(Oregon, WI) – Winners and champions will take center stage this Sunday as a stacked field of the Midwest’s top Super Late Model talent is set to compete in the Joe Shear Classic presented by Toyota at Madison International Speedway. With a lineup featuring past champions, marquee event winners, and rising stars, fans can expect an ultra-competitive afternoon of racing at “Wisconsin’s Fastest Half Mile.” 25 cars from 4 states will make up the field for the 200 lap $15,000 to win event. The field includes a mix of former event winners, former winners kids, former champions, former tour winners and podium finishers.
4 Luke Fenhaus – Defending Gandrud Auto Group 250 winner Luke Fenhaus is set to take on the Joe Shear Classic. Fenhaus has proven he can win some of the Midwest’s biggest events having won the Slinger Nationals and the Miracle on the Highbanks. He has also dominated at Dells Raceway Park, capturing two Alive for Five Championships and is a former Super Late Model winner at MIS.
4 Cody Vanderloop – Cody Vanderloop comes into Sunday with a handful of Super Late Model starts. The past few seasons he’s cut his teeth with the Midwest Truck Series. Vanderloop is a former Champion at WIR in the WI Sport Trucks and is a former winner in the Super Stocks.
5 Casey Johnson – Four time Midwest Tour Champion Casey Johnson has been the driver to beat at MIS in recent years. Since 2021 he’s won the Joe Shear Classic twice and the Howie Lettow Memorial three times. He is also a two time MIS Triple Crown Champion.
5 Penn Sauter – Penn Sauter is a former Late Model winner at Dells Raceway Park. He also turned heads with a strong fifth-place finish at last year’s Oktoberfest Race Weekend. Carrying a familiar name in Midwest racing, Penn is the son of former event winner Johnny Sauter, and is quickly carving out his own path as a driver to watch.
7 Paul Shafer – Shafer is a former winner of the Gandrud Auto Group 250 and the Salute the Troops 100. He has also found consistent success at Grundy County Speedway, where he is a two-time winner of the Wayne Carter Classic. He is also a Chicagoland Champion winning Track Championships at both Grundy and Illiana. Shafer is also a Super Late Model winner at MIS.
7 Mitch Haver – Haver is a former winner in the NASCAR Late Models at the Rockford Speedway winning back in 2022. He is also a former Rookie of the Year for the Big 8 Series, Tundra Super Late Models and Alive for Five Hard Charger Award winner.
7 John DeAngelis – DeAngelis is a two time winner of the Falloween at Dells Raceway Park in the Alive for Five Series. He also has 4 top 5 finishes at MIS in the Howie Lettow Classic.
9 Derek Kraus – Derek Kraus made history as the youngest winner in ASA Midwest Tour competition, capturing his first victory at Dells Raceway Park in 2016. Last season with the ASA STARS National Tour he picked up the win in the Food Country USA 300 at Newport Speedway. Kraus also brings championship pedigree to the track as a former ARCA Menards Series West champion and a Midwest Truck Series champion.
11 Bryce Miller – Miller has four wins with the Midwest Truck Series including two wins at State Park Speedway, Jefferson Speedway and the Dixieland Delight 35 at WIR. He is also a former Track Champion and four time Late Model Feature winner at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Iowa.
13 Nick Egan – Egan is a former Slinger Speedway Sportsman Champion as well as a winner in the Clash at the Downs with the Big 8 Series and the World Stock Car Festival with the CRA Pro Series.
14 Austin Nason – Nason captured the checkered flag in the Joe Shear Classic back in 2018 and is no stranger to Victory Lane in marquee events across the Midwest. He is a former winner of the Howie Lettow Classic, the Father’s Day 100 at Milwaukee Mile, and the Wayne Carter Classic at Grundy County Speedway. He is also a two-time winner of the National Short Track Championships at Rockford Speedway.
15 Gabe Sommers – Sommers is a two time Midwest Tour Champion and is a two time winner of the Jim Sauter Classic and Hawkeye 100. He’s also a former winner of the Oktoberfest 200, and the Larry Detjens Memorial.
22 Nick Panitzke – Panitzke is two time Late Model Track Champion at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway winning the title in 2019 & 2017. He makes his return to asphalt after spending the past seasons behind the wheel of a Dirt Late Model.
23 Levon Van Der Geest – Van Der Geest is a former Midwest Truck Series Champion with 5 wins. He is also a former Super Late Model winner at Golden Sands Speedway.
36 Ty Fredrickson – Fredrickson has already proven he can win on big stages, capturing victories in the Wayne Carter Classic and the Thunderstruck. Racing runs in the family as well, as his father, Dan Fredrickson, is a former winner of the Joe Shear Classic.
38 Jordan DeVoy – DeVoy is a former winner of the Icebreaker 100 at Dells Raceway Park along with being a champion in the Tundra Super Late Models.
39 Andrew Morrissey – Former ASA Midwest Tour Champion Andrew Morrissey is a two-time winner of the Joe Shear Classic, capturing victories in 2012 and 2017. He has also enjoyed tremendous success at Madison International Speedway where he has earned 12 Super Late Model feature wins. That total places him inside the Top 20 on the track’s all-time Super Late Model wins list.
44 Justin Mondeik – Mondeik is a former Midwest Tour winner winning the Larry Detjens Memorial twice and the Thunderstruck 93. He’s a three time State Park Speedway and Golden Sands Speedway Champion.
58 Joe Scholze – Joe Scholze has shown steady consistency in ASA Midwest Tour competition, highlighted by an eighth-place finish in the final standings in 2023 and a top-10 result again in 2025, where he finished 10th overall. He is also a Late Model winner at La Crosse Speedway and Jefferson Speedway.
72 Jacob Goede – Jacob Goede brings an impressive list of accomplishments to the track, highlighted by two NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Championships and 10 Late Model Track Championships at Elko Speedway. He continued his success last season by capturing the Late Model Track Championship at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. Goede is also a two-time winner in ASA Midwest Tour competition, with victories at Elko Speedway and Illiana Motor Speedway.
77 Riley Stenjem – Stenjem is a former Tundra Super Late Model Series Champion and winner of the Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial. He is also a former winner in the Late Models at Madison International Speedway.
80 Ryan Farrell – Farrell is two time winner at Dells Raceway Park in the Alive for Five Series winning the Trickle 99 in 2021 and Falloween Twin 75 #1 in 2023.
87 Brent Edmunds – Edmunds is a five time Late Model winner at MIS. Just two years ago he came away with a 3rd place podium finish in the Joe Shear Classic. Last season Edmunds finished second in MIS points and the led the season with 3 feature wins.
91 Ty Majeski – Ty Majeski is a three time winner of the Joe Shear Classic. He also is a five-time Midwest Tour Champion, five-time Oktoberfest Race Weekend Champion, four-time Slinger Nationals winner, two-time Howie Lettow Memorial winner, and a six-time Rattler 250 winner.
100 Weston Marthaler – Last season Marthaler picked up the win in the NASCAR Late Models at Dells Raceway Park. Marthaler has been racing all over the country in 2026 including a Top 10 finish with the CARS Tour West at the Las Vegas Bullring.
The Joe Shear Classic presented by Toyota is set for Sunday May 3rd. Spectator gates open at 10:30am while practice for the Midwest Tour and Midwest Trucks gets underway at 11:30am with qualifying at 12:45pm and the first race at 2pm. Discount tickets are available in advance online at misracing.com/tickets. Madison International Speedway is located at 1122 Sunrise Road in Oregon, WI.
Past Winners of the Joe Shear Classic
2025 – Casey Johnson
2024 – Ty Majeski
2023 – Ty Majeski
2022 – Casey Johnson
2021 – Rich Bickle
2020 – Johnny Sauter
2019 – Bubba Pollard
2018 – Austin Nason
2017 – Andrew Morrissey
2016 – Ty Majeski
2015 – Johnny Sauter
2014 – Nathan Haseleu
2013 – Travis Sauter
2012 – Andrew Morrissey
2011 – Ross Kenseth
2010 – Steve Carlson
2009 – Nathan Haseleu
2008 – Dan Fredrickson