MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — The Clash at the Creek racing event, planned for Thursday night, is set to feature some of the best modified race car drivers in the country at Speedway 141.
"On nights like tonight there will probably be a couple thousand people here, they come to watch it," said track owner Toby Kruse. "The action is absolutely second to none, you know there's never a dull moment."
A modified race car can best be described as the middle point between go karts and NASCAR. The draw to this race is the one of the highest grand prizes in the country for modified drivers: $10,000.
"This event we have drivers from eight different states who are represented here. It's virtually the best of the best and they all converge here to little Francis Creek, Wisconsin," Kruse said.
Among the racers competing at the event is local driver Will Garceau. He has been racing since he was a child and says it "calms the nerves."
"The nice part about racing is you just kind of forget everything," said Garceau. "You're out there goin' 65-, 75-, 80-miles-an-hour with some of your buddies."
He said drivers call the races with big prizes "crown jewels." Garceau has won a few smaller races, but is yet to finish first at one of the large events.
"We struggled at the beginning of this year a little bit and it would be surreal to get a 'crown jewel' win," Garceau said.
Garceau is also excited to perform in front of his hometown and home fans.
"There's guys that travel from Iowa, from Michigan, from Canada, Nebraska. You've got a lot of heavy hitters here," said Garceau. "I live 10 minutes down the road, if I can win for my community, that is real rewarding."
At the preliminary races on Wednesday, Garceau finished 4th of 63 racers, putting himself in prime position to make a run for it all.
