By: Kevin Ramsell
Morris, IL – The 65th Annual Memorial that was scheduled for last Saturday night at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL has been rescheduled for this Sunday, September 27th with racing starting at 3pm.
The Appalachian Sucker Punch Midwest Tour will headline the Bettenhausen Classic 100 along with the Mid-American Series, Sixers and Supercups.
This will be the first time that the Midwest Tour will be part of this historic fall race dating back to the first running in 1962 at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, IN. After Illiana shut down following the 2015 season, the event moved to its new home at Grundy County Speedway in 2016.
This year’s entry list will include many past winners, top stars of the Midwest, and the greater Chicagoland area.
Four-time and defending winner Ricky Baker headlines the 26 drivers who have officially filed an entry for this Sunday.
Along with Baker, another four-time winner, Eddie Hoffman, will also be looking for his fifth victory. His father, Ed Hoffman, is also a three-time winner.
2024 winner Stan Zolodz IV is also entered for Sunday. Zolodz was the 32nd different winner when he took the checkered flag.
Two-time winner Paul Shafer Jr. could be looking for his third Bettenhausen victory. He already has one victory in the Midwest Tour this year at Jefferson Speedway. He currently sits third in the Midwest Tour standings.
Boris Jurkovic has two victories in the Bettenhausen from when it competed at Illiana Motor Speedway.
Scott Tomasik was the final winner at Illiana in 2015.
Joining the past winners will be the Midwest Tour stars and cars that are currently in a tight points battle with two events remaining in the 2026 season.
Penn Sauter will come to the Bettenhausen with a 12-point lead over three-time defending champion Casey Johnson.
Recent Gandrud Auto Group 250 winner Justin Mondeik sits fourth in the standings, 31 points behind Sauter.
Levon Van Der Geest is currently sixth and hopes to add his name to the winners of this prestigious race to pick up his first victory in the Tour.
Riley Stenjem, Mitch Haver, and Nick Egan will hope to gain positions in the standings at Grundy as all three are currently in the top ten in points. Bryce Miller is hoping his strong run in the Bettenhausen will vault him into the top ten as he sits just 12 points out in 11th.
Other Midwest stars competing to become the 33rd different winner include: Andy Jones, Alex Weber, Max Kahler, and Jayden Johnson. Dylan Bates is making the trek from Missouri to compete this Sunday.
The Chicagoland area will be well represented at the Bettenhausen Classic. Drivers include: Anthony Danta, Blake Brown, Andy Jones, Jake Weinrich, Scott Koerner, DJ Weltmeyer, Tony Brutti, Vince Cooper, and Steve Seligman.
These are the drivers that have filed an entry for Sunday as of press time.
Qualifying will begin at 1:30pm with racing at 3pm.
Tickets are currently on sale at midwesttour.racing.