Kody King Enjoys a Career Weekend During Oktoberfest at LaCrosse Fairgrounds

Kody King had a lot of reasons to smile after his first trip to LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway for Oktoberfest.

King, who competed in every possible race during the Super Late Model portion of the 55th Oktoberfest Race Weekend, wrapped up the weekend with a sixth-place finish Sunday during the ASA Midwest Tour Oktoberfest 200.

That was just part of the story.

The 17-year-old competitor opened the weekend Thursday by competing in the Futures race, a special event open to drivers under the age of 30 who have never finished in the top three of the Midwest Tour standings or anyone over 30 who have never previously competed in the Oktoberfest 200 or any major touring series.

King led from the start in the Futures feature before giving up the lead late, ultimately settling for second. It would turn out to be the start of a great weekend for the young driver.

Night two at LaCrosse featured the Dick Trickle 99, a special three-segment race where the winner was the driver with the lowest score across all three features. King was consistent in all three features, resulting in a 14th-place overall finish.

Moving on to night three on Saturday, King put down the 17th fastest time in qualifying for the Oktoberfest 200, which was one position short of securing a guaranteed starting position. Instead, he had to race his way in via the annual Qualifier race.

Starting from the pole, King did just that by winning the Qualifier to earn the 17th starting position for Sunday’s 200-lap finale.

Making just his fourth ASA Midwest Tour start of the season, King turned in a stunning performance that saw him go from 17th all the way to sixth at the checkered flag. In the final 30 laps he advanced from ninth to finish sixth at the checkered flag, one short of his career-best finish with the series.

“Racing the 200 at Oktoberfest is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid,” said King. “It’s a Midwest crown jewel and I was really excited when we put together the deal to run it. Almost a full week of racing is grueling, but I feel like my team worked their tails off to give me a good race car every day and give me the ability to learn and improve every day.

"The competition during Oktoberfest is almost unmatched. Forty of the best super late model drivers in the country were there. It was really cool to be able to go head-to-head against some of my idols. A special thank you to Brett Coltman at Coltman Farms Racing for believing in me and making this event possible. His support means the world to me on and off the track. Also, thank you to Joe Wood and my entire crew, Jordan, Ben, Lars and Justin, for bringing me such a bad fast race car.

Kody would like to thank Pathfinder Chassis for the great race car and also all of his other partners, including Cornellier Fireworks & Stuff, MPM Marketing, Capital Sign Co., Advanced Engine Concepts, Fertilizer Equipment Specialists, K1RaceGear, the Special Needs School of Gwinnett, Farmers State Bank, Omans Performance, Clear Lake Boats, Matt Dodge Agency Inc., Helps Drain and Septic Service and USMC.

-MPM Marketing Press Release