The smell of high octane fuel and rubber burning. The sound of a 355-cubic inch racing engine roaring. On the weekend this is what I live for. This weekend was the 40th annual Spring classic at the Rockford Speedway. So here is a little background. My parents took me to the Rockford Speedway for the first time when I was about 5 years old. I heard the roar of the engines and cars going really fast around this quarter mile oval. I fell in love with the sport. We would go to the races every weekend when we would stay at my fathers after my parents divorced. Â Rockford Speedway is not the only track in the area but was as close to home as you can get. We would travel all over the state of Wisconsin and visit other area tracks like Madison International Speedway, Jefferson Speedway, Slinger and Lacrosse. Â As a kids my sister and I would pick who would win the races no matter what division and there was always a dollar for the winner.
Well lets fast forward to 2001. I had just graduated high school and was given an invitation to come out to the speedway from my best friend. We never knew what he was doing on the weekends until we went to the track. He started off racing in the lower division (American Short tracker) and by the end of his first season he wanted more of an adrenaline rush. He moved up to the late model division. At the time, I was doing some crew work for him. I got to learn the inside and out of his car. All the mechanical things that you need to know to make a car go fast. His first season he won a few heat races. Then I enlisted in the army in the summer of 2003. I kept in contact with him. He was getting better until he got into the wrong crowd. Unfortunately, we lost him in 2006 to an accident which should have never happened. I miss him every day.
(Rockford Speedway Late Model)
I returned to Illinois on February 19,2015. Of course, driving back into Machesney Park you can’t miss the Speedway. I used to pull into the parking lot and just think of the weekends of the past. The passion was burning to get back into the pit area. In April 2015, my sister invited me to go to the races. It was the season opener granted we were only in the stands but the smells and sounds heightened my imagination. I wanted to get back into the pit crew scene. I found a driver who was looking for a guy and worked with him in the beginning of the season. Things didn’t pan out by the way I wanted and I was coming out of pocket for entry. Around mid-season 2015 I linked up with another driver. I started doing what I loved again changing tires, checking pressures, and writing stats. I came up with a stats book to track everything the car was doing and with the vast knowledge I have learned from years earlier it all started coming back. 2016 I worked a full season tracking stats, changing tires, and getting the car faster. We traveled with a series all over Wisconsin. Different tracks almost 2-3 times a month. Our home track was the Rockford Speedway. We would earn points based on qualifying and finishes in each race. At the end of 2016 we finished in the top 10 of the travel series. We finished in the top 8 at our home track.
On April 22, 2017 I was browsing Facebook and saw the lineup for the season opener at the speedway. Big 8 series late models, Mid-American stock cars, and Legends were scheduled to race on the 23rd. I have a good friend who races the Mid-American series. I wrote him on Facebook and asked him if he needed any help. He replied and said if you would like to help I have a car that needs a crew man. I showed up at the speedway around 10 am, paid my way in, and walked down the gravel path to my destination. I met with my friend and I was a little late getting there. The car I was supposed to be working on was already on the track. I watched as the car made a few laps and noticed the car was sliding around. The driver brings the car in to the pits and pulls into his stall. We get introduced and I start to do my tasks. I check the tire pressures and the stagger on the car. I notice that the car was way off from where it was supposed to be. We lift the hood off the car. I notice that one of the shocks was rubbing against the control arm. We change out the shock and send the car back onto the track for another set of laps. The car settled in the corner where he was sliding. The problem was fixed. Before the last practice session, we put brand new sticker tires on the car. We set the car up to run 3 laps to break the new tires in. He brings the car in so we can set it up for qualifying. We end up qualifying last but with a faster time than any of the previous laps ran today. We set the car for the heat race where there was some stiff competition. We finish the heat in 2nd. On to the feature, we set the car just like before. After about 25 laps in the feature race the driver brings the car in and says it has lost power. We push the car back to the pit stall and pull the hood off. We were looking around to see what had caused the malfunction. I look at the top of the alternator and the nut that holds the power wire had fallen off. We load the car on to the trailer and our day was finished.
I love racing and working on race cars. It has been my passion my entire life. Weekends can’t come fast enough because the season has started. If you like racing come on out to the speedway and enjoy the races.
