9/20/2022
Wissota Late Model Challenge Series
Searing Secures First Structural Buildings WISSOTA Challenge Series Title
Huron, South Dakota’s Cole Searing, who surprised many by winning the WISSOTA Late Model National Championship and Rookie of the Year honors in his rookie season during the 2021 campaign, backed up his championship run from a year ago with another title to add to his quickly building resume by
claiming the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series championship this season.
Searing, who is also the 2019 WISSOTA Midwest Modified National Champion, made the jump into the Late Model division at the start of the 2020 season and competed in nineteen events in the COVID-19 shortened season, picking up his first ever Late Model win on August 1 at the Miller Central Speedway
in Miller, SD. After his first season in the Late Model division in 2020, he got up to speed early on at the start of the 2021 season, racing to 21 feature wins in 55 events across WISSOTA-country, including victories on a prelim night at the WISSOTA 100 at the I-94 Speedway in Fergus Fall, MN and sweeping all 3 nights of the East-West Clash at the Gillette Thunder Speedway in Gillette, WY.
His ’22 season has been bright as well, winning 6 features thus far, including a pair of Challenge Series wins, during the 23 WISSOTA-sanctioned events that he has entered to date this season.
Cole’s decision to follow the Challenge Series this year was a simple one. He wanted to race against the best night in and night out and the Challenge Series was the place to do that. He said ‘we wanted to chase something but chase something different, so we decided there would be nothing better than to
go race against the best of the best and set a goal while doing it. To win the championship during his first full year following the series was extra special because in his eyes winning the Challenge Series title "is almost more meaningful than winning the WISSOTA National Championship because you are racing the best of the best every night!".
Sponsors on Cole’s #10 MB Customs Race Cars include Collins Brothers Towing, Minnesota Truck Headquarters, Prostrollo General Motors, Bloomendilly’s Performance, JigE Signs and Graphics, Swift
Springs, Dixon Oil Recycling, Conkey Farms, Avail Wealth Management, Daly Fab, Chaos Photography, Jensen Livestock Inc., CMD Race Shocks, Mars Race Cars, ELX, Jerry Kleinsasser Farms, Mike Rogers Construction, Farmers Union Insurance, Winther Ag, Martin Construction, Brotherhood Arms, Del’s
Taxidermy and Archery, All Auto Collision, Gladdis Grinding, Pro Power Racing Engines, Dirt Race Central, Speedwerx, Carlson’s Service Center and Red Arrow Bar.
Searing is supported by his wife Ashley, their new son Owen and his dedicated crew consisting of Cody Daly, Derek Wipf, Todd Mosterd and Jim Searing. Cole also wanted to send a big thanks to AJ Diemel at MB Customs, Mark Gerth at CMD Race Shocks as well as his family, friends, supporters and his great
sponsors for being such a huge part of his Challenge Series accomplishments.
Cole has been racing for 12 seasons, with his first 2 spent in the WISSOTA Street Stock division, before he moved into the WISSOTA Super Stock class, where he spent the next 8 years. He also competed in the WISSOTA Midwest Modified division in 2019, racing to the National Championship for his efforts
that season as well and will cap off his third season in a Late Model in 2022 with his first Challenge Series championship.
Of the 11 series races Cole competed in, he proved to be a consistent top runner, finishing with 2 wins, 8 top 5 and 8 top 10 runs and topped Canadian racer Shane Edginton, who finished second in the final point tally by a 63-point margin to secure his first series title. 126 drivers competed in at least one series event during the 2022 season and Searing bested all with his championship run. Along with his pair of wins, which came at the Ogilvie Raceway in Ogilvie, MN and at the Casino Speedway in Watertown, SD,
another highlight on the series was his 23rd to 3rd run at the Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen, SD, where he earned hard charger honors for his efforts that night.
The 2022 edition of the Structural Buildings WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series held eleven events at the I-94 Speedway, Ogilvie Raceway, Brown County Speedway, Casino Speedway, Hibbing Raceway, ABC
Raceway, Gondik Law Speedway and Halvor Lines Speedway. 6 of the originally scheduled 17 events were lost due to weather. Cole’s 2022 season isn’t over yet as he plans on entering events during the final four weekends of the season with events left on the schedule at the Granite City Motor Park, ABC Raceway, Ogilvie Raceway and Gondik Law Speedway still tentatively on the schedule.
Congrats!
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 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 Hoosier Racing Tire, Speedway Motors, Afco Racing Products, Structural Buildings, Chevrolet, Engine Quest, Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants, World Products,
Manley, QA1, Allstar Performance, My Race Pass, Bassett, Brodix Cylinder Heads, AMI Graphics, Wilwood Disc Brakes, MSD, Quarter Master, Leighton Broadcasting, Comp Cams, Aero, Dirt Track Supply, Joe Provo Racewear, Mahle, Moser Engineering, Winning Edge Graphics, Champ Pans, Performance Auto, ATD, Holley, Rosebud Wood Products, Minuteman Press, Fox, ERMA and Garage-Tech X-treme.
For more information on WISSOTA, log on to www.WISSOTA.org.
Article Credit: FYE Motorsports Promotions
Submitted By: Camryn Sullivan