News

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

2022 marks this club’s 32nd year of racing lightning sprints (mini sprints) across Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. While the club has operated under different leadership and different names during this span (WIMSA, WIMS, and currently ILS), our existence today and the longevity of the club is due to select people throughout those eras. We felt there was no better time than now to recognize this and so under the leadership of ILS board member Larry Neau, we have created the IRA Lightning...more

The 2023 ILS banquet is scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd at 1175 Sports Park & Eatery on the corners of Hwy 11 and Hwy 75 in Kansasville, WI at 6:30pm. The cost will stay the same as the last 2 years at $33 per person. Please respond to ira.lightning.sprints@gmail.com with how many in your party and mail a check written to IRA for the total amount and mail it to Mike Neau at the following address. We need a final tally on everyone coming and money received by Wednesday November...more

On Saturday, December 2nd 2023, the IRA Lightning Sprints officially closed out the 2023 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, and the 2nd hall of fame class was inducted. This year we saw Mark Heinert driving for Dream Chaser Racing finally get that elusive series championship after 13...more

ILS added 4 more inductees to its Hall of Fame this past season. After receiving the nominations, the voting panel which consists of current HoF members along with the club historian and 2 board members agreed to elect Romy Baus, Nick Sheridan, Mike Neau, and Larry Neau to the ILS Hall of Fame – class of 2023. Jeff Wesell was gracious enough to act as emcee for the HoF induction ceremonies. Below are write-ups for the new inductees... Romy Baus: While current and past Inductees certainly have...more