By Ben Deatherage
MONTELLO, Wis. (Sept. 16, 2026) — By the time the lights came on at Eagle River Speedway, 14-year-old Keslie Richards had already spent most of her life preparing for a moment she didn’t know was coming.
She had grown up in race shops and race cars. At six, she learned to drive on a makeshift track built from tires at home while her father raced with her on a four-wheeler. At eight came Junior Sprints. At 12, she climbed into a full-sized race car.
Now, in her first season behind the wheel of a Sunoco IMCA Stock Car, Richards found herself competing regularly against some of Wisconsin’s toughest Stock Car drivers.
On July 28, everything came together. Richards finished second in her heat race and knew she had a fast car. In the feature, she saw the leader make a mistake. When another opportunity presented itself, the 14-year-old was ready.
She capitalized, drove to her first career IMCA Stock Car feature victory and became the first female driver to win an IMCA Stock Car feature in Wisconsin state history and one of the youngest winners the division has ever seen.
“In victory lane I had no idea what was happening,” Richards said. “It was an absolute honor to get the win. It was an absolute perfect night. Nothing went wrong.”
Making her rookie season even more meaningful is the caliber of competition she faces regularly at Eagle River, including IMCA Stock Car veteran Rod Snellenberger, a frequent winner at the track.
“Beating ‘Hot Rod’ is something really hard to do,” she said. “It was awesome.”
For the Richards family, however, that victory wasn’t the beginning of a racing story.
It was the continuation of one that started four generations ago.
Keslie Richards celebrates her first career Sunoco IMCA Stock Car feature victory with her parents, Kenny and Amy Richards, at Eagle River Speedway on July 28. The 14-year-old Montello, Wis., driver became the first female IMCA Stock Car winner in Wisconsin state history with the victory. (Photo by Castle Creations Media)
Four Generations of Racing
Long before Keslie strapped into the No. 99R, her great-grandfather George was racing.
George Richards competed during the 1940s and 1950s, first as a driver and later as a car owner. He also operated a salvage yard before health problems brought his life to an early end while his son, Larry, was still a teenager.
Larry eventually followed his father into racing, beginning around 18 to 20 years old and competing in Wisconsin in everything from local Street Stocks to Modifieds and dirt Late Models. His career began in the 1970s and continues on a limited basis today.
Then came Keslie’s father, Kenny.
Kenny started racing at 15 after Larry passed the torch to him. He went on to collect victories in IMCA Modifieds, SportMods and Stock Cars, including the 2020 Captain of the Creek in a SportMod at 141 Speedway.
Racing also became the family’s livelihood.
Larry started Outlaw Chassis and Suspension in 1984, and Kenny took over the business in 2009. Today, they build IMCA Stock Cars while Kenny has largely scaled back his own driving to concentrate on Keslie’s career.
“This is our full-time gig,” Kenny said. “If we’re not racing, we’re in the shop, and if we’re not in the shop, we’re racing.”
Keslie’s introduction to the family business came early.
“I’ve been in karts since I was 6,” she said. “I didn’t really get a choice. They just told me that they were getting me a little kid kart.”
The family built a small practice track from tires at home, and Kenny rode alongside her on a four-wheeler as she learned the basics. Once she became comfortable, they headed to the kart track in Beaver Dam before moving on to larger-sized cars.
“Going to a full car was definitely different, and I wasn’t good the first year,” Richards said. “Once I was 13, I got a lot better. It was hard not only to judge the speed difference but the width of the car.”
She continued racing a Junior Sprint part time, and switching between the two helped sharpen her abilities. In 2026, at only 14, she made another jump — this time into IMCA Stock Car competition.
Her mother, Amy, is quick to point out that Keslie isn’t simply handed a finished race car.
“Keslie has what she has because building race cars is our livelihood, and she’s out in the shop working on her car,” Amy said. “This is what we do, and she doesn’t race until she works on her own car. She’s not a kid that has their Dad or Grandpa do it. She’s 100 percent hands-on.”
A Number All Her Own
Four generations of Richards family racing have also created an unusual trail of car numbers.
Keslie’s great-grandfather George raced No. 9, although the family didn’t discover that fact until a few years ago.
Larry raced No. 11. Kenny’s older brother Jeff took No. 10, leaving Kenny to move down one digit and adopt No. 9R. Other relatives continued the progression, with nephews taking No. 8 and cousins farther north carrying on the tradition.
When Keslie’s turn came, she wanted something that still belonged to the family but was distinctly hers.
“My dad’s number has been 9R his whole career, and so I just wanted to double that,” she said with a laugh.
The result was No. 99R.
The family connection extends far beyond numbers.
Racing is so ingrained in the Richards household that Amy jokes she would love to take more vacations.
Kenny has a different definition of one.
“Our vacations are at the racetrack,” he said. “We eat, breathe and sleep racing.”
When the schedule allows, Kenny, Amy and Keslie enjoy kayaking and other outdoor activities, often fitting hiking or sightseeing around an out-of-town race.
Keslie has also developed a reputation for making time for the people watching from the other side of the fence.
At Eagle River, three hours from home, she routinely finishes her heat race and heads into the grandstands to hand out items to fans before returning to the pits. At home, she participates in Montello parades and the community’s annual Touch a Truck event, displaying her race car alongside fire trucks, ambulances, farm equipment and police vehicles for children to see up close.
That interaction matters to her family, particularly because of the businesses whose names ride on the No. 99R.
Richards’ supporters include Mom and Dad, her older sister Taycee, nephew Arthur, Outlaw Chassis & Suspension, Advanced Engine Concepts Inc., Sorce Services, Lakeview Campground & Bar, Lefthander Performance, Performance Bodies, Mueller’s Service Center, Trailer Express, Maverick Ball Joints, Diamond Racing Wheels, Pecaro Motorsports, TJ’s Auto Salvage, MB Auto Sales & Service LLC, Hoeppner Racing Products, Six08 Graphics, Grandpa Larry Richards and her “bestest buddy,” George, the family dog.
From Granite to Checkered Flags
Home is Montello, a small Wisconsin community of roughly 1,500 residents whose history stretches back nearly two centuries.
The first land claim in what became Montello was made in February 1849, with settlers arriving that summer in what was then largely wilderness. The fledgling settlement soon needed a name, and “Montello,” described as meaning mountain or hill, was unanimously selected. A dam and sawmill followed in 1850, while a post office was established that September.
Montello eventually became known far beyond Wisconsin for something beneath the ground.
The Montello Granite Company’s quarry opened around 1880 and operated into the 1960s. Its exceptionally durable stone was shipped throughout the country for paving, buildings and monuments. Montello granite was used for Wisconsin soldiers’ monuments at Gettysburg and Chickamauga and, most notably, for the sarcophagi of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia, in New York.
Kenny’s description of modern Montello is considerably simpler.
“We have one stoplight and one waterfall in Montello,” he said.
Waterfalls cascade over the historic granite quarry in downtown Montello, Wis., the hometown of Sunoco IMCA Stock Car driver Keslie Richards. Montello granite became nationally known for its durability and was used for monuments and other major projects across the country. (Photo courtesy of VisitMarquetteCounty.com)
It’s a small place to produce a historic first.
Yet that’s exactly what happened when the 14-year-old from Montello drove into victory lane at Eagle River.
The family hadn’t gone there expecting history.
“We didn’t expect her to win that night,” Kenny said. “But she’s pulling off a third and then a fifth and a seventh, and she’s been on such a good roll.”
Then came the moment that put everything back into perspective.
After the celebration, the photos, the congratulations and Keslie’s social media post announcing the biggest victory of her young career, Kenny found his daughter asleep.
She was still holding her trophy.
“Sometimes you forget that she’s just a kid still,” he said. “And to do what she did is still pretty impressive.”
Four generations after George Richards first climbed into a race car, the family torch has reached its youngest hands yet.
And at 14 years old, Keslie Richards has already carried it somewhere no Wisconsin woman had gone before.
