Redetzke's rookie run in 2006 eclipses his wildest expectations!
By Kirk Holmes
All The Dirt! Racing News

EAU CLAIRE, WI - When a red #27 WISSOTA Late Model is driven out onto a race track in the Chippewa Valley, everyone except for the person that just woke up from a 25-year coma could name the driver.

“That’s Jerry Redetzke,” they would all say, and prior to the 2006 season, they would all be right.

Although at the start of the season some would have had their doubts about who was behind the wheel, from mid-season on they could have confused the actual driver - Redetzke’s 18-year-old son, Jake - with the former WISSOTA national champion.

Bolstered by a few Late Model runs late in 2005, Jake Redetzke hit the track running in 2006 and ultimately exceeded all expectations for his rookie season in the division. He won six feature races - including one high-paying event - and finished 10th overall in the final WISSOTA Late Model national standings.

His performance throughout the season, which included a runner-up finish in the track points standings at Red Cedar (WI) Speedway and Eagle Valley (WI) Speedway and a third place finish at Rice Lake (WI) Speedway, was good enough to earn him the title of WISSOTA Rookie of the Year.

“I definitely wanted to get Rookie of the Year,” said Redetzke, whose brother, Jesse Redetzke, finished second to South Dakota’s Steve Weber in the WISSOTA Super Stock Rookie of the Year chase. “That was a big goal because I didn’t get it in my Super Stock year.

“I never dreamed of getting six wins, second in points at two tracks and third at another. My season was not expected. It was amazing.”

Redetzke broke into the racing ranks in a Pure Stock. After three years in that division and a track championship at Red Cedar Speedway in 2004, he moved up to WISSOTA Super Stocks in 2005. The intention that year was to eventually work Jake into Jerry’s Late Model for a few shows to give him a taste of what it would be like and also protect his rookie status for the next year.

“That definitely helped running a few times,” said Jake, who avoided the temptation of running more races when he injured a knee during a high school football scrimmage and had to have surgery before the end of the racing season. “That gave me something to base off of.”

With Jerry’s experience and a youthful driver and crew, consisting of brothers Eric and Adam Partlow, the Redetzke race team entered the 2006 season with a new car and modest goals. Jake said the transition from a Super Stock to a Late Model was very difficult.

“If they are set up right, they are kind of the same,” he said. “You still have to finesse the gas, you have to set the car in the corner and be smooth off.

“I just had to get used to driving into the corner faster and picking it up faster out of the corner. The speed wasn’t that big of a thing. It was a matter of knowing how hard to push the car.”

All the hard work finally paid dividends on Monday, July 3, at Rice Lake Speedway. Redetzke passed Jeremie Hedrick for the lead four laps into the feature race and held off veteran Tony Bahr through several cautions for his first career win.

Although the win was a definite high, it was no match for his “favorite” win: the final leg of the Tri Star Engine Supply WISSOTA Late Model Challenge Series at Rice Lake Speedway on August 23. Redetzke started on the pole and, after a lone caution on lap three, negotiated his way through traffic like a seasoned veteran and beat 2006 national champion Adam Hensel by two car lengths for the $2,000 win.

“I’ve been watching the races since I was a kid, and I remember watching all the guys that raced with my dad,” Redetzke said. “Then, to be racing against them in that Challenge Series race, knowing there was some stiff competition out there, that was unbelievable.

“I never imagined pulling that win off. It was even bigger than my first win.”

The following Saturday, with Sprint Cars and Modifieds only scheduled at Rice Lake, Redetzke held off Hensel again for his final win of the season at Deer Creek (MN) Speedway.

Redetzke not only relied on his dad for advice during the season - with some give and not take at times - he also benefitted from the veteran know-how supplied by Jimmy and Chris Mars for his Mastersbilt From Mars chassis powered by an engine from Wegner Automotive & Research.

The team also raced at North Central (MN) Speedway in Brainerd during the second Challenge Series race there, Fox Ridge (WI) Speedway, Proctor (MN) Speedway for the Silver 1000 and Langlade County (WI) Speedway in Antigo for the Indian Summer Classic.

All in all the season was a learning experience for everyone.

“There were times when we were at each other’s throats, like in the middle of the season when we weren’t doing as well as we thought we should be doing and kind of went off on each other,” Jake said of his relationship with his
dad/car owner/crew chief. “But otherwise we are pretty good with each other.”

Team Redetzke will have to pick up the pace quicker in 2007; they plan to start the season the weekend of February 2-3 at the Coca-Cola Young Guns Shootout at Oglethorpe Speedway Park in Pooler, GA, and compete at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida before Jake returns home for his second semester of school at the Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire.