---

Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway to Host 85th Season Opener for Badger

Sun Prairie, WI, April 28 -- The Badger Midget Series will kick-start its 85th year of sanctioning midget auto racing this Sunday, May 2, 2021, at the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway in Dubuque, Iowa. Joining the Badger midgets Sunday night will be their IMCA Modifieds and Late Model weekly program.

The Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway is a 1/3 mile clay semi-banked oval nestled in the Mississippi River Valley. This will be the 22nd different track to host a Badger Midget Series season opener and the first time an Iowa track has held that honor. In 2016, the last time the great state of Iowa hosted a Badger Series event, Kurt Mayhew captured the checkered flag during the running of the Yankee.

Eighteen times the winner of the season-opener has gone on to win the Badger Midget Series title. Seven-time Badger Champion Dan Boorse won on "opening night" during three of his championship seasons at three different tracks: 1984 at Capital Super Speedway, 1998 at Butler Speedway, and 1999 at Angell Park Speedway.

Other Badger drivers who have won on the opening night of their championship year more than once include Billy Wood (1954 and '55) and Keith Thomas (1961 and '62). To take the crown in 2021, drivers will have to battle across the Badger state and trek across state lines into Iowa, Illinois, and make a rare visit to sprint car country in Indiana. A mix of veterans and rising stars have laid their eyes on the prize, only one will be crowned the 85th Badger Midget Champion.

Two-time defending series champion Chase McDermand is back to contend for his third championship in 2021. Chase makes only the 12th different driver ever to make a bid for three championships in a row. A feat accomplished only by two drivers in the 84-year series history, eight-time series champ Billy Wood and five-time champ Kevin Olson.

Pit Gates will open at 4:00 pm and Grandstands at 4:00 pm. Hot Laps will start at 6:00 pm with racing to follow.

Back to News