High School Racing Association Getting Young Drivers On Track

Many high school students dream of representing their schools under the lights on athletic fields across the country. In Wisconsin and Illinois, students can also represent their schools under the lights of their local short track.

The High School Racing Association (HSRA) formed in 2020, racing at La Crosse Speedway and Madison International Speedway. Now, the series has nine member tracks at both dirt and pavement facilities in Wisconsin and Illinois where students can compete affordably.

WATCH RACING FROM SLINGER ON RACINGAMERICA.TV

“The High School Racing Association was started between LaCrosse Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin and Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wisconsin,” explained HSRA Director Jonathan Eckelberg. “It started in 2020 between those two racetracks as a way to get younger talent into the sport.

“Car counts were dwindling, especially in those lower-level divisions. You and I know some of the biggest hurdles to get into the sport is cost. Cost is a huge barrier to entry and knowledge, knowing how to get started. HSRA was started with those goals in mind, getting young talent into the sport, new fans in the stands and new cars on the track.”

Naturally, the biggest hurdle to getting these students on track is the cost of racing. The HSRA works to resolve this in several ways, starting with a $25 annual pit pass that applies for all HSRA-member tracks.

“One big thing that we’ve done with HSRA is all racers pay a $25 pit pass at the beginning of the season,” said Eckelberg. “That gets them into every single HSRA race at all HSRA tracks for the rest of the season. It costs them $25 at the beginning of the season, and they don’t have to buy another pit pass.

“At a lot of the tracks, it’s $25 to $40 a week for a pit pass, even if you’re racing and competing, so that saves them a lot of money. They get an HSRA membership card, and they can race just at their local track or they can go around to all of the other HSRA tracks, travel and race and not have to pay another pit pass.”

HSRA has also worked with several sponsors to provide discounts for student participants to help alleviate the costs of racing. Whether it’s gift certificates to Kwik Trip, meal vouchers to local restaurants or discounts at local NAPA Auto Parts stores, these partners help keep HSRA racers on track.

There are even scholarships available for the top performers in HSRA, helping them prepare for life after high school.

“One of our new partnerships this season has been the Wisconsin Automobile and Truck Dealers’ Association,” said Eckelberg. “They’re offering up to $3,000 in scholarships for the Wisconsin State Champion. Snap On Tools and Wehrs Machine in Bangor, Wisconsin has offered a scholarship the last couple of years for the Wisconsin State Champion.”

High schools in the state are also buying into the HSRA. Several schools have started offering athletic letters to HSRA racers, just like the athletes who compete in “traditional” sports.

“In 2022, Melrose-Mindoro High School here in Wisconsin became the first high school in the country to make racing a letterable sport,” Eckelberg said. “They had four high school students racing in HSRA from Melrose-Mindoro. I had a conversation with them and they said, yes, why would we not want to recognize our students competing in these non-traditional sports?

“Two years later, we’re up to six or seven schools between Wisconsin and Illinois that are offering athletic letters or athletic pins that are participating in racing through HSRA. That’s how a lot of the schools have been able to recognize the students as athletes in their schools.”

HSRA has already celebrated several “success stories” of participants who continued racing even after graduating high school, or gaining interest in the motorsports and automotive industries as a result of the series.

Sign Up For Racer Travel Free Today For All Your Travel Needs

“Jayden Dahlberg was racing at Madison International Speedway. He started with HSRA and made the jump to Late Models after he was done with high school. He was Rookie of the Year his rookie year in Late Models down at Madison andn continues to race Late Models and has done really well.

“One of our past HSRA champions is racing Sportsman at LaCrosse Speedway, and a handful of them have moved up to the Six-Shooter division. If we can get a lot of these kids to stay in the sport, that’s a huge goal for us, growing the sport from the ground up.

“If they aren’t moving on to continue racing, going into a motorsports career or deciding they really want to work on cars and deciding they’ll go to school for auto mechanics or for welding. We’ve seen some of those, too, and that’s a big part of what we exist to do, too. Not only grow the sport of racing, but grow the motorsports industry and the automotive industry, too.”

Those interested in learning more about HSRA can visit highschoolracing.org, or follow the HSRA on Facebook and Instagram.

“If anyone has questions or schools want to get involved or students want to know how to get into HSRA racing, reach out to us,” said Eckelberg. “We’d love to have these interested people at the racetracks this season and expose them to what it is we’re doing.”

Fans can watch the HSRA in action this Sunday, July 21 at Slinger Super Speedway. Click here to watch Sunday's racing at Slinger Speedway if you are unable to attend the event in-person.

-Photo credit: Will Bellamy, Racing America

Upcoming High School Racing Assocation 2024 Events