10/23/2023
WISSOTA
PETERSON POWERS TO LATE MODEL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AND ROOKIE OF THE YEAR TITLE IN 2023
2021 and 2022 WISSOTA Modified National Champion Tyler Peterson made the leap into the WISSOTA Late Model division for the 2023 season and as a rookie, outlived expectations and raced to a 40-win season to capture the Late Model National Championship AND Rookie of the Year honors, en route to his third straight national title across WISSOTA’s top two divisions. Peterson won 20 Late Model features and 20 in the Modified, where he finished a solid 2nd in the final national point tally as well.
Peterson, 27, from Hickson, ND ended up with a 19-point margin over runner up Chad Becker in the final Late Model 2023 season standings and ended up just 60 points short of Shane Sabraski’s Modified winning effort at season’s end. With a whopping 40 victories in his 79 starts between the two cars, Peterson finished inside the top ten an astounding 76 nights and ran inside the top five on 68 occasions.
Peterson, who has been a front runner in the open wheel divisions (WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds and WISSOTA Modifieds) throughout his entire career, put together his second straight dream season in 2022 to reach his ultimate goal of winning WISSOTA’s National title for the second straight season and then backed it up yet again after adding a Late Model to his stable for 2023 and quickly getting up to speed, resulting in his third straight WISSOTA National Championship and first in the Late Model division. His efforts also landed him as the 2023 WISSOTA Late Model Rookie of the Year.
Sponsors on Tyler’s #1TPO Race Cars include QuickLift by TP Fabricating, Enclave, Allfab Railings and Metalworks, Powdercoat Specialists, Northwest Autobody, Fastenal, Cain Designs and Slider Shots. Tyler is supported by his wife Sierra, his dad Matt, his mom Donna, his dog Piper, as well as his crew, which consists of Jon Beebe and Zach Polaschek along with his dad and wife.
Tyler has been racing for 13 seasons, with his first 4 spent in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified division, before he moved into the WISSOTA Modified class, where he has been a driving force ever since and has now added a powerful WISSOTA Late Model to his arsenal.
Notable wins for Peterson this season included winning 5 NLRA Late Model Series events, winning 3 WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series events, winning twice during the Modified portion of the John Seitz Memorial, winning the Dakota Rumble, winning the Stock Car Stampede, winning the special at the McLean County Speedway, winning a pair of Moonshine Modified Tour events and winning the WISSOTA 100 and the Autumn Classic in both the Late Models and Modifieds.
Tyler won races at eleven different tracks during the 2023 season, showing his versatility to run well on every size and shape of track across WISSOTA-country all season long.
When asked what it means to win a Late Model National Championship, Tyler said “it’s pretty surreal to be added to such a historic list of past champions, and to do it our first year in the Late Model makes it all the sweeter, can’t wait to see what our team is able to achieve in the future.”
Keep an eye on Tyler during the 2024 season as he looks to race his Late Model and Modified often, win often and may as well try to keep his national championship streak alive and go for his fourth in a row.
Congrats!
The WISSOTA Promoters Association exists to benefit its member tracks to enhance safe, profitable and successful dirt track racing, through unified, cost-effective rules, policies and procedures, enacted within a democratic environment.
The WISSOTA Promoters Association was founded in 1981 by eight track promoters in Wisconsin and Minnesota, with intent to offer uniform rules for the promoters and drivers involved in the Late Model division. Soon, the group decided to do the same for the growing Modified division.
In 1984 a voluntary steering committee was formed to oversee the business aspects that developed and to guide the future of WISSOTA’s racing divisions. That steering committee evolved into a board of directors, and the non-profit racing organization became incorporated in 1986.
Promoters who join the organization become, in essence, part owners of the racing organization and are expected to contribute to its overall success. Each November, the WISSOTA annual meeting is held; the member promoters gather annually in this forum to discuss the future of the organization. Member promoters are given the opportunity to vote on all organizational policies and procedures as well as rules for competition in the various racing divisions. WISSOTA’s member promoters and racing associations have spent approximately 30 years of hard work at the annual meetings crafting unique rules for each of the divisions, which are known as WISSOTA Late Models, WISSOTA Modifieds, WISSOTA Super Stocks, WISSOTA Street Stocks, WISSOTA Mod Fours, WISSOTA Pure Stocks and WISSOTA Hornets.
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For more information on WISSOTA, log on to www.WISSOTA.org.
Submitted By: Camryn Sullivan