and December of 2013 by students Alex Streets, Teagan Burns, and Mike Kopp. The survey was mostly a digital survey conducted by e-mails, word of mouth, and help from a racer networking system of e-mails. Recipients, on this question of the survey, were asked to provide their favorite memories of the racing at Slinger Race Track among other things. There were community and racer memories. More data is available in the Culture section. Thanks to all the racers who participated.
Here are the Racer Memories from that survey. The Community Memories will be in the Culture section. We'll certainly take more stories to help tell the history of racing in the area better. There are some stories that still need to be added from what has been turned in but this is a starting point. A goal: to build a comprehensive look at the racing culture and history in the Slinger area. Please send stories.
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Here are the Racer Memories from that survey. The Community Memories will be in the Culture section. We'll certainly take more stories to help tell the history of racing in the area better. There are some stories that still need to be added from what has been turned in but this is a starting point. A goal: to build a comprehensive look at the racing culture and history in the Slinger area. Please send stories.
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RECOGNIZING VETERAN DRIVERS: SLINGER SUPER SPEEDWAY 6/8/2014
This photo was taken by student, Katelyn Neuburg, on the evening of her graduation from Slinger High School, no less. The Slinger Super Speedway was recognizing some of the former drivers at the track from the Modified Era and more......
This is evidence of the importance Slinger Super Speedway Owners place on the history of the race track and racing in general in the Slinger area.
This photo was taken by student, Katelyn Neuburg, on the evening of her graduation from Slinger High School, no less. The Slinger Super Speedway was recognizing some of the former drivers at the track from the Modified Era and more......
This is evidence of the importance Slinger Super Speedway Owners place on the history of the race track and racing in general in the Slinger area.
Kirk's Korners Memory
"We always were a lot busier on Sunday nights and during Slinger Nationals. Lots of race fans. We got to know several racers really well. Rusty Wallace, Dick Trickle." Billie Vaughn, former co-owner of Kirk's Korners, which is now The Slinger House (based on an interview with her grandson, Brady Tamborino, March 2015)
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"We always were a lot busier on Sunday nights and during Slinger Nationals. Lots of race fans. We got to know several racers really well. Rusty Wallace, Dick Trickle." Billie Vaughn, former co-owner of Kirk's Korners, which is now The Slinger House (based on an interview with her grandson, Brady Tamborino, March 2015)
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Slinger Super Speedway Track Re-Surfacing
The Slinger Super Speedway track resurfaced its track to make for a smoother ride. Here is a February 2014 article about the track re-surfacing and a video from Wolf Paving. Racer Conrad Morgan is an operations manager for Wolf Paving.
The Slinger Super Speedway track resurfaced its track to make for a smoother ride. Here is a February 2014 article about the track re-surfacing and a video from Wolf Paving. Racer Conrad Morgan is an operations manager for Wolf Paving.
Slinger Future Author's Camp visits the Slinger Super Speedway in 2017
Slinger Future Author's Camp students visit with race track chaplain, Jim Zeirke, during their 2017 summer camp. Jim discussed the race track history with them. Their interview story got published on the WUWM, 89.7, website and was modeled after a Bubbler Talk story. To read and listen to the story click here.
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Slinger Future Author's Camp students visit with race track chaplain, Jim Zeirke, during their 2017 summer camp. Jim discussed the race track history with them. Their interview story got published on the WUWM, 89.7, website and was modeled after a Bubbler Talk story. To read and listen to the story click here.
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Josh Bilicki (2013 Slinger High School Graduate)
-Slinger grad, Josh Bilicki completed a survey for Slinger HS sociology students in 2014. In that survey, Josh said that he started racing when he was four years old at Badger Kart Club in Dousman, WI. His dad raced and that's why he got involved. By age 14, he was racing cars (Mazda). He said that he had never raced at Slinger, but instead races sports cars on road courses all over the country and raced a circle track car for four racers in 2012 at Jefferson Speedway. His favorite memory was winning the 2008 Road America Supernationals in the 80cc shifter kart class (2014).
*Back when Josh was in HS, here was a feature made about Josh by a local news channel (2013)
Updates since 2014
Josh has continued to race professionally since the 2014 student research, raced IMSA in 2015, and is currently racing fulltime on the NASCAR circuit (2021).
Click here for a 2017 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel feature on Slinger HS graduate, Josh Bilicki (August 2017).
Click here for a 2020 feature updating Milwaukee Journal Sentinel readers on Josh's career.
Click here for Josh's official website.
Slinger HS senior student, Alex Lange, interviewed Josh Bilicki about the business side of racing on March 23rd, 2021. In addition, Josh spoke to Alex about what it was like racing at Daytona in his first year full-time in NASCAR. (Photo above submitted to Alex by Josh Bilicki).
"My first time at Daytona, I wasn't racing there. It was a private coaching session with a client I coached in a Porsche. So, it was the first time I saw the track and I was about 18 or 19 years old. When I saw the track, I remember thinking that this felt bigger than life. This is huge. You maybe have been at Lambeau Field to see the Packers and have the same feeling: it's just ginormous. I haven't been on the field at Lambeau, but I've experienced it at the Brewers stadium and on Daytona. It's bigger than life. You think, someday I want to race here, but it doesn't seem realistic at the time. So fast forward a few years. I had an opportunity to make my first Infinity Series start at Daytona on a Saturday. The race was a nightmare. We didn't quality for the race. We missed all practice because we had issues with the car. We qualified, but didn't have a fast enough lap, the car wasn't very good, and we missed the show. So, at that point, in 2018, I felt that I may had missed my only chance, but at least was able to log some laps on the track. Fast forward another year, I did run the INFINITY race, we did start and finish the race, and that was cool. But for me, to make my first start in the Daytona 500 in NASCAR was surreal. It was beyond words really. I grew up watching it. Quite honestly, I think my first experience with Daytona 500 growing up was playing the NASCAR 2000 video game on Sony Play Station. That's always the first race of the year in the game. You are racing against all these big time racers: Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt ,Sr, Dale Earnhardt, Jr......I never thought to myself I'd get to that point. Especially because at that time, I still wanted to go sportscar racing and not NASCAR. It felt like I was in the minor leagues running sports cars and NASCAR was in the major leagues. Not many people run Sport cars and know what sports car racing is. NASCAR just seemed out of reach.
When I was in my first few laps of Daytona in the Sunday race (2021), it was incredible. Even though we had COVID restrictions and we had limited fans, the turnout was still impressive. It was a cool event. It was really beyond words. "
"My first time at Daytona, I wasn't racing there. It was a private coaching session with a client I coached in a Porsche. So, it was the first time I saw the track and I was about 18 or 19 years old. When I saw the track, I remember thinking that this felt bigger than life. This is huge. You maybe have been at Lambeau Field to see the Packers and have the same feeling: it's just ginormous. I haven't been on the field at Lambeau, but I've experienced it at the Brewers stadium and on Daytona. It's bigger than life. You think, someday I want to race here, but it doesn't seem realistic at the time. So fast forward a few years. I had an opportunity to make my first Infinity Series start at Daytona on a Saturday. The race was a nightmare. We didn't quality for the race. We missed all practice because we had issues with the car. We qualified, but didn't have a fast enough lap, the car wasn't very good, and we missed the show. So, at that point, in 2018, I felt that I may had missed my only chance, but at least was able to log some laps on the track. Fast forward another year, I did run the INFINITY race, we did start and finish the race, and that was cool. But for me, to make my first start in the Daytona 500 in NASCAR was surreal. It was beyond words really. I grew up watching it. Quite honestly, I think my first experience with Daytona 500 growing up was playing the NASCAR 2000 video game on Sony Play Station. That's always the first race of the year in the game. You are racing against all these big time racers: Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt ,Sr, Dale Earnhardt, Jr......I never thought to myself I'd get to that point. Especially because at that time, I still wanted to go sportscar racing and not NASCAR. It felt like I was in the minor leagues running sports cars and NASCAR was in the major leagues. Not many people run Sport cars and know what sports car racing is. NASCAR just seemed out of reach.
When I was in my first few laps of Daytona in the Sunday race (2021), it was incredible. Even though we had COVID restrictions and we had limited fans, the turnout was still impressive. It was a cool event. It was really beyond words. "
Conrad Morgan
Slinger Superspeedway Interview by Speedway Staff
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article about Conrad Morgan (2017)
Jerry Eckhardt
Slinger Superspeedway Interview with Speedway Staff
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article by Dave Kallman about Jerry Eckhardt (2015)
Tony Strupp
Slinger Super Speedway Staff Interview with Tony Strupp
Slinger Superspeedway Interview by Speedway Staff
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article about Conrad Morgan (2017)
Jerry Eckhardt
Slinger Superspeedway Interview with Speedway Staff
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article by Dave Kallman about Jerry Eckhardt (2015)
Tony Strupp
Slinger Super Speedway Staff Interview with Tony Strupp
