10/31/2024
WISSOTA
LARSON LANDS WISSOTA HORNET ROOKIE HONORS
Barnum, Minnesota’s Nikota Larson raced to the 2024 WISSOTA Hornet Rookie of the Year title this season, besting Fergus Falls, Minnesota’s Dexyn Habraken by 33 points to secure the honor.
Larson, who competed in the Compact Car division at the Carlson County Fair in his hometown of Barnum for the past several years, moved into the WISSOTA Hornet class at the start of 2024 and as a true rookie in the sport, he said ‘it turned out better than I expected.’
Nikota entered 26 events during the 2024 season, picking up his first career win at the Gondik Law Speedway in Superior, WI in July. Along with his first win, he finished inside the top ten on 23 occasions and inside the top five sixteen times as well. Other than the Gondik Law Speedway, Nikota also competed at the Princeton Speedway, Hibbing Raceway, Proctor Speedway, Grand Rapids Speedway, Ogilive Raceway and Bemidji Speedway this season.
He said ‘we raced at the MPH Invitational, which was my first time at the Bemidji Speedway and was one of the “funnest” races all year. It was awesome for WISSOTA to put together an invitational race for the small classes in racing. We also raced the Fall Classic at Ogilvie and it was such a good weekend full of great racing. Those late nights were worth it!’
Nikota is sponsored by Green Acres Diesel Repair, Clint Larson Trucking, Proctor Pizza, 3J’s Farm, A&B Auto, Lightning Storm Graphics and Cory’s Racing Equipment, and is also supported by all of his friends on and off the track, including Hanna Pearthree, Tim Larson, Joe Puidokas, AJ House, Cade Johnson, Derek Ament, Andy Leino, Odin Leino and Riley Ament.
At age 22, Nikota has a long and bring career in front of him as he comes off a very successful 2024 season and is already looking forward to 2025.
When asked to sum up his rookie of the year season, Nikota said ‘I’m not sure of a quote to describe how it feels, but I do know that it feels really good knowing that I had one shot at a national rookie of the year award and we were able to get it done. That feeling didn’t come easy with spending almost every night after work in the garage trying to find things to make the car better every week and then spending every weekend at the track. We were able to hit
seven different tracks this year and had fun at all of them. I would also like to give a huge shout out and thanks to my family for the support and also to everyone who helped me out this year whether it would be wrenching on the car or with set up on the car, I really appreciate it. I am looking forward to what next year has to bring.’
Congrats to Nikota and his team!
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 an 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.
WISSOTA is proudly sponsored by their official marketing partners: Hoosier Racing Tire, My Race Pass, NAPA Auto Parts, Dirt Race Central, Speedway Motors, Suburban Chevrolet and All The Dirt Racing News, along with their Platinum partners, Raceceiver and Chevrolet Performance, plus their Gold sponsors, which include EngineQuest, QA1, and World Products.
WISSOTA is also sponsored by Silver partners Motul, AFCO and Willy’s Carburetor &Dyno Shop, plus Bronze sponsors, including Hanco Corporation and Statk Products. WISSOTA also has a great group of contingency sponsors, including Brodix Cylinder Heads, BuyRaceShirts.com,
Manley, Allstar Performance, AMI Graphics, Winning Edge Graphics, Velocita, RaceCals, RaceGear Designs, All Star Trophy & Awards, Minuteman Press, UEM Pistons, Mahle Motorsports, Performance Auto and MD3. WISSOTA’s Late Model Challenge Series is proudly sponsored by Structural Buildings, Momentum Truck Group, Freightliner, Western Star, Minnesota Truck Headquarters, NAPA Auto Parts, Garage Tech X-treme, Raceceiver, AT21
Spoiler Factory, Velocita, BuyRaceShirts.com, Sunoco Race Fuels by Woodie’s Racing, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Speedwerx, Hiller Auction Inc., Shaw Trucking Inc., Collins Bros Towing of St. Cloud, ServPro, Olsen Custom Farms, Joe Provo Racewear, My Race Pass, Hoosier Racing Tire, Motul, White City Glass, Champ Pans and MD3. WISSOTA’s Official Supporters include:
American Heritage Bank, After The Checkers, Bid-2-Buy, Carlson Service Center, Engine Shop, Extreme Tint LLC, Frankman Motor Comp. Inc., FYE Motorsports Promotions, Hanso Paving, Heights Pizza Man, H&S Heating & Cooling, Hilmerson Spots Center, K&A Autobody, Kal’s Motor
Group, Kramlich – Deede Meats, Landwehr Construction, Line-X of St. Cloud, Manheim Minnesota, Nyhus Family Sales, Outlaw Graphics, Select Electric, LLC, Sharptruck.com, Specialized Auto Glass, St. Cloud Financial Credit Union, TP Fabricating, Town & Country Excavating, Westwind Logistics, Woodie’s Racing, Woodie’s Manufacturing and Zeuli’s Race Engines.
For more information on WISSOTA, log on to www.WISSOTA.org.
Submitted By: Nikki Cook