Over the years, Dean Wille has driven various types of race cars on Missouri-area dirt tracks: Modifieds, B-Mods, Stock Cars, Pure Stocks and even Late Models. If it has four tires and a motor, you likely will find Wille behind the wheel of something fast.

This season, Wille has put most of his focus on his USRA Modified. The 49-year-old from Warrensburg is a contender in the Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modified division at Lucas Oil Speedway, where he’s fifth in points entering Saturday’s Horton Supply Company Veterans & Military Appreciation Night.

“I hadn’t raced A-Mods full time for two or three years,” Wille said. “Just getting back in and getting in the hang of things, we tried some things that didn’t work out that I thought would. We’ve just had a little bit of a learning curve, but I feel we’re going in the right direction.”

The USRA Modifieds headline the action with a 25-lap, $1,000-to-win feature on Saturday with all military veterans or active duty personnel admitted free with ID.

Wille finished 12th in Lucas Oil Speedway’s O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Car division in 2023 after winding up fifth in that class in 2022, when he picked up his first Wheatland feature victory. He’s still dabbling in Stock Cars occasionally at other area tracks this season, but made the decision to go back to his preferred division.

“If the A-Mod can be raced someplace close to home, I’m gonna race it,” Wille said. “If not, we’ll race the Stock Car. It’s kind of my priority. We’re trying to get this thing figured out. I feel like we’re close. Just made several changes last week and gained a whole bunch and making a few more this week. We’re going in right direction.

“We’ve just been slow. We’ve been anywhere from four to eight-tenths of a second behind, just needing some overall speed right now.”

Wille, who piled up 14 Modified feature wins in 2012, said, “I’ve raced it the most over the years. It’s always been the preferred class for me.”

“We have really good equipment with a Hughes Chassis. Jason (Hughes) was fast last year at the end of the year and at the start of this year, and now he’s been on a little bit of a struggle bus. We’ve all been working together to figure out what everybody’s doing and where the speed’s at.”

Wille has been up front at times, with a second-place run at Lucas Oil Speedway on April 20 and a third on June 22. He’s 52 points behind Jason Pursley in a crowded top five in the track standings.

“We’re not really points chasing at Wheatland,” Wille said. “We may end up at the end of the year chasing. We’re still in the top 10 and may end up rearranging some things on the schedule toward the end. We’ll see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks.”

Team sponsors include Gator Graphics, Royal Roofing & Solar, Cuttin’ Up Meat Processing, Cornerstone Cornucopia Gift Shop, Central Power & Diesel and The Woodshed. He said Jason Thompson, Austin Payne and his wife, Crista Wille, have provided key help during race nights.

“We’ve had a lot of fun, we’ve had good finishes, we just haven’t had the consistent finishes and that’s what we’re striving for,” Wille said. "I feel we’re on the cusp of figuring some stuff out."

Extra racing also will be included on the Saturday program. The completion of the O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars feature, which was postponed by threatening weather on July 4, will begin the show following hot laps. The regular program with all four classes follows with the Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods and Hermitage Lumber Late Models joining the Modifieds and Stock Cars.

Driver ticket giveaway: This Saturday marks the annual ticket giveaway to regulars in the four weekly divisions. Each driver gets up to 50 general admission grandstand tickets at payout, good for the Aug. 24 Rempfer Memorial Season Championship Night. Drivers with the most tickets used on Aug. 24 will win one free season crew member pit pass for 2025.

Kids Pit Tour: Before this week's action, flagman Mike Striegel will lead a group of youngsters on a golf car tour of the pits where they will have a chance to meet drivers and collect autographs. The kids can sign up at the RCR Designs Jr Fan Club table on the midway for a chance to enter the drawing for the tour, which starts at 5:15 p.m.

Pits open at 4 with grandstands at 4:30, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Saturday admission:
Advance discount tickets online only (13 and up) - $12
Adults (ages 13 and up) - 15
Seniors (62 and over) - $12
Youth (ages 6-12) - $5
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family pass - $35
Pit pass - $35
Military (active and veterans) - FREE with ID

For ticket or camping information on any Lucas Oil Speedway event, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.

For information about Lucas Oil Speedway, including schedules, point standings and other news, please visit lucasoilspeedway.com.

For more than two decades, the United States Racing Association has attracted more and more racetracks and dirt track racers each year through fair, logical and cost-effective rules accompanied by an organization that puts the racers, racetracks and their fans first. During the 2023 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series, more than 60 of America's finest dirt ovals hosted more than 1,000 nights of racing.

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