As the 2014 racing season reaches its final third of the schedule, it is a great time to take a look at some of the intriguing story lines right.
One of the top point battles is in the IMCA Sport Mod class.
Second-year racers Lucas Lamberies and Jordan Bartz have both continued to grow as racers following stellar rookie seasons. Each driver has scored two feature wins in track- point racing action.
Lamberies holds a seven-point edge over Bartz. The two racers are beginning to form a great on-track rivalry with some fantastic individual battles.
Travis VanStraten has made a triumphant return to racing this season in the IMCA Stock Car class. Previous to this year VanStraten hadn’t raced since the 2011 season.
VanStraten has won five features and took the point lead Saturday night.
Mike Schmidt had been the leader in points and had not finished outside the top four before last week. Schmidt was not able to start last week’s feature after mechanical issues in the heat race.
VanStraten now holds a nine-point edge.
Troy Springborn has quietly pulled into the lead in the Late Model division.
Marcus Yarie holds the edge in the IMCA Modified class.
Josh Slewinski has taken the Mighty Four point lead with three feature wins.
A driver to keep an eye on for the rest of the year is IMCA Sport Mod racer Brock Saunders.
Saunders is a third-generation racer from Hortonville and has led a number of laps, but has yet to close the deal. Look for Saunders to get win No. 1 before the season is done.
Sport Mod competitors Tristan Peebles and Karah Peterson have also shown improvement this summer.
Peebles has won two heats while Peterson has shown that she might be a contender to run in the Top 10.
Peterson is the granddaughter of Shawano ice racing legend Ward Peterson and carries his number 117 on her car.
IMCA Stock Car rookie Trent Nolan is another racer to watch. Nolan has shown good speed at times but needs to get more consistent.
Nolan will have his work cut out for him to win a feature race but should definitely appear in the top five more often as the season winds down.
Late Model rookie Kurt Moeller has also had a good year and currently is sixth in the standings.
Second-year IMCA Modified racer Chad Olson has gotten faster this year, too. Olson has led a number of feature laps and is on the hunt for his first career feature win.
Business will certainly pick up at the historic half mile with only five nights left. See you at the Speedway.
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