january 2019 inside - wordpress.com · january 2019 page 4 racing according to plan from page 3...

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Inside...January 2019

Going in Circles

Racing Heroes

Minnesota AsphaltDriver of the Year

Rookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie Report

January 2019

January 2019

Dan Plan

January 2019

P.O. Box 22111St. Paul MN, 55122

651-451-4036www.theracingconnection.com

PublisherDan Plan

Contributing WritersShane CarlsonDale P. DanielskiJacklyn NuttlemanJason SearcyDean RellerCharlie Spry

PhotographersGuy Adams (815-980-0354)Vance Birno (612-308-3572)Jeff Blaser (715-498-7544)Martin DeFries (651-346-1199)TJ Harron (608-301-5258)Doug Hornickel (920-563-0993)Tom Loos (715-370-7895)Mark Melchiori (414-463-0131)Bruce Nuttleman (612-860-6622)Vince Peterson (612-419-6372)Jess Riedner (608-334-5329

The Midwest Racing Connection is published six timesduring the summer racing season by The Plan Company,Inc. All material is copyrighted 2019 and may not bereprinted without permission. Subscriptions are $20 forsix issues. Call 651-451-4036.

Cover photos by: Martin DeFries, Tom Loos, BruceNuttleman, Jacklyn Nuttleman and Vince Peterson

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Racing AccordingRacing AccordingRacing AccordingRacing AccordingRacing Accordingto Planto Planto Planto Planto Plan

Publisher's NotePublisher's NotePublisher's NotePublisher's NotePublisher's Note I wish I had the answer

continued on page 4

Dan Plan photos

Texas Motor Speedway crowd on the left in 1999, almost full with overflow bleachersin turns 3-4 and the crowd in November of 2018 on the right

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For the past several years, one of the commonthings you’ll see discussed during (or following) aNASCAR race is the empty grandstands. It’s nothingnew, but everybody seems to point it out every week-end NASCAR events take place. Honestly, I don’tknow what they could do different to make things

better. The NASCAR tracks have all tried a lot ofthings to bring people back to fill the stands. Theyeven had a giant Ferris wheel at Texas.

To me, the product on the track really hasn’tchanged from the heyday of full grandstands. Thereare still a bunch of cars going really fast in circles.That’s the point of the sport, and it still seems thesame to me today.

Twenty years ago, I had the opportunity to seeone of the first NASCAR races in Texas. DaveBlaney was on the pole and Mark Martin shared thefront row for the Busch Grand National race. I took apicture of the field on pit road that day, and thegrandstand looked about 75% full. It had even rainedmost of the morning back in 1999, yet people still filledthe place when they dried the track. I went back toTexas Motor Speedway again this Fall for theNASCAR weekend in November. It was a beautifulday with temps in the 70’s and no rain. It was sad tosee how empty the place was for the Xfinity Race.

If you look at the stats from the November 2018Xfinity race from TMS, on paper it was a better race

January 2019

Racing According to Plan from page 3

than the one 20 years ago. There were 17 leadchanges in the most recent race while the one from1999 had 11 lead changes. I wish there was asimple answer to get people to come back.

Now, the main reason I went to Texas (or atleast the reason I gave my wife) was to visit herfamily and friends in her home state. I did conve-niently schedule the trip during the weekend of theNASCAR race at TMS.

I was looking forward to return visit to TexasMotor Speedway as Johnny Sauter was in the mixfor the Truck Series championship and Ty Majeskiwas in the Xfinity field. It’s not often you get to seea driver from this area get a legitimate shot at thebig leagues. Johnny’s weekend started out wellafter setting fast time in qualifying. His night wentdownhill early in the race with a flat tire and thengetting caught up in somebody else’s mess. WhileTy was never in contention for the win, he did wellunder the circumstances. Realistically, the Roushcars are 15th place cars these days. The Roushprogram isn’t what it was back in 1999 with MarkMartin, but the kid wheeled the 60 car to a 13th

place finish at the end of the day. That’s 2 positionsbetter than should have been expected of him

Texas Motor Speedway is a great place towatch a race as a fan. The cars were going200mph, and you can see the entire track. They alsohave the big screen TV known as “Big Hoss” on

the backstretch for replays.They say everything is bigger inTexas, and man that was a bigTV.

If your schedule allows, Iwould say now is the time to goto a NASCAR race for anumber of reasons. The firstthing I noticed was trafficwasn’t near as bad as it was in1999. Traffic in the Dallas/FortWorth area is a pain in the reareven when NASCAR isn’t intown, but I was able to drive inand out of the track severaltimes over the course of the weekend. Anotherreason is there are plenty of seats to choose from.There are also no lines at the concession stands orrestrooms.

My only complaint from the event was theway NASCAR fans watch races in person. It wasabout 10 years since I watched a NASCAR racefrom the grandstand. I forgot how everyone feelsthey need to stand up when the race starts, wait 10laps to sit down, and then stand up again on everysingle restart. I had been walking around the pitsand souvenir area for about 4 hours prior to therace. I was looking forward to sitting in my grand-stand seat and watching the race. Turns out I hadto stand up and sit down 14 times over the courseof the afternoon.

Ty Majeski during driver intros atTexas Motor Speedway (top), Majeskiand race winner Cole Custer pre-race(above) Johnny Sauter exiting the pits

after an early tire change (left)

January 2019

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January 2019

Racing NuggetsRacing NuggetsRacing NuggetsRacing NuggetsRacing Nuggets

PJ "Jacklyn" Nuttleman

Nudge from PudgeAdmittedly, our Boxer… check that, my husbandToby’s Boxer, Pudge has not been able to go to asmany races as he has in the past. It wasn’t intentionalby any means, but it was just not as easy to send himalong to races this year, mostly due to our schedules.

While it was a bummer for Toby, as he enjoyedhaving his “buddy” along on road trips, and I’ll admitthat Pudge had a great calming effect on him, it wasprobably more upsetting for Pudge.

When race day came along, Pudge could tell thatToby was getting ready to leave and his little nub of atail would waggle at about 3600 RPM! That is until herealized he wasn’t going along. Then the nub wouldstop and droop. The dejection on his jowly face waspiercing.

It was hard to tell who was more heartbroken inthat moment—Pudge, Toby, or me.

That being said, Pudge seemingly “helped” moreat the shop this past season. He’s logged a lot of hourswith Toby there deep into the early morning hours. Ifthat dog could talk, the stories he could tell!

Pudge is a “helper” to be sure. Rarely is he seenaway from Toby’s side at the shop. He literally keepsa paw on him quite frequently, while he’s under a carwrenching on it. Although, sometimes Pudge is justnapping under the car while Toby’s under it… and tobe honest, sometimes they’re BOTH napping underthe car.

It’s sort of crazy how much Pudge is like Toby.The other day, I brought lunch out to the shop and asper usual, Toby had the TV tuned to “Gunsmoke.” Heloves Westerns, and apparently, so does Pudge. After

both had a full belly, their eyes were glued to the TVwatching Miss Kitty and Marshal Dillon discussing thelatest shake-up in Dodge City. I’m pretty sure I evensaw Pudge snort along with Toby after Festus de-scribed someone being “quieter than a gagged go-pher.”

They “get” each other—my peas in a pod. WhenToby slops mustard on his shirt, Pudge is there toclean it up. Not sure how many races Pudge will go tothis year, but we’ll see. If he has a say in the matter,via his sad eyes, I imagine he’ll be at more than hewas this year. Of course, “he” in that sentence couldmean EITHER Pudge or Toby. Teamwork makes thedream work. Pawsitively.

Nudge from Pudge

January 2019

January 2019

Going inGoing inGoing inGoing inGoing inCirclesCirclesCirclesCirclesCircles

Charlie Spry

Many tracks are suffering through smallish carcounts in certain divisions, no secret there. However,Gregg McKarns and family at the Madison Interna-tional Speedway are doing something about it in onesuch division with small car counts.

The sportsman division at that track never reallytook off much, as normally five to seven cars werecompeting nightly in this division on the half-mile. So, itwas decided to add a little flavor, and change thedivision to a more open division based on setting a laptime limit of 20 seconds but opening up the division tomany more cars.

The new division will be aptly named MISfitz(Get it?) and will allow many more race vehicles anddrivers the chance to race here weekly in 2019. Theregular sportsman cars will be allowed to compete, butwill race alongside Mid-Am cars, trucks, 602 crate late

models, vintage cars, modifieds, dirt cars, and manyvarieties.

Those turning a lap faster than 20 seconds (butnot faster than 19.700) will be allowed one “Mulligan,”receiving a warning at that time but allowed to con-tinue in their position, but if they turn a second lapfaster than 20 seconds they will be disqualified fromthat event. The currentsportsman cars ran timesslower than 20 seconds, sothey should be good.

Rules are such as thatany car with a stock framechassis can run any engine,but fab stub cars must runthe 602 crate engine. Anytreaded Hoosier tire will beallowed, but rules state thatthey must show 1/32" wearoff new tire tread depth.

This is a good move inmy opinion. This will givemany more a chance to racehere and will make itexciting for the fans to seevaried cars racing eachother. Naysayers willcomplain about this “Not being racing” with the timelimit, but if you have ever seen the Bahama Bracketsat Rockford Speedway, then you know that this issimply outstanding racing. I’m looking forward toseeing who all shows up to race and how this comesoff. I think it will be fun and I have heard that most if

not all of the current sportsmandrivers plan on coming backand racing in the new divisionas well.

With the 2018 seasonover now, it is time to reflecton the retirement of a couple oflong time drivers in centralWisconsin. First off, long timesuper late model racer Rene’Scheinoha has called it acareer. Rene’ was a fixture inthe super late model ranks atthe Golden Sands Speedwayand was always a fan favorite.She was exceptionally good tothe fans and was alwaysavailable to chat and mingle.Rene’ started off racing backin 1978 if I remember cor-rectly, starting out in a powderpuff event, then moving ontohobby stock cars, racingagainst the guys. She thenmoved up to the super latemodels, racing those cars formany years, winning quite a

few heats and semi-features, and had some real strongruns in features as well.

While seeing a female race nowadays is nothingat all unusual, back when she started racing it washighly unusual, and not entirely embraced. She was apioneer, so to speak, helping to pave the way for moreand more ladies to go racing.

I always enjoyed talking to Rene’ at the trackabout her racing or her menagerie of pets. She will bemissed at the track very much!

Another driver retiring is Steve Hauser, whoraced for many years at the Marshfield Motor Speed-way in the X-Treme four division. I also enjoyedtalking with Steve every chance I had, he was a firstclass racer and person all the way. Very clean racerwho will retire as the all-time leader for feature winsat this track and class. Steve’s son, Derk, also racedfor many years, and pretty much matched his Dad infeature wins, and was likewise, a very class act onand off the track. Derk retired just a short time ago,racing his last race this past year as well. I had thehonor of racing a couple of times with this pair, andwas made to feel very welcomed to the track by both.Won’t be the same without this pair at the trackanymore.

So, I’ll just say, happy retirement to thesedrivers! You all provided many enjoyable moments atthe tracks!

MISfitz at Madison

Tom Loos photo

January 2019

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Jason Searcy

Heskett Named 2018 MN Asphalt Driver of the year

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Baiden Heskett, 27, from Farmington (MN) hasbeen named by Speed Talk on 1360 radio the 2018MN Asphalt Driver of the year. The hometown forHeskett is Alvarado (TX) but has lived in Minnesotathe last two years. Heskett had an incredible year ofracing in the Great North Legends division at ElkoSpeedway. He won his first Championship by awhopping 288 points, won 11 feature events, scored anincredible 163 passing points, (never finishing worsethan his starting position) and he had a TOP 5 finish inall 24 feature events he raced in at ELKO. ”Racing inMinnesota has helped me become a better driver,”said Heskett “there is a bunch of talent up here andELKO is the best track to race at in the nation, it’sracy and you can go side by side.”

In 2018 Heskett won a massive total of 30feature races at an impressive list of tracks including:Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (TX), Hawkeye

Downs in Cedar Rapids (IA),Jefferson Speedway in Cambridge(WI), Slinger Speedway in Slinger(WI), Elko Speedway in Elko (MN)and Dells Raceway Park in Wiscon-sin Dells (WI).

Heskett also excelled at theNational level, he was awarded themost prestigious title in all of Leg-ends Car racing. The 2018 INEX

continued on page 10

Martin DeFries photo


January 2019

Email: trackratphotos vfcfunding.comPhone: 612-419-6372

651-346-1199

Asphalt Pro division points title becoming the firstever Minnesota based driver to do so.

In fact, racers from this area did well as awhole with Ryan Braseth from Ulen (MN)winning the Young Lions overall title on dirt andGreat North Legends owner Tim Brockhousefrom Shakopee (MN) winning the overall asphaltMasters title. Brockhouse, who won the MNAsphalt Driver of the Year award in 2016, isproud of his successful protege “I taught himeverything I know, almost.”

Baiden Heskett plans on staying in Minne-sota for the 2019 season and is setting evenhigher goals, he is gunning for both the Asphaltand Dirt Pro Division INEX titles. "Texas will

always be my home, but I think I can callMinnesota my home now too." said Heskett.

Here are the past winners of the Minne-sota Asphalt Driver of the Year:

2017- Conrad Jorgenson2016- Tim Brockhouse2015- Jacob Goede2014- Jacob Goede2013- Ricky Martin2012- Jonathan Eilen2011- Chad Walen2010- Brent Kane2009- Adam Royle2004- Dan Fredrickson

continued from page 9


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January 2019

Dale P. Danielski

Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Auto Racing Facts,Observances andObservances andObservances andObservances andObservances and

OpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinionsOpinions

Racing Observances continuedon page 12

Racing Heroes

Dale’s Pics...Chicagoland hotshoe, Frank Gawlinski as seen at the 1978 National Short Track Championship, Rockford Speedway, Rockford,IL.(left) The crashed, 1976 Daytona 500 winning machine of David Pearson.(middle) and Nelson Drinkwine in his Chevelle in 1966.(right)

Of course, we are all getting older and nothingbares that out like the passing of racing heroes.

Some recently deceased that had an influence onme include David Pearson, Frank Gawlinski andNelson Drinkwine.

When I first started getting interested in racing atthe NASCAR level my favorite driver was DavidPearson. Richard Petty got more of the attention, butPearson was all the driver Petty was and he accom-plished that while racing in far less races than KingRichard. What impressed me the most about Pearsonwas he always seemed to be in the thick of it. Theycalled him the Silver Fox for a reason as he would sitback, analyze the competition, bide his time andemerge for the win right at the end of the race when itcounted the most. He used that strategy throughout

and it led to his winning 105 races at NASCAR’s toplevel. Had he raced more, I believe he would havebeen right up there with Petty in that 200 range. Ofcourse, if he raced more Petty probably wouldn’t havewon 200. With the two going head to head so often,with one or the other winning, it’s amazing anyone elsehad a chance. The one and only Daytona 500 Iattended in 1976 was my first chance to see the twodrivers battle. What a Classic that turned out to be asit still ranks as arguably the best ever finish in 500history. The Slingshot maneuver to pass was at it’sfinest at this juncture of racing and the two had figuredit out better than most. Of course, with the lapswinding down Petty made the move by Pearson andpulled away to a substantial lead. It appeared thatPearson had lost speed and the race win would bePetty’s. Finally, drawing nearer to Petty, Pearson shotby in a flash in turn three of the last lap. Petty, not tobe denied used the maneuver to re-pass Pearson, butcontact was made and both drivers crashed into theoutside wall, with Pearson ending up in the infield.Petty eventually ended up down there too, but his carwasn’t going to move. Pearson meanwhile somehowkept his wrecked car running to inch his way alongand miraculously was able to pass the start finish line1st! Petty with some help finally crossed the line andsince the two leaders were a lap ahead of the 3rdplace driver wound up 2nd. My one and only Daytona500 witnessed live and what a race to see my hero ofthe day, David Pearson.

Frank Gawlinski for a period dominatedChicagoland racing and since his name ended in ski, Ihad to be impressed as few drivers with a namespelled like that won that much! Gawlinski venturedover to Wisconsin and did quite well, but nothing likewhen he raced in the Chicago, IL., area. He really gotaround the tiny Raceway Park oval track in BlueIsland and I think that really helped him elsewhere.Between 1978 and 1998 he won 215 total features at

Blue Island, Grundy County Speedway of Morris, IL.,and Illiana Speedway of Schererville, IN. That’simpressive!

Nelson Drinkwine raced at numerous trackswhen the sport was really picking up steam in the1960s. Always competitive, Drinkwine held his ownagainst the hotdogs of the day. I remember an occa-sion where Dick Trickle had obligations elsewhere, sohe put Drinkwine in his potent Ford racer. Drinkwinenot only ran competitively with the car but won in it! Ialways enjoyed when Nelson attended the racingreunions I put on through the years. He was definitelya character! Getting older and sorry to see theseracers are now gone.

Here and there. As noted earlier, we attendedthe ISS Creepy Classic at State Park SpeedwayOctober 27th and witnessed 120 cars take to thestarting grid! Not that many finished, but what a wildrace. When all was said and done, it was Kyle Starktaking the win, his 3rd of the year and the $6,000 pay-check that went with it...Failed to mention previouslythat Mark Chalet was the Thunderstox Champion atLa Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway for 2018. That isthe first championship of any kind for Mark, andcongratulations are in order... Had fun as emcee forthe CWRA portion of the Banquet at Ho ChunkGaming in Baraboo, WI., here recently. Special for meon the night was awarding Tom and Dee Dee Reffnerthe Lifetime Achievement award for their dedicationto racing. Couldn’t have gone to a more deserving

January 2019

couple...Looking back in time on Fridaynight, June 25th, 1965, it was NelsonDrinkwine winning the feature race atTomah-Sparta Speedway. FollowingDrinkwine at the finish was MarlinWalbeck, Everett Fox, Dave Marcis, andMarv Marzofka. Semi-feature honorswent to Dave Larson with non-qualifierswinner Dave Baumgarten. Heat racewinners were Ralph Kapinski, Bob TaylorNubs Foth and Fox. The dash win went toDave Balliett with fast time honors goingto Marcis at 16:43 seconds...On Sundayafternoon, May 4th, 1969, NelsonDrinkwine won the 30-lap feature race atGolden Sands Speedway, Plover, WI.,behind the wheel of the #99, Dick Trickle,1967 Ford Fairlane. Following Drinwine atthe finish was Marlin Walbeck, TomReffner, Ron Beyer and Bill Wirtz. semi-feature honors went to Don Rodah, withthe consolation race winner, KeithKemnetz. Heat race winners were DonRaddle, Les Katzner, Rhoda and JimBack. Fast time honors went to Back at13:80 seconds...On Sunday afternoon,May 11th, 1969, it was Nelson Drinkwine,again, in the 1967 Dick Trickle FordFairlane taking the 30-lap feature win atGolden Sands Speedway. Marv Marzofka,Marlin Walbeck, Tom Reffner and JimSauter followed. Semi-feature honorswent to Dale Walworth. Ray Hoffmanwon the consolation race with Heat racevictories going to Les Katzner, Stu Nitzkeand Marzofka. Jim Back set a new trackrecord in qualifying touring the highbanked 3/10ths mile oval in 13:54 seconds.Thanks to Jim Cleveland for the info. In1991, Frank Gawlinski won his 6th TonyBettenhausen Classic, winning the 100-lapmain event at Illiana Motor Speedway,Schererville, IN. Back on February 15th,1976, it was David Pearson winning theNASCAR, Daytona 500 at DaytonaInternational Speedway, Daytona Beach,FL. Following Pearson at the finish wasRichard Petty, Benny Parsons, LenniePond and Neil Bonnett.

Questions, comments, opinions andother information welcome at StarmakerMultimedia 967 10th Ave N Ste A,Onalaska, WI 54650 608-783-5827 or [email protected]

Racing Observances from page 11

Make sure to check out our February issue for a book review of theThe Bird & The Bear. If you can't wait, copies are available by

sending $20 per book plus $8 shipping and handling to JoeVerdegan 203 N. Ashland Avenue Green Bay, Wisconsin 54303

January 2019

Rookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie Report

Allen StettnerNewport, Minnesota

UMSS Traditional Sprint Rookie of the Year

Vince Peterson photos

Allen Stettner is the 2018 Upper MidwestSprintcar Series (UMSS) Traditional Sprint Rookieof the year. Allen is a third-generation driver,starting out in the Street Stocks in 1993. Alongwith is dad (Tom) and grandfather (Eugene),several uncles and cousins have been part of theshort track community in the upper-Midwest datingback the late 1940’s. The Midwest RacingConnection recently caught up to Allen just prior tothe end of the year.

On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate yourperformance last year?I would rate it a six. A good friend of mine RollieLallier ran the car for 14 races and made me anoffer I couldn’t refuse. I had destroyed myModified and was looking for another one. He soldme this car for what a good roller would have costfor a Modified.

What was your favorite part of the season?It would have to be the heat race win up at Ashland.The only other time I was at Ashland I was 14-years-old. We were watching Ronny Jones run at the RedClay Classic. The first time there behind the wheel, Iwon a heat race. Not only was it my first heat racewin a Traditional Sprint Car, it was my first heat racewin in several years. I was pretty excited about it.

What was the worst part of the season?That would be blowing up my motor the week afterthe Outlaw Nationals at Cedar Lake. Spun a cambearing in it and then I got injured cleaning up mydaughter’s graduation. Fortunately, thanks to a lot ofhelp from my cousin Pat Kelley and my dad, the twoof them pulled the broken motor out. Pat had a shortblock and I was able to build the rest of the motor inmy garage and they helped me put it back in. Blowingup that motor set me back, but thanks to my family I

was able to get the car back on the track2 weeks later.

How much did your familyhelp your racing program?I do 90% of the work on thecar myself at home. My dadlives over a hundred milesaway in Sturgeon Lake, sohe’s not always around. Ihave 2 good friends will helpme in the garage when theycan and came to the racesevery night except for 2.

Where do you think you could improve forfuture races?The first thing we are doing is building a brand-newmotor for next year. I hope to be closer inhorsepower instead the gap between me and theguys that consistently run in the top 5. The bigthings are more seat time and experience. I’vejumped around to just about every class, but I hadnever driven a Sprint Car before. I feel at the ageof 45 in February, I’m going to stick with this class.I can afford to do this on my own without breakingthe bank.

What are your plans for the 2019 season?We are going to run the full season with theTraditional Sprints, as long as no major catastropheshappen. We’ll for sure run every race at CedarLake. I think they have us on the schedule 14 or 16times this year. Hopefully Mother Nature is a littlebit calmer and lets us race more.

January 2019

Rookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie ReportRookie Report

Billy Mohn captured the 2018 ARCA MidwestTour Rookie of the Year award. Taking anunconventional path in racing, Billy basically startedhis racing career in Late Models in 2006. Thesecond-generation driver followed in his father’sfootsteps with the racing bug. Mike Mohn was atop competitor at Elko Speedway and the oldNASCAR Northern Series and continues hisinvolvement with Billy’s racing program. TheMidwest Racing Connection recently caught up toBilly as the new year is about to begin.

On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate yourperformance last year?I would say it had its ups and downs, but I’d givemyself a 7 on the performance side but maybe a 10for the effort. We sure tried and put the effort in.All in all it was a good year.

What was your favorite part of the season?It’s pretty hard to pinpoint one. Running in the top-5 ortop-10 of the Midwest Tour is pretty tough. Justgetting the respect to go run with those guys is prettycool, run side-by-side and race clean.

What was the worst part of the season?I would have to say my lowlight was the definitely theDixieland 250. Nothing we did made the car go anyfaster all day. There was a lot of people there thatmissed a lot of work to come out and help. It definitelywasn't the performance I was looking for and endedup with a DNF after I tore the right front off the car.

How much did your family help your racingprogram?My family is a huge part. We have Airgas thatsupplies us nitrogen, but other than that, everything

comes out our pocket. Andit’s not just mine or mydad’s pocket. Our crewmembers Mark and Tim paytheir own way in. JarryRoyle pays his own way inwhen he can show up. Itgoes much farther than evenour family. It’s pretty cool tohave people like that on yourside. It would be a lot harderto afford it if you didn’t havepeople like that on your side.

Where do you think you could improve forfuture races?I think our program is good. As any racer knows,the financial stuff to buy new parts here or there. Ithink we need to work on some of our half-mile andup stuff. Other than that, I feel when we show upat the shorter tracks, we’re going to run pretty goodduring the race. We just need to be more consistentoverall at every race track.

What are your plans for the 2019 season?The plans for 2019 are still up in the air, dependingon sponsorship or not. Last year cost quite a bit, butwe had a ton of fun. I think we’re going to start offat Madison for the Joe Shear Classic and seewhere that takes us. We would love to run theMidwest Tour full-time again, but right now it’s justa race by race basis.

Billy MohnElko, Minnesota

ARCA Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year

Bruce Nuttleman photos

January 2019

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January 2019

Everything is bigger in Texas

Prior to the Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway in November, I snuck over to the backstretch to check out Lil’ Texas Motor Speedway. Much to my surprise,2018 Legends Masters Champion Tim Brockhouse was on hand. Tim did not participate on this day, rather lending helping hand to his brother Tony. The best quote I

heard was one of the people in the Legends pits referred to Tim as the Dale Earnhardt of Legends racing. I would say that was an accurate assessment.While the race was not a national event, they did have some Texas size trophies on hand for the competitors.

Dan Plan photos

January 2019

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ChristmasEntertainment

Just before Christmas, Matt Bohl invited allof the drivers that he sponsors to an invitationalgo-kart race at Pro Kart in Burnsville, Minne-sota.

The qualifying races were a little chaotic,as drivers tried to work their way into the mainevent. I can honestly say I’ve never seen adriver get parked 2 times in one night, but ScottSplittstoesser now has this distinction.

The main event reminded me of the oldIROC races. Back in the day, drivers fromdifferent racing disciplines were brought togetherto compete in identically prepared race cars.Indy car, NASCAR and road racers all com-peted against each other. I thought it was prettycool to see Dirt Late Model driver Jesse Glenz,battle with Sprint Car driver Ryan Bowers.

I gotta say, for a cold night in December, itwas a good show. Dan Plan photo

By Dan Plan

January 2019

january 2019 inside - wordpress.com · january 2019 page 4 racing according to plan from page 3...

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