This group did not disappoint. They showed up every week, got better every week, and added to the quality of our show. This year however, the Auto Value Super Stock division also has four rookies, including three with championship caliber experience.

Norway’s Tim Pollard, a former slammer driver who has won a couple track championships, is throwing his hat in the ring in the Auto Value Super Stock division for Rookie of the Year. Andy Secrist of Florence, Wis., who flirted with the Midwest Sport Truck Championship a few years back and had some success in the Whelen Fab 4 division, has purchased a top car formerly owned by Devon Wilcox, who used the same car to win Rookie of the Year a while back. Secrist is a natural behind the wheel and due to his work schedule, he has listed his dad as his backup driver, which is another cool story.

Another solid rookie candidate is Norway’s Joe Ostermann, who has decided to take the leap from the popular Sportsman division to the Auto Value Super Stock division. Ostermann, who has made his mark on the division with his three-wide passing, has won almost 50 feature events in the last nine years at four different tracks — including The Bahama Bracket Nationals held at Grundy Speedway in Grundy, Illinois, last fall — and several track championships as well.

One more experienced Sportsman star is Kingsford’s Jon Maenpaa. He shocked the speedway a few years back by challenging for the track championship in just his second year of racing. Maenpaa’s race cars always look great and are always fast.

Joe Ostermann (Good Aker Photography)

Our last Rookie of the Year candidate is Norway’s Carol Graves. While Graves has very little experience in the sport, she will be driving a top car owned and built by Brian Massicotte. She is going have a couple of practice days to get ready to run with some the best super stock drivers in the Midwest. But, it’s definitely a doable feat.

Other big news in the division is the return of some veterans. As the saying goes, “You can run, but you can’t hide.” We have a contingency of drivers that ran away from the sport for a few years and are now returning in a big way. Last year it was John Komp and Greg Anderson. This year Marquette’s Brian Ely, a top driver many years ago, will be making a return in a very good car that was formerly driven by Destiny Bullard in Auto Value Super Stock division.

Another big name from years ago — a talented driver who challenged for several championships in the early 2000s — is Norway’s Tommy Neeley. He bought a beautiful car from lower Michigan and looked really strong in the Fall 500.

Incidentally, Neeley’s favorite driver growing up was Norway’s John Ostermann. I’m sure Tommy will give our division standouts all they can handle.

A name from the past that we might be seeing more of is Iron Mountain’s Michael Bubloni Jr., who ran the last couple of Dickinson County Fair races. He’s made some upgrades to his car, and we might be seeing him on a regular basis this year.

In the Whelen Fab 4 division, some of the top drivers already got their racing fix in after a long off-season. The ISS (Impact Survival Series) Enduro Series opened up their season last Saturday at Jefferson Speedway in Cambridge, Wis.

The ISS Series will return to Norway Speedway this summer on Saturday, Aug. 23. Whelen Fab 4 standouts who participated in Jefferson last weekend included Kingsford’s Zach Hanson, who started 60th and ended at 21st, Iron Mountain’s Chris Hallenbeck ended with 33rd place, and Norway’s Isaac Bray started 52nd and placed sixth out of 63.

The third-annual employees meeting will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 19, in the John Degenaer Jr. multipurpose room at the Dickinson County Fairgrounds in Norway. Those interested in employment with the Speedway should attend the meeting. You must be at least age 14 to work for the Speedway.

See you at the track!