11/1/2025
WISSOTA
Oelrich outpaces field to earn WISSOTA Mod Four Rookie of the Year title
Bemidji, Minnesota’s Dawson Oelrich competed in the WISSOTA Mod Four division for the first full season during the 2025 season and was crowned as the WISSOTA Mod Four National Rookie of the Year, besting the talented group of twelve other Mod Four rookies for the award. Dawson topped South Dakota driver Dilon Hardesty by 26 points for the rookie title.
Dawson’s story is somewhat unique, as he is of East Indian descent and has only been racing for three seasons. Dawson’s grandfather immigrated from Trinidad and moved to the United States when he was just 19, chasing the American dream with $50 in his pocket and a suitcase full of clothes. Fast forward to several years ago, Dawson started his racing career in the Mini Stocks in 2023, where he ran 18 shows before moving into the Mod Fours in 2024, competing in only five events, while also running 4 Mini Stock races. Once he got his feet wet in the Mod Four division, he set out to run a full season in the division in 2025 and was crowned the first-ever East Indian WISSOTA Mod Four National Rookie of the Year in WISSOTA’s 40-year history for his season-long efforts.
19-year-old Oelrich entered 28 events throughout the 2025 season and was able to race to his first career feature win along the way during his rookie run. The win came at his hometown track in Bemidji on July 20th after starting on the outside of the front row and racing off to his first win.
Along with that big win, Dawson ended up with a very consistent 21 top-ten finishes and 9 top-five finishes among the 28 feature races he entered throughout the season.
When asked about his excellent rookie season, Dawson was reminded of the Dr. Seuss quote ‘Sometimes, you don’t realize how good the moment is until it becomes a memory. He also wanted fellow WISSOTA Rookie of the Year Devin Fouquette to know that he is coming after him for the title of ‘best mustache in WISSOTA, so he better be on his game.
Dawson’s #4 Mod Four is sponsored by Southside Towing & Recovery, Flat-Crete, Pucker Up Pickles, Feda Heating & Air, Schwinn Racing Transmissions, Milwaukee Tools, N&B Painting, Hatchet House of Bemidji, Isaiah’s Woodworking, Northwest Technical College, Racers Exchange, Auto Value of Bemidji, Bemidji Woolen Mills, and Ross Lewis Sign. He is also supported by his family, which consists of his mom Natasha and dad Chris, his girlfriend Tahia, his sister Lainey, his brother Braxton, his uncles Ron and Jason, his grandparents Ron and Deb and Roheet and Mary Lee as well as his crew, which consists of his dad, brother, girlfriend, uncles and his good buddy Jonathen Feda.
Throughout the 2025 season, Dawson competed at six different tracks, including Bemidji, Princeton, North Central, Greenbush, Hibbing, and the Granite City Motor Park. Aside from his first career feature win, he also remembers rolling his car during the third night of the season at Granite City as a memorable moment of the year.
Congrats to Dawson 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