Rising up going to the race observe to look at his dad compete each week of the summer season, Mike Lichtfeld admits he “needed completely nothing to do with driving a race automotive.”
Through the week, when it was time to be within the store, he would fairly be together with his pals or making ready for his personal sports activities: basketball, soccer and observe.
Commercial
“That was simply at all times type of my factor was being an athlete,” Lichtfeld mentioned.
However as soon as he graduated highschool in 2005, the alternatives to proceed taking part in sports activities ended, and Lichtfeld was searching for different methods to maintain his aggressive juices flowing.
So he determined to offer racing a attempt.
Now, 20 years after his first full-time season racing at Dells Raceway Park in Juneau County, Wisconsin, Lichtfeld has put collectively one of many observe’s most profitable careers. He received his first championship within the Pure Inventory division in 2007. Two years later, he was the Tremendous Inventory champion, and now he is the four-time defending champion within the observe’s Late Mannequin division.
Commercial
MyRacePass: All of Lichtfeld’s race outcomes
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 21: Through the NASCAR Regional Champions Banquet at Charlotte Conference Middle on November 21, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Picture by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Photos)
Lichtfeld received Dells’ late mannequin title final 12 months by 82 factors. It was additionally the observe’s first 12 months sanctioned within the NASCAR Native Racing Collection, and his mixed factors between Dells and Wisconsin’s LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway helped him win the Midwest Regional Rookie of the 12 months award.
“We had a very good 12 months final 12 months at Dells Raceway Park,” Lichtfeld mentioned. “It was our first 12 months being NASCAR sanctioned, and that simply added a complete different stage of pleasure, as a result of along with racing towards the fellows at your observe, as soon as the season rolled on, we have been buying the weekly factors. You are taking note of what was occurring in your area and within the nation, and it simply was a very neat factor. We had a variety of enjoyable with it.”
Lichtfeld’s racing beginnings have been together with his dad Tom within the store and pits. Now the roles are reversed.
Commercial
Lichtfeld and his brother Steve each race at Dells, and the brothers and their dad work alongside one another to organize their vehicles. The three additionally work collectively for his or her actual jobs, which means they spend a variety of hours with one another all through the week.
Lichtfeld mentioned the time is value it, as a result of going to the observe Saturday evening is what he calls their weekly trip.
“We personal a plumbing and septic set up enterprise up right here in Wisconsin, and all of us work there,” he mentioned. “My brother does the indoor plumbing. I do the out of doors stuff with septic set up, promoting the roles, the excavating, after which my dad’s the proprietor and boss of the corporate. So all of us work collectively 50, 60 hours per week, after which we’re all within the race store collectively one other 20 or 30 hours per week, plus Saturdays on the race observe. So all of us get a reasonably good fill of one another, however that basically, actually makes a group bond and, we’re fairly tight knit in that sense.
“It is our weekly trip that all of us get to spend Saturday on the race observe collectively, as a result of we do not hunt, golf, fish, something like that. It is all about racing in the summertime months.”
They’ve even added extra races to the schedule since Dells went NASCAR-sanctioned final 12 months. As a strategy to acquire extra factors within the regional and nationwide standings, Lichtfeld started travelling to LaCrosse, and he picked up his first characteristic win on the observe on Could 30.
Commercial
“We did it simply to type of break the cycle just a little little bit of racing at Dells each week and ended up having an honest run up there,” he mentioned. “We simply actually loved ourselves with the NASCAR sanction.
“It is positively an honor to go as much as a special race observe reminiscent of LaCrosse. It is acquired a lot historical past at it, and with the ability to get a victory there may be actually particular.”
Lichtfeld is second within the Dells standings this season with two wins and 5 high fives in six races. He has one win and three high 10s in three races at LaCrosse. He is seventh within the NASCAR Native Racing Collection Midwest area standings and first within the Wisconsin state standings.
Despite the fact that he is added one other observe to his schedule, Dells will at all times be residence to Lichtfeld and his household, and he feels additional pleasure each time he is capable of get again to Victory Lane there.
Commercial
“It means a lot,” he mentioned. “I watched my dad race there for thus a few years, and my dad was type of the racer the place he had good gear however not the very best, and he at all times made do with what he had. He at all times tells tales about again within the day racing the place he would qualify into the characteristic however then take his good tires off and put his previous ones on to race the characteristic simply to save cash so he had good tires to make the race once more subsequent week. So I take that to coronary heart. All the pieces I do within the race, I attempt to honor him as a lot as potential.
“I’ve an awesome pleasure for the Dells Raceway Park and I am simply grateful that (normal supervisor) Jerry Auby’s doing an awesome job protecting it open as a result of, as everyone knows, it is robust enterprise being within the race observe proudly owning these days. So, it means a ton to achieve success on the Dells.”
MyRacePass: Observe 2026 NASCAR factors
The largest aim Lichtfeld needs to perform this season is making it again to the NASCAR banquet in Charlotte, N.C., this winter. He mentioned following the factors for a number of championships has modified the best way he drives for the higher.
Commercial
“You’ve got actually acquired to take a look at the massive image of issues and take into consideration that you’ve got actually acquired to stack these high fives, high threes to realize the NASCAR factors,” he mentioned. “However that is in all probability an excellent factor for me, as a result of I spent my profession not likely worrying concerning the factors as a lot and would type of get myself in hassle generally, so possibly in a approach it calmed me down just a little bit.
“The banquet we have been fortunate sufficient to go to final 12 months was high notch and such a cool expertise that it might be an honor to get to return there once more.”
The important thing to getting again there, Lichtfeld mentioned, is continuous to place within the time within the race store and staying ready — whereas additionally remaining humble.
“We have to maintain working and might’t get lazy,” he mentioned. “It is onerous to get to the highest, however we do not need to slip down the slope and lose floor to anyone. We simply have a aim to do as finest we will every evening, not beat ourselves. The factors will shake out the place they shake out. Clearly the one factor that we will management is what we do on a weekly foundation. We won’t management what occurs in Minnesota or Oklahoma or anyplace else within the nation, but when we put an excellent product on race observe and I do an excellent job driving, hopefully issues will shake out and we’ll have a look at that stuff come September when it will get nearer to be ultimately.”
Commercial
Lichtfeld does not have the identical alternatives to play soccer and basketball that he did 20 years in the past in highschool, however he is OK with that now. He is discovered a brand new competitors, and he is so profitable, he does not see himself quitting any time quickly.
“As soon as highschool ended and I did not have these alternatives to be aggressive, racing stepped in to meet my aggressive wants,” he mentioned. “And it has been historical past ever since then. It is positively in my blood now.”
