Lennox’s Medenwald drives to victory in nail-biting championship race
After a rain-soaked weekend, sleepless nights, and a final round decided by one-hundredth of a second, Lennox High School Junior, Dylan Medenwald saw the win light glow at the NHRA Division 5 ET Finals, delivering one of his biggest victories of his young career with Thunder Valley Dragways at the end of September.
When Dylan Medenwald first got behind the wheel at just nine years old, he felt his entire family sitting right beside him.
“My family has practically raised me at the racetrack,” Medenwald joked. “My mom [Sarah] grew up racing, and she has made it a priority to show us what the world is all about,” he continued.
Sarah Medenwald’s racing roots reach back to when she began at age 10 in 1993 when her grandfather, father, brother, and two uncles began to show her the ropes.
“My brother and I left drag racing to try out the dirt track for a while, but by the time I began starting my family, I knew it was time to head back to where I began,” Sarah said.
For years, Dylan was able to watch his sister grow into the sport first.
“Alexis was probably my biggest inspiration to get into racing. She has been involved in it all her life as well, and she really encouraged me to give racing a shot and turns out – I like going fast,” he said.
Growing into his own, figuratively and literally, Dylan has moved through several cars in his few short years of racing.
“After a six-inch growth spurt, I have taken over my grandpa David’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air, that I have been working to modify with the help of my family to get it ready for the track,” Dylan said.
When the car was completed, the family added one final touch to Dylan’s car. “A bumper sticker that says student driver,” Sarah smiled.
The transition into the bigger car also came with some bigger competition and a major learning curve.
“Getting used to my car was my biggest challenge this year as these aren’t your every day cars. You have to make sure you are really on top of things and I am glad to be able to have Thunder Valley and people willing to work with me along the way,” Dylan said.
For the Medenwalds, Thunder Valley is where the family spends the most quality time and builds relationships that stretch across generations and state lines.
“Not everyone gets a track with as many amenities as Thunder Valley as close to them as we do, and my family definitely doesn’t take that for granted. The people from this track have taught me more about my car and my life than I think I could find just about anywhere else,” Dylan said.
Dylan’s personality is as easy going as he is and his positive attitude has carried him a long way.
“Dylan has earned the respect of the Thunder Valley community. They joke that his student driver bumper should read ‘student driver or quick learner’ as they now view him as serious competition,” Sarah said recalling the confidence the sport has brought to her son.
“At the end of each round, opponents meet, shake hands, and show younger racers how to handle both victory and defeat,” she added.
Through family, friends, and fellow racers helping along the way, Dylan has made his way through the ranks of the racing world.
“When I was younger I didn’t know a whole lot, I really thought racing was just that, driving, but as I’ve gotten older and I have seen more of the mechanics behind how the race works, I find myself developing strategies to beat my opponent, or learning more about engine noises and what to listen for under the hood to make sure everything is running correctly,” he said.
Earning his spot on the Thunder Valley team as they headed to Earlville for the NHRA Div. 5 ET Finals, through competition at the local track, Medenwald advanced to represent Thunder Valley at the regional level. The event spans the sport’s ladder: Jr. Street for ages 13 to 15, High School for ages 16 to 18, and the upper-level Sportsman, Motorcycle, Pro ET and Super Pro categories.
Medenwald competes in bracket racing.
“Bracket racing is not simply a contest to see which car reaches the finish line first. Each driver declares a predicted elapsed time, known as a dial-in. The starting system then staggers the cars, allowing a slower car to leave before a faster one. Reaction time, consistency and the ability to run close to the dial-in all shape the result. A racer who goes quicker than the declared time can “break out” and lose the round,” Sarah said.
“Dylan is our numbers kid. He understands reaction time and getting close to his dial-ins, and can figure out that mathematical equation to winning the race. Seven years in, he studies opponents, develops round-by-round strategies, and uses those calculations make him the amazing racer he is,” she continued.
Eight other teams awaited Thunder Valley once they arrived at the NHRA Div. 5 ET Finals, which would intimidate any driver, but to Medenwald, it felt more like a reunion.
“Typically, the races run Thursday through Sunday, so everyone gets to spend so much time together watching the competition, sharing stories, and just spending quality time together,” Dylan recalled.
The 2026 NHRA event was one for the record books.
“Five inches of rain fell throughout the weekend. With all the rain, the race schedule was crazy, they had to keep pushing races farther and farther from each other. The way this race worked was that our racetrack races against other race tracks and this is the only event that we ever get to go to as a team versus always racing each other so we came into the event with 86 drivers on our team and by the time we were able to start the main event between people not being able to show up or leaving because of the rain or having to go back to work, we started our main event with 43 drivers,” Sarah said.
Dylan was one of Thunder Valley’s four High School drivers and entered the event as the track’s points champion. With the rain erasing any chances for drivers to run test passes in their vehicles, every driver was under pressure to compete at their best.
“I raced 16 cars, while some of my competitors had to race up to 50. It’s a long day, but when you’re winning, you’re in it and with competition as great as it was, every one was in it,” Dylan said.
The track in Earlville has no lights, so races were limited to daylight hours. With three cars left in the semi-finals on Sunday night, the person with the best reaction time would be given a free pass to the finals. Dylan took to the track and gave it his all securing his spot in the finals.
“Dylan’s driving abilities were what brought it all home. He kept the car where it needed to be and was just tuned into that finish line,” Sarah said.
Following the race, the Medenwald’s knew they had to make a decision.
“My mom had already let me take Thursday and Friday off of school, but we couldn’t leave the race unfinished, so after a little coaxing, I convinced her to let us stay into Monday to finish out the race,” Dylan recalled proudly.
With darkness ending the day, the Medenwald family went to sleep knowing the championship would be decided Monday morning — again without a test pass.
“There wasn’t a lot of sleep that night. It was nerve racking and exciting all at the same time. Just being able to make it this far is quite the accomplishment, but we knew Dylan was ready to compete. It’s crazy to think he woke up, started his car, and raced his final round,” Sarah said.
The morning came and Dylan was standing face to face with his final competitor.
“I was up against a 19-year old from Brainerd, Minnesota who is in his last year of high school. He has been running that car since he was 16, just like me, and we knew it was going to be a race we would never forget,” Dylan said.
“Both boys wanted it bad, but watching Dylan’s win light come on was incredible. I was at a loss of words the whole time, and it was amazing to see the heart these kids put into the race. It meant everything to both of them and they truly laid it all out on the line. In the end, Dylan won the race by 10/1000’s of a second. It was one of the closest races of the entire weekend,” Sarah added.
Proud of what he had just done, Dylan took a moment to take in what had just happened.
“Crossing the finish line, I was in total shock. I was so excited because it’s my first year in high school and it’s a pretty big accomplishment to beat a kid who has raced in the same car for so long and on my first try, I took the trophy away from him,” he joked.
Within minutes of the race being over, both boys were congratulating each other for a job well done.
“They truly left it all out on the track and there were no hard feelings at the end. The boys were in such deep conversation the only thing that split them up again was the sudden downpour that began right after the races were completed,” Sarah said.
Dylan’s championship led a strong Thunder Valley showing. Bently Brabec, a 13-year-old from Tyndall, South Dakota, finished runner-up in Jr. Street. Cory Heckenlaible of Lesterville, South Dakota, won Pro ET, earning a place at the world finals in Las Vegas on the final weekend of October. Larry Lamprecht of rural Lennox reached the semifinals in the 6.50 Index class.