Breaking It Down: Icebreaker 50

Ultimate Lap Photo

(Wisconsin Dells, WI) The kick off event for the 2024 Midwest Truck Series season was once again back at Dells Raceway Park. An event that snowed out last year had Mother Nature on its side with great weather, fantastic racing, and memorable moments. 

Rookies Struggled: Whether it is due to the fact that the Midwest Truck Series has one of the tightest requirements for teams to be eligible for JK Tools Rookie of the Year, or the learning curve for the trucks is steeper than often thought. The Rookie of the Year contenders all struggled with Tucker Bodendorfer only transferring to the main event as the alternate provisional after Nick Quinell was disqualified after the last chance event. Look for the rookie contenders to rebound on a bigger, more open Madison International Speedway. 

Jacob Nottestad Made A Statement: In only his 4th Midwest Truck Series start, Jacob Nottestad was the fastest in Saturday’s practice session, backed it up with fast time in Six08 Graphics Qualifying, charged to third in his heat after starting 9th, and then earned the Last Chance Truckin Hard Charger award in the feature advancing 10 positions. Nottestad arrived to the Midwest Truck Series in a strong way. 

Slipping And Sliding: A 44 lap green flag run to kick off the season tested drivers patience, set up, and ability to navigate through traffic. The trucks looked to be struggling for grip and started to have a slicked off dirt track feel with drivers on the outside using the track bite laid down by track officials for some added grip. The result would be side by side racing with both drivers hanging on and searching for grip.  

A Rare DNF: James Swan had just 1 DNF over the last 2 seasons (2022/2023) and has been a model of consistency was plagued by a broken right front spindle after he and Brad Mueller made incidental contact while battling side by side. The 6x Champion will now focus on digging himself out of the 58 point hole he sees himself in. 

A Stepping Stone For More: There were 5 drivers competing in the Super Late Model 100 that have competed full time in the Midwest Truck Series at some point in their career. Gabe Sommers, Nick Egan, James Lynch, Luke Fenhaus, and Tristan Swanson. Sam Mayer who won the Xfinity race at Texas has competed in 2 Midwest Truck Series events winning at Dells Raceway Park back in 2017.

Fans As Far As The Eye Can See: Jerry Auby was blessed with beautiful 70 degree and sunny weather and the fans paid him back by showing up. The record breaking attendance numbers proved to everyone that short track racing is alive in the Midwest. 

Veterans Still Strong: Midwest Truck Series is a blend of veterans and new drivers each and every year. The Icebreaker is also the first time that everyone gets to race together. This year was no different, the Veterans proved that the new guys will still have their work cut out for them. Chester Ace picked up his 9th series victory, Bryce Miller who recorded his 51st Midwest Truck Series start and Kevin Knuese who has 91 starts in the series were all in the top 5 when the checkers flew. This may not always be the case this year, but the series regulars are still getting it done. 

Truckers Rolled Through The Gate: A total of 28 teams were in attendance for the Icebreaker 50. This is the second highest truck count at the track in the 24 races. The only larger count was Icebreaker 2022 when 30 trucks showed, coincidentally enough, Chester Ace also won that race too. 

Fast Times For All: In the last 11 races, there have been 11 different fast time award winners. The times are tight and the pressure is high. A combination of single truck qualifying and group qualifying plays a factor. 

Next Up: The Midwest Truck Series heads to the birthplace of the series, Madison International Speedway, part of the Joe Shear Classic annual special Sunday May 5th. This year the Joe Shear Classic Midwest Truck Series 36 is presented by Club La Mark, Madison’s Race Car Bar. This year will also be the 30th race in the “Modern Era” dating back to 2010. Tickets can be purchased by visiting https://misracing.com