10/30/2025
WISSOTA
Lange charges to WISSOTA National Hornet Rookie of the Year honors
At just 14 years old, William Lange from Staples, Minnesota, has earned the 2025 WISSOTA Hornet Rookie of the Year Award after ending up with a 54-point margin over fellow Minnesota racer Nick Ruzich atop the final 2025 Rookie Hornet season standings. Will was able to beat out the other 52 Hornet rookies for the prestigious award.
Will raced in 43 events over the course of the 2025 season at 11 different tracks, including the Granite City Motor Park, North Central Speedway, Bemidji Speedway, Princeton Speedway, Fiesta City Speedway, Gondik Law Speedway, Hibbing Speedway, Ogilvie Raceway, Viking Speedway, Madison Speedway, and I-94 emr Speedway. Of the 43 events he competed in, he was able to secure three feature wins during his rookie season, two at Fiesta City and one during the Madtown Showdown in Madison at the end of September. Along with his three victories, he raced to 39 top tens and 21 top fives over the course of his rookie campaign.
A few highlights or memorable moments for William over the season included the night at Granite City when he says his dad told him to put the wrong tires on the car, and running extra high RPMs during the feature caused a rod to exit through the oil pan, followed by a large ball of flames down the backstretch. He also pointed out the night he went to Gondik Law Speedway and swerved to avoid two other cars crashing, which caused him to fly onto the infield and crash into the dirt pile protecting a light pole. This caused the light to shatter, and the area of the track went dark.
Other than those setbacks, several more positive memories from the season included a night at Fiesta City that started rough after missing a shift and not finishing well in his heat race, but then rallying in the feature and charging up 17 spots before the checkered flag flew. Using the knowledge he acquired that night, he was able to return to Fiesta City and win his first-ever feature two weeks later. Picking up podium finishes of third at both the WISSOTA MPH and Gopher State Showdown, to secure the rookie title and hang on to 9th in the final WISSOTA national point standings, were other vital moments toward the end of the season, and racing to the clean sweep at the Madtown Showdown is another night he looks back fondly on.
William’s #40 Hornet is sponsored by ACIETA, Block North, Central McGowan, Central Building Supply, Frost Heaters, Heights Pizza Man, Holst Construction, Lakeland Trailers, Lange’s Nursery and Landscaping, Lucky Seven General Store, Motley Dairy Queen, NAPA Central MN, Quadna Hills Golf Course and Staples Precision Metalcraft. He is also supported by his family and crew, which includes his mom and dad, sister Ellen, Granny, and Papa.
Will’s sister Ellen raced in the Hornet division from 2021-2023 until she moved into the Super Stock division last season, where she earned the WISSOTA Super Stock Rookie of the Year Award for her efforts. Will decided to race her old Hornet four times at the end of the 2024 season to see if he liked it, and after running those four races, he decided he enjoyed driving the car and decided to race it full-time in 2025. Before getting in the car, he supported Elen in her racing.
As a bonus, Will won a 2025 Hornet license from Never Alone at the WISSOTA Expo last November to get him started on his Hornet racing career.
When asked what it means to win the national Rookie of the Year title in his first season in a Hornet, William said ‘Winning the Rookie of the Year is a good achievement. We pushed hard at the end of the season to secure the Rookie of the Year title. We got on a roll, and as the weeks went on, we also started climbing in the national point standings. It was hard, challenging, and took a lot of time and effort, but at the end it was well worth it.’
Will is looking forward to the 2026 season, as he plans to race in the Hornet class again next year.
Congrats to William and his team!
WISSOTA is proudly sponsored by their official marketing partners:
Hoosier Racing Tire, My Race Pass, NAPA Auto Parts, Dirt Race Central, Speedway Motors, Gondik Law and All The Dirt Racing News, along with their Platinum partner, Raceceiver, plus their Gold sponsors, which include EngineQuest and World Products.
WISSOTA is also sponsored by Silver partners AFCO and Willy’s Carburetor & Dyno Shop, plus Bronze sponsor Stakt Products.
WISSOTA also has a great group of contingency sponsors, including Brodix Cylinder Heads, BuyRaceShirts.com, Manley, Allstar Performance, AMI Graphics, Winning Edge Graphics, Velocita, RaceCals, RaceGear Designs, All Star Trophy & Awards, Minuteman Press, Performance Auto, UEM Pistons, Mahle Motorsports, Performance Auto, Freedom Race Lifts, Victory Fuel, Power Lodge, Deatherage Opticians and MD3.
For more information on WISSOTA, log on to www.WISSOTA.org.
The WISSOTA Promoters Association exists to benefit its member tracks to enhance safe, profitable and successful dirt track racing, through unified, cost-effective rules, policies and procedures enacted within a democratic environment.
The WISSOTA Promoters Association was founded in 1981 by eight track promoters in Wisconsin and Minnesota, with an intent to offer uniform rules for the promoters and drivers involved in the Late Model division. Soon, the group decided to do the same for the growing Modified division.
In 1984 a voluntary steering committee was formed to oversee the business aspects that developed and to guide the future of WISSOTA’s racing divisions. That steering committee evolved into a board of directors, and the non-profit racing organization became incorporated in 1986.
Promoters who join the organization become, in essence, part owners of the racing organization and are expected to contribute to its overall success. Each November, the WISSOTA annual meeting is held; the member promoters gather annually in this forum to discuss the future of the organization. Member promoters are given the opportunity to vote on all organizational policies and procedures as well as rules for competition in the various racing divisions. WISSOTA’s member promoters and racing associations have spent approximately 30 years of hard work at the annual meetings crafting unique rules for each of the divisions, which are known as WISSOTA Late Models, WISSOTA Modifieds, WISSOTA Super Stocks, WISSOTA Street Stocks, WISSOTA Mod Fours, WISSOTA Pure Stocks and WISSOTA Hornets.
Submitted By: Jacy Norgaard