11/5/2024
WISSOTA
LANGE LEADS ALL SUPER STOCK ROOKIES; EARNS NATIONAL WISSOTA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HONORS
The WISSOTA Promoter’s Association has its first female Super Stock National Rookie of the Year in Ellen Lange. Lange moved to the Super Stock division from the Hornet division, where she competed the last three years and bested all rookie of the year contenders to earn the honor after competing in 40 events throughout the 2024 season.
17-year-old Lange started racing in 2021 and spent the last three seasons behind the wheel of a Hornet car. 2023 was her best year to date, winning seven times and allowing the team to decide to make the jump into the Super Stock class for this past season. Ellen wanted to be sure to thank Mike Juaire for hooking her up with a competitive car.
Throughout 2024, Ellen raced at nine tracks, including the North Central Speedway, Granite City Motor Park, Bemidji Speedway, Grand Rapid Speedway, Fiesta City Speedway, Gondik Law Speedway, Princeton Speedway, Viking Speedway and Madison Speedway, earning 32 top ten finishes in her 40 starts, including three top five runs, which was good enough to see her best the other 28 Super Stock rookies for the national rookie of the year award, topping Canadian Andrew Groom by 57 points to earn the title at season’s end.
Of the 40 events Ellen raced in this season, she mentioned winning the Rookie of the Year Awards at both the Grand Rapids Speedway and Bemidji Speedway as highlights, also saying ‘to me, being the National Rookie of the Year is probably the biggest achievement I’ve made in my racing career. I started the season off with the only goal of being a track Rookie of the Year and I didn’t even think the national rookie award would be possible until the end of the season when I started to be more competitive.’
Lange wanted to also be sure to give a big shoutout to Mike Harris, Peter Rogers, Caley Emerson, Jack Koranda and Joel Henkemeyer for always giving her advise and supporting her career in this new class. She also mentioned one of her most fond moments this season was ‘when I finished in front of Jack Koranda!’
Ellen is sponsored by Acieta, Block North Brew Pub, Central Building Supply, Central McGowan, Frost Heaters, Heights Pizza Man, Hills Golf Course, Lakeland Trailers, Lange’s Nursery & Landscaping, Lucky Seven, Motley Dairy Queen, NAPA Central, Northern Safety and Staples Prevision & Metalcraft, and she is also supported by her family, which consists of his dad Robbie, mom Jackie, brother Will, Granny & Papa, Kevy, Auntie, Grandma and Grandpa George and Grandma Janet.
The Super Stock division was first sanctioned by WISSOTA in 1990 and Lange becomes the first female racer to win the award.
Congrats to Ellen and her 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