By Ben Deatherage
BURT, Iowa (June 12, 2026) — In a town the size of Burt, Iowa, people tend to know each other’s stories.
They know who farms which ground. They know whose kids play ball together. And on warm summer evenings, they know which garage doors are open.
One of those garage doors changed Micah Lavrenz’s life.
Around 2000 or 2001, Lavrenz and his father Floyd were driving through town when they noticed activity at the shop of Del Reutzel, a family friend whose excavating business had long been part of the community. Inside, a go-kart was being prepared for a race for his son, Tad.
Lavrenz was six or seven years old.
“I vaguely remember that one summer night and seeing the garage door open and we stopped,” he said.
The Reutzels showed him the kart, explained what they were doing, and not long afterward took him to a race.
He was hooked.
More than two decades later, the boy who stopped to look inside that garage has become one of the familiar faces of Kossuth County Speedway, carrying with him a racing story rooted in family, friendship, and a small Iowa town that still feels like home.
Finding Home in Burt
Burt has never been a big place.
Established in 1881 when the railroad reached the area, the town was named after railroad official Horace G. Burt. Generations of families have called it home, and many of the same names that helped build the community can still be found there today. Known as the “Little Town with the Big Heart and Helping Hand,” Burt remains the kind of place where neighbors know each other and people look out for one another.
Today, the community is home to roughly 500 residents. Local gathering places like Emerald’s Fine Food & Libations and Billie Jo’s Bar & Grill in nearby Algona are popular stops, while annual events such as Founders Day in July and the Kossuth County Fair bring residents together each summer.
That sense of community is one of the things Lavrenz appreciates most about the area.
That was certainly true for the Lavrenz family.
Floyd Lavrenz had known the Reutzels for years through their excavating business. A former drag racer himself, Floyd had always enjoyed cars and spent much of his career selling them.
But circle track racing wasn’t a major part of his life.
Not until Micah became interested.
After those first visits to the Reutzel shop and a few trips to local races, the young Lavrenz couldn’t get enough.
“I really wanted to race go-karts after that,” he said.
His parents weren’t sold on the idea.
The open, beltless karts of the era didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Instead, they steered him toward a growing four-cylinder division at Kossuth County Speedway that served as a predecessor to today’s IMCA Sport Compact class.
Lavrenz began racing those cars in 2004 and continued through 2008.
Then came the next step.
Kevin Opheim built him his first Hobby Stock in 2009.
He’s been in the division ever since.
“Kevin built my first Hobby Stock and I still pit next to him today,” Lavrenz said. “He’s been such a big mentor to me.”
Lavrenz’s first Hobby Stock victory came at Kossuth County Speedway in 2012, shortly after graduating from high school. More recently, he has even became a regular competitor at Boone Speedway.
The Reutzels never left the picture either.
“They’ve sponsored me every year since I started racing,” he said. “I always joke with them, if it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have this expensive habit.”
He laughed.
But he wasn’t really joking.
The welcome sign greets visitors entering Burt, Iowa, the Kossuth County community that Micah Lavrenz has called home since arriving in the United States as an infant. Though born in South Vietnam, Lavrenz’s life, family, and racing career have all been built in the small north-central Iowa town. (Courtesy Photo)
From Vietnam to Iowa
Long before racing entered the picture, another journey had already shaped Lavrenz’s life.
He was born in South Vietnam in August of 1993.
Five months later, in January of 1994, he was adopted by Floyd and Tish Lavrenz and brought to Iowa.
“My parents adopted me late in their lives,” he said.
The decision was rooted in both hardship and hope.
Years earlier, Tish had battled ovarian cancer. The disease prevented her from having additional children after an earlier premature birth, leading Floyd and Tish to open their home through adoption.
Micah would eventually become one of four adopted children in the family.
“They adopted me and raised me like their own, and I don’t know any different,” he said.
For most of his life, that was enough.
Micah Lavrenz stands with his adoptive parents, Floyd and Tish Lavrenz. Adopted from South Vietnam as an infant, Lavrenz credits his parents for providing the opportunities, support, and values that helped shape his life both on and off the racetrack. (Courtesy Photo)
Then, shortly before the COVID pandemic, he had the opportunity to return to Vietnam for about a month.
The trip provided an opportunity to see the country where his life began, including visits to the hospital where he was born and the orphanage where he spent his first months.
“It was neat to see where I was from,” he said.
He still knows nothing about his biological family.
And he’s at peace with that.
“Health-wise, it would be nice to know a little more,” he said. “But my mom and dad over here adopted me and raised me like their own.”
For Lavrenz, family was never defined by geography.
It was defined by the people who showed up every day.
Micah Lavrenz (right) poses with his friend Bob during a visit to Vietnam. The trip gave Lavrenz an opportunity to return to the country of his birth, including visits to the hospital where he was born and the orphanage where he spent his earliest months before being adopted by Floyd and Tish Lavrenz. (Courtesy Photo)
The People Who Raised Him
That support system extended into every part of his racing career.
His father’s automotive background became invaluable once racing entered the family.
Floyd’s experience working on cars, along with his knowledge of two-barrel Rochester carburetors and Saginaw three-speed transmissions, helped make Hobby Stock racing an affordable option.
Together, father and son spent years building power plants in the shop together.
“That’s one of the reasons we got into Hobby Stocks,” Lavrenz said. “Dad could work on a lot of that stuff himself.”
The racing partnership became even more meaningful after the family suffered a tremendous loss.
Tish passed away from cancer three years ago.
This year Floyd turns 80.
Yet he still attends nearly every race.
“I can count on one hand the number of races he’s missed out of town,” Lavrenz said.
The reason Lavrenz keeps racing isn’t difficult to understand.
“One of the reasons I keep racing is for us to have something to do together,” he said. “With my mom being gone, it helps him too.”
Racing, Trucking, and Family
Away from the racetrack, Lavrenz operates Lavrenz Logistics, hauling a variety of agricultural products throughout the region. Depending on the season, that can mean transporting seed, hauling agricultural commodities to local ethanol plants, or moving cattle-related products.
The business keeps him closely connected to the same farming communities that have shaped life in Burt and across Kossuth County for generations.
When Lavrenz looks around the pit area today, he sees much more than a race car.
He sees the people who helped make the journey possible.
The Reutzel family, whose garage first introduced him to racing more than two decades ago and who have continued supporting him ever since through Reutzel’s Excavating.
Mentors like Kevin Opheim, whose guidance helped him transition into Hobby Stocks and whose crew still lends a hand on race nights whenever needed.
The Smith family, who have always been willing to offer support, advice, and help whenever challenges arise.
And a long list of sponsors who continue to believe in him and his program, including AJ Wagner Trucking, BTKS, Darrell Spear Farms, Davis Truck’n, East Fork Trucking, Faber Farms, Field Better Ag, Grant Goche Farms, Iowa Premier Polish, Jeronamo Trucking, K&Z Transport, Lavrenz Logistics, Lee Wegener Land & Livestock, Lentz Funeral Home, Reutzel’s Excavating, Salon Bliss, SC Trucking, Schutjer Ag, Schutjer Farms, and Thompson Sewer & Drain.
Most importantly, he sees family.
His father, Floyd.
His girlfriend, Tasha.
When the couple began dating several years ago, Lavrenz also became part of the lives of her children, Xavier and Emmie.
Today, all four share in the demands and rewards of racing season, balancing family time, trucking, and weekends at the racetrack.
Together, they have become an important part of the support system that keeps him going both on and off the track.
For a kid who arrived in Iowa as a five-month-old infant from South Vietnam, Burt became more than a hometown.
It became the place where he found family.
It became the place where he found racing.
And it became the place where he built a life of his own.
