News

On Saturday, the IRA Lightning Sprints held the 2021 awards banquet to distribute the prize fund and honor the top 5 in points plus some special awards. 1175 Sports Park and Eatery again was the host of the event. Several raffle prizes were generously donated by our series sponsors including Hyper Racing, DMI, AutoMeter, CSI Shocks, Hepfner Racing Products, Competition Products, Force 1 Performance, Slade Shocks, Bell Racing Helmets, and SuperShox. We would like to thank everyone that...more

On May 7th, the Bumper to Bumper IRA sprints returned to the Sycamore Speedway for the first time in 35 years. As part of the historic night, the IRA Lightning Sprints joined the winged 410s and the badger Midgets. Tim Brannam and Derek Fortier picked up heat race wins, setting up the 16 car 20 lap A main. 17 year old Max Brannam lead the early laps in front of the standing room only crowd. Andrew Kiedrowski was able to work past Brannam and take controls of the race. In the closing stages of...more

18 cars made the trip to Beaver Dam to support night 2 of the World of Outlaws sprint car double header and the night got started with the 16 of Mike Neau claiming quick time in qualifying. Heat races were won by outside front row starters Andrew Kiedrowski in the K9 and John Kirk in the 9. After the feature invert, we saw both Kirk and Kiedrowski lining up on the front row and again the outside line proved dominant on the start as Kiedrowski was able to capture the lead on the start and...more

The return of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series to Wilmot Raceway was also the season opener for the IRA Lightning Sprints as Mother Nature has cancelled 5 events so far this year – 4 of which were Wilmot races. 21 cars signed in – the highest total of the year so far – and again it was the 16 of Mike Neau leading the way in qualifying. Heat races we won by Mark Heinert in the 55 and CJ Malueg in the 13 as he made an amazing pass in the last 2 corners to move from 5th to 1st as the top...more

20 IRA lightning sprints signed in for only their 2nd appearance this season at home track Wilmot Raceway on July 30th. Again it was Mike Neau setting quick time during qualifying while Derek Fortier and Adam Schroeder claimed heat race wins. The feature saw Fortier bring the field to green but was quickly challenged by the K9 of Andrew Kiedrowski. Kiedrowski was able to get around Fortier and lead lap 1 but that lead was short lived as he looped his machine in turn 2 on lap 2. Fortier...more

20 cars again signed in at Wilmot Raceway on August 6th. This marked the first and only time all season that the lightning sprints have been able to race on consecutive weeks due to Mother Nature. Andrew Kiedrowski repaired his car from the previous weeks flip and was able to grab quick time for the evening as well as winning heat 1. Max Brannam was able to win heat 2 – is second heat win in his career. The 55 of Mark Heinert drew the pole for the feature with Max Brannam starting on his...more

Another strong turnout for the IRA Lightning Sprints as 19 cars checked in to do battle as part of an all IRA show in one of the biggest races of the year during the Kenosha County Fair at Wilmot Raceway. The evening started with the K9 of Andrew Kiedrowski setting quick time of the evening. The 55H of Mark Heinert and the 13 of CJ Malueg would claim heat race victories and the feature would see the 6B of Derek Fortier and the B20 of Tom Brown – all the way from Nebraska and back racing with...more

19 cars signed in on Saturday 9-3-22 for Wilmot Raceway’s Championship Night where the track would crown 5 season champions across their core divisions. The special night utilized a special format where the ILS would run a 25 lap feature only. The feature was lined up by Wilmot Raceway season points, with the point leader drawing the invert pill. Point leader Mike Neau drew the #2 pill which would put him starting the feature 4th and his Dream Chaser Racing teammate, Mark Heinert starting...more

17 cars made the trip to the Plymouth Dirt Track in support of the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships where nearly 100 sprint cars across 4 divisions raced to decide who would be crowned champions for 2022. This year the stakes were even higher thanks to A Main Apparel and the IRA for organizing bonus money for all the classes. The ILS saw at least $650 extra dollars added to the purse which included lap leader bonuses for the feature, bonuses for quick time, heat race wins, hard charger,...more

On Saturday, December 3rd, the IRA Lightning Sprints officially closed out the 2022 season at 1175 Sports Park and Eatery in Kansasville, WI. We distributed the point fund to eligible drivers and honored the top 5 in points plus the Rookie of the Year with trophies. Special award plaques were also handed out to a few individuals. This year, there was an added surprise and even deeper level of recognition handed out... 2022 marks this clubs 32nd year of racing lightning sprints (mini...more