MID-AMERICAN DRIVERS READY TO ‘GROOVE’ AT DRP

Matt Panure
Mid American Stock Car Series
June 8, 2011

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (June 8, 2011) – 54 days – that’s how long Mid-American Stock Car Series drivers will have waited to jump back into action after a thrilling race at Rockford Speedway on April 17. This Saturday June 11 at Dells Raceway Park, drivers and teams will have a chance to free that anxiety.

“I’m extremely anxious to get back out,” said Rudolph, Wis., third-generation driver Brian Back. Back set fast time in all three events at Dells Raceway Park in 2010 en route to setting fast time in all but one MASCS event.

Thanks to a rainout at Norway on May 21, some extra time helped Back get even more prepared for a return to Wisconsin’s Showcase Short Track. “We cleaned the car up a little bit and we’ve been working on a few new things to try to get some more speed,” he said.

While Back and others have simply been waiting, four-time MASCS champion James Swan has been taking the field to school on Sunday nights at Slinger. Swan has won four out of five features and finished second this past week to Dan Church.

The Lake Geneva, Wis., racer said he’s ready to step away from the high banks for a new adventure this weekend. “We’ve been running so well at Slinger that I can’t wait to get some place different. We’ve tried some things and I think we’ve got the car handling really well,” Swan said.

Swan found no luck at DRP last season in three visits – the best finish he could muster was a ninth place in Dells Duel Part Two. He hopes all that is behind him. “I think this car is the best it’s ever been. This is the best chance I’ve had to win (at DRP),” he said.

To find victory lane both drivers will have to find a way to pick through traffic, which was an issue for the MASCS racers last season. In the three races last season, two were won from the front row. Had it not been for Lyle Nowak’s last-lap pass on Travis Rodewald in September, it would have been three.

Although he set fast time, Back registered finishes of ninth, 14th and 21st. His last win at DRP came on May 30, 2009 – some six stops at DRP ago. Back diagnosed why it has become more difficult to get through.

“The more times you go to a place, the more everyone gets conditioned to it,” he said. “When running two or three shows a year at a track, those guys were able to pick up the things I was doing to get around well.”

However, this season MASCS racers will have the new concrete lane as an option. The new groove has spiced up action in all other DRP divisions through the first two weeks of competition. The case should be the same for Mid-American.

“We’re already overpowered and under-tired, so it’s going to be difficult,” Swan said. “But I’m excited because it’s changed things up just like it was supposed to do.”

Back, whose father and grandfather both turned countless laps around DRP, is excited to have the new option. “I think it will help me. It depends on how much grip there really is down there,” he said. “If it’s remotely close to the same as the low groove, then I would say it’s going to help me.”

While any central Wisconsin race is a homecoming of sorts for Back, a trip to the Dells also lands Swan in familiar territory with his primary sponsor Hankscraft, Inc. just 15 miles down the road in Reedsburg.

“It’s exciting for me to get up there two or three times a year,” Swan said. “There is always a big group of fans and employees from Hankscraft to cheer us on.”

Qualifying for Dells Duel Part One is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. with racing slated to start at 6 p.m.

Also, through Boring Bob's TOURs, fans can sign up for a chance to win a trip to Phoenix for a NASCAR weekend in November with MASCS racer Paige Decker and Decker Racing. The trip includes airfare from Milwaukee, Wis., one ticket to the NASCAR Nationwide Race and Sprint Cup race and a four night stay in Phoenix. Shuttle service to and from the track will also be provided. Fans can sign up BOTH times Mid-American is at DRP, to double their chances to win. The trip will be given away during Dells Duel Part Two on Aug. 20.

For more information on the Mid-American Stock Car Series visit www.midamericanracing.com

Dells Raceway Park is located at N1070 Smith Road, five minutes north of downtown Wisconsin Dells, Wis., off highway 12-16. For more information including the latest news, the 2011 schedule and more visit www.dellsracewaypark.com.