The stars and cars of the ASA STARS National Tour made the trek north to the Badger State for two big events this past weekend. Between the Capital 250 at Madison International Speedway and the El Bandido Yankee Tequila 300 at Slinger Super Speedway, a plethora of notable events and storylines came to fruition for race fans to digest.
Let’s take a look at some of the key standouts from an action-packed midwestern doubleheader.
Cole Butcher Remains (Almost) Untouchable
It’s no surprise that the fastest Super Late Model racer of 2025 picked up two great finishes over the weekend in Wisconsin. Starting at Madison on Friday, June 13th, Cole Butcher managed to score a runner-up result, but it wasn’t a straightforward night for the Nova Scotia native.
Approaching the end of Stage 2 in the Capital 250 at Madison, Cole Butcher was lapped by then-leader Luke Fenhaus while running 14th.
His time a lap down proved to be short-lived. Butcher quickly got his lap back thanks to a few late-race cautions. But let that sink in. On lap 150 out of 250, Butcher was a lap down. It’s not like this was an early race struggle that got gradually resolved over time. Butcher was in a compromised position fairly late in the night, yet capitalized to finish second (albeit after a host of cautions and carnage worked out in his favor).
Regardless of the amount of yellows, for a race to be flipped that drastically in that short of a timespan is almost unheard of. Then again, Butcher is no stranger to late-race climbs through the field, having done so on more than one occasion.
In Sunday’s second race, Butcher was back on form – up front for most of the night, duking it out with Ty Majeski in the final laps for the lead and eventual victory. The Wilson Motorsports star had to go against one of Super Late Model racing’s most prolific modern names, but ultimately prevailed after a great, hard-fought battle.
It was a tale of two races for Butcher, yet both showed that the Canadian has an exemplary amount of speed and is nearly untouchable when it matters most. With that skillset behind him, Butcher will continue to be a threat for weeks, if not months, to come.
Luke Fenhaus’s Weekend to Forget
The ASA weekend in Fenhaus’ home state started off rough and didn’t resolve in a smooth way, either.
Friday’s Capital 250 at Madison actually did intially begin with promise for Fenhaus and crew, with the Wisconsinite showing exceptional speed in practice and qualifying. After starting fifth, Fenhaus found himself in the lead at the start of Stage 2. He built that lead into a sizable advantage, lapping names like Butcher and Stephen Nasse en route to a dominant Stage 2 win.
With around 47 to go in the event, Fenhaus was running in the top three. But a broken rear-end tube sent the Wausau native for a wild ride. Fenhaus lot a wheel and collected several other cars in the process.
Following the disappointment at Madison, Fenhaus’s Sunday evening at Slinger was pretty much a repeat of the woes he had just experienced two days prior.
Jumping out to an early lead and claiming the Stage 1 victory at Slinger, Fenhaus looked to be off to a good start. But he slowly faded back through the field from there and ended up in the backstretch wall, followed by a decent impact into the Turn 3 wall.
The sustained damage proved to be critical for Fenhaus, who had brought out a second chassis specifically intended to run the ASA event at Slinger. With poor results and a pair of damaged cars, the past weekend is one that Fenhaus won’t reminisce upon any time soon.
Ty Majeski Finally Finished a Super Late Model Race in 2025
The home state hero Majeski returned to Super Late Model action yet again in 2025, embarking upon two Wisconsin facilities that he knows remarkably well.
Prior to the ASA Wisconsin weekend, Majeski’s luck across limited Super Late Model starts hadn’t been great. He kicked off his season in ASA STARS event at New Smyrna Speedway, where a late race incident with Colby Howard ended the night prematurely for Majeski. From there, Majeski encountered all kinds of misfortune from mechanical issues to on-track incidents across various starts.
That trend unfortunately continued into the Wisconsin doubleheader. Majeski’s weekend initially started great, with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion setting the fastest overall time in practice and qualifying in second.
Once the feature event started, though, things took a turn for the worse. Majeski’s car suddenly lost power shortly after the race began. He would only complete 13 laps, being scored in last place with the first DNF of the night.
With Majeski’s Madison campaign ending before it could even begin, the focus quickly shifted to Slinger on Sunday. Majeski elected to start in the rear of the field despite winning the pole for the ASA STARS feature event, proposing the idea to series officials about a possible $5,000 bonus if he could win from the tail.
It was a bold move, but one that almost paid off. Majeski gradually worked his way to the front, winding up in an intense battle for the lead with Butcher in the closing stages. While Majeski didn’t pick up the win when it was all said and done, he still accomplished a much-needed feat – one he surely didn’t expect to have to wait until June to do.
Majeski finally finished a Super Late Model event in 2025.
With the doubleheader complete, the ASA STARS National Tour has a multitude of weeks off as it heads deep into the summer months. The series will return to action for the RedBud 400 at Anderson Speedway on July 26th.
