Eagle River Speedway enters final lap of prep for 2026 season

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

May 11, 2026

EAGLE RIVER – Despite battling the Northwoods’ weather this spring, Co-owner Patti Zdroik said the Eagle River Speedway is revving up – with flags scheduled to fly for the first time this season during its 2026 opening event Memorial Day weekend.

Zdroik said she and her husband, Pat, have owned and operated the dirt-track speedway for the last eight seasons.

“But the track itself celebrated [its] 50th consecutive season Eagle River Speedway ran last summer,” she said. “It has changed names a couple of times. It was KG Raceway based on the initials of the person who actually made the track, Ken Glemin…, [but] it’s been Riverside Raceway, KG Raceway and now it’s Eagle River Speedway.”

Zdroik said when she and Pat decided to take over operations as the track’s fifth owners, its longevity was a major selling point.

“The track became available, and we had seen it get kind of run down, and it had been a dream of [Pat’s to own it],” she said. “So, I decided to dive in with him, let him chase that dream and keep the track alive – because I do fear that if somebody else hadn’t come in to take over, it may not be here [today].”

Zdroik said her husband has “raced since he was a teenager – KG Raceway was the first place that he raced” – making it an easy decision for the couple to take on the responsibility of owning and maintaining it, having previously served as its managers as well.

“Altogether, we probably have 10 or 11 years at this job, but the last seven as the owners,” she said. “Of course, when you’re the owner, you have a lot more blood, sweat, tears and money invested.”

Regardless of the increased investment, however, Zdroik said the community recognizes its value, with volunteers readily available when needed.

“We do have a group of very dedicated volunteers who help [Pat] with maintenance on the track, driving equipment and things like that,” she said. “Then I have a crew that helps me on Tuesday nights to make the whole thing happen.”

Season preparations, challenges

Being the track’s only full-time employees, Zdroik said on Tuesday race nights and weekends, it’s all hands on deck to help her and Pat.

“We have about 21-22 people working on Tuesdays,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s my husband and I. We’re the only ones who are [working here] year-round, full-time.”

The dedication of their volunteer workforce year in and out, Zdroik said, demonstrates how much the speedway means to the Eagle River community and beyond.

“People [do] not want to see this place close,” she said. “So…, a lot of them, especially the people who work on the track, [are] happy to volunteer their time.”

With Northwoods weather waning between cold temperatures and rain this spring, Zdroik said they haven’t been able to prep much for the 2026 season, but crews are on standby for when conditions improve.

“It’s been very challenging,” she said. “Currently, our infield is flooded – the water is coming out almost onto the track, [and] we can’t even get a lot of the equipment out onto the track to put up our billboards. So, we’re operating at least a couple of weeks to a few weeks behind schedule.”

Thankfully, Zdroik said temperatures have risen enough to where the facility’s water can be turned back on – allowing for some preliminary clean-up work.

“All of my spring cleaning jobs are ahead of me yet, but we are hoping the weather breaks here soon, and we can get some warm, sunny, nice, breezy days to dry everything up,” she said.

‘A few extra special events’

Following its season opener May 23, Zdroik said the Eagle River Speedway will take a short break until the summer season officially starts.

“We don’t start again until June 9, because we wait until the kids get out of school, at least up here,” she said. “Then we run every Tuesday until the end of the season.”

Because they “only have three months out of the year to pay the bills,” Zdroik said she and Pat are always looking for new ways to bolster the track’s entertainment offerings beyond their regular weekly races.

“We throw in a few extra special events, like we have the MSA Sprint cars and fireworks on July 4; we have a Badger Midget [Racing] special with a motorcycle stunt show on July 18; [and], we’re going to branch out a little bit this year,” she said. “We’ve never tried [hosting] a concert, [but this year] we’re going to have a concert on June 26.”

Also new this year, Zdroik said, is Eagle River Speedway’s “first attempt at a really big money show,” set for Aug. 10-11.

“[The racers] get paid every week for running, first place, second place, third place [and] down – everybody gets something,” she said. “But where our purses are usually $500-700, this [race’s purse] is $10,250.”

Essentially, Zdroik said neither she nor Pat will sleep “until at least August, because it’ll be show after show” with countless hours put into starting each race.

“Then you throw in the promotional part of the job – managing Facebook, [answering Messenger inquiries] and emails,” she said. “We [also] do all of the local parades to try and get the word out that we’re running. A lot of people think you show up on Tuesday night, and this is what we do, but behind the scenes it takes hours and hours to make that three- or four-hour show happen.”

For general grandstand admission, Zdroik said tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for seniors (60 and older), active military, veterans and children ages 11-17.

“We also charge pit passes, [which] are $30 a piece for the drivers and any of their helpers who want to come to the pits, and the general public is welcome to go into the pits as well,” she said. “Kids 10-and-under are free.”

Upgrades, improvements ‘through the years’

Over the last three seasons, Zdroik said she and Pat have had to expand their facilities to accommodate increasing attendance amid their growing social media presence.

“Social media brought in an entirely different aspect to the promotion part of the job,” she said, “but through the years, we have made a lot of improvements.”

When she and Pat managed the track in the ’90s, Zdroik said they “did not even have flushing toilets” – an amenity, among many others, that has since been added.

“We did not put the bathrooms in, [but] we’ve expanded since,” she said. “We’ve put additions on to our bathrooms; added a large souvenir shop and pit concession stand; expanded the pit area and parking areas; moved things around; [and have] made a lot of significant changes to the buildings and to the premises.”

The month of July, Zdroik said, is always their busiest as the Northwoods’ tourism season kicks into high gear.

“The kids are out of school, people are traveling and there are a lot of tourists in the area,” she said. “We have a really great group of local followers who are there every week. July is busy, I think, because probably a third of the people in the stands are actually tourists.”

Regardless of who is filling the stands, however, Zdroik said she and Pat enjoy preserving the Eagle River Speedway and making a positive impact on the local economy through events and community giveback.

“Every single week, we do a 50/50 raffle and allow local nonprofits to come in, sell those 50/50 tickets and get half of that purse,” she said. “It’s one of the things that [is] the most exciting to me [about owning the speedway – having] a way to be able to give back to the community and give them that platform.”

For more information on the Eagle River Speedway and its updated calendar of events, visit its Facebook page.