Steve Roden Sees Success with Wisconsin Outlaw Street Series
When Steve Roden first threw around the idea of his Wisconsin Outlaw Street (WOS) series at a bar one night in late 2022, he simply wanted to give local racers a place to go have fun while supporting his local track. Now, less than two years later, he has one of the hottest events in the state.
“It was pretty much no prep stuff around here for a while,” said Roden. “But everybody wanted to build nice cars and not have to de-tune them. So I started working with Randy [Henning] and Marcel [Kuper] at Great Lakes Dragaway and told them I had a bunch of racers that needed a place to race. My shop is five minutes away from the track, so their success is key to my success. I want to see them thrive and make money.”
Holeshot Photography photo
While attempting to not exclude drivers with excessive rules, Roden still wanted to maintain the integrity of having a “street” class. Basic requirements include functional headlights and taillights, stock-style front suspension, a 275 tire, and only one piece of billet – drivers can have billet heads or a billet block, but not both.
In 2023, the WOS ran six races in conjunction with the track’s regular bracket series. Seeing its growing popularity, Roden was given the opportunity to have his own standalone events this season, with a total of six races, contested monthly. What started as just seven cars in the Outlaw Street class at the first race last year has quickly expanded, with 38 entries this past weekend, their largest field to date.
“It’s definitely humbling,” Roden admitted. “This started out with me and the buddies having a beer and dreaming of a place to race close to home, where our family and friends could come out. Just to see the place as crowded as it was…I don’t have the exact numbers, but Marcel told me it was the biggest [WOS] attendance they’ve ever had.”
With such a large turnout, the field was split into A- and B-Fields, with 16 cars in each. Jim Nicolette, driving his Fourth–Gen Camaro powered by a cast Dart 540 big block with Garrett twin-88mm turbos, took home the win and $4,000 check in the A-Field. After qualifying second with a 4.254, Nicolette made his way to the finals, where he faced No. 1-qualifier David Hutnick. In a tight race, Nicolette’s 4.23 edged out Hutnick’s 4.25.
In the B-Field, Logan Loesch used a holeshot to defeat Scott Dorr, with his 4.582-second pass getting the victory over Dorr’s quicker 4.528.
Roden also added an Outlaw class in 2024, with a far less restrictive rule set, allowing everyone an opportunity to compete. Troy Bednarz dominated the 11-car field, qualifying No. 1 with a 4.061 elapsed time. He then set a new track record in the finals, running a 4.006 to defeat Dan Straley. As the series progresses, Roden’s goal is to see the Outlaw class multiply like Outlaw Street has done.
“That class is still growing,” said Roden. “There’s a lot of guys with cars that make a ton of power, and they’re just looking for somewhere to go. We’re figuring out how to make it more successful and build it up. We have two races remaining, so I’m really trying to get some more money into the Outlaw program. I also think it will incentivize some of the quicker guys currently in (Outlaw) Street to step up and run Outlaw.”
The next race for the Wisconsin Outlaw Street series will take place at Great Lakes Dragaway on Saturday, September 14.
This story was originally published on August 15, 2024.
The post Steve Roden Sees Success with Wisconsin Outlaw Street Series first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
