Rick Regalski is a driver with a lot of energy: you might say he is a “super” driver!

Some nights he does double duty behind the wheel of a 410 Modified as well as Scotty Coever's Wingless Sprint. One evening, he drove three divisions adding a 358 Modified.

“I work all winter at my Route 8, Rocky's Bar and Grill to race all summer” he said.

“I watched my Uncle Ralph McBride race Modifieds. I was a drag racer for 11 years. Then I went to the DIRT World Finals at Charlotte and got the itch to buy a bunch of Modified parts and build one.”

There was one problem though, when he sat in the racer seat, his head was above the roll cage. You see Regalski is 6-foot-3. So, he decided to buy a turn-key Modified from Jim Weller and later another from Matt Williamson.

After seven years, he feels he has arrived, winning heats and now a big block Modified feature.

“I get an adrenaline rush just chasing that big win, no matter what division. I just want to learn something, win some in racing and have fun,” Regalski said. “We have a great group of guys. You meet a lot of good people in racing. Next year in 2021, it should be a whole season and I ought to do better!”

Ike Turner is a huge help to him.

“He is here every day to help. Scotty works on the Sprint. Mike Turner works here all the time,too. Guys in the pits will help you to an extent. I've had to shorten the learning curve and hope the stars, moon and sun are all aligned,” Regalski said.

He would like to find more guys like Adam Schnur to help. His mom, Linda Shaffer and girlfriend, Christine Connors, pitch in at the restaurant when he is racing.

Regalski said, “I would like to find a 410 Sprint car, maybe in the future. On the other hand, the more you add cars, you take away for your main focus.”

The Lernerville Speedway 2020 Champions have been crowned! For the third time in four years, AJ Flick reigns supreme in the Sprint class defeating Carl Bowser by 40 points in a race where Sye Lynch scored his first 2020 feature win at the track.Last year, Flick finished second to Jack Sodeman Jr in the title quest. The modest guy who drives with power, strength and conviction is racking up a set of stats that will make him a future Hall of Fame nominee.“My goal is to have a better than 50 % win record,” said Flick. “I have four titles in seven years.”Though he has four victories at Lernerville this season, the most of any Sprint driver, he believes he can do better.“I have a long way to go to learn to get faster if I want to compete with a traveling group like the All Star Circuit of Champions or the World of Outlaws! This is what I am going to focus on in 2021,” he said.For the second consecutive year, Kenny Schaltenbrand won the Late Model title over Tyler Dietz by 16 on the last night of points.After the feature, Schaltenbrand came into the pits and announced, “I'm not racing for points any more!” It was a challenging, nerve wracking evening for him.“Last year I wrapped up the points the week before the end of the regular season. This year it came right down to the wire in the last feature event,” he said.During the evening, Schaltenbrand had two flat tires and starter trouble. He had to drive in one of the most competitive races of the evening with just a small point lead over Dietz. He finished third in the race that Jared Miley won and Dietz was seventh.Rumors were swirling that Shaltenbrand was retiring.“That is not true,” he said.This is his 24th season. I have a hunch that Schaltenbrand may reconsider and go for the “hat trick,” making it three in a row. His nephew, rookie Levi Yetter, was 11th on the final tally, missing the top ten by three points.Garrett Krummert has earned a career first Big Block Modified title.“It feels cool to win this,” he said.Krummert credits driving Jerry Shaffer's crate Modified, which gave him more seat time, thus sharpening his skills to mold him into one of the best drivers around!Jeremiah Shingledecker won the feature, but the championship was between Krummert and John Mollick and Krummert had a 19-point advantage going into the main event. Midway through the race, Mollick went to the pits with mechanical problems and the next lap Krummert broke a right rear axle.Neither returned, so the pit stop determined the victor.Krummert said, “I didn't set out to win it. I don't like racing for points. Everyone talks about it at the end of the season!”The driver feels a lot of pressure.“Lernerville has a rich history of Modified Champions that lasts forever. They might not know who won the races but they do remember the championships!,” Krummert said.Dietz won his second successive Pro Stock Championship with co-owner Chuck Neely and Bob Lambert.Neely said, “I am especially proud because last year Tyler won it with a crate motor and this year we have an open one!”Dietz announced in victory lane that he might not return as the driver with this team in 2021.“I think I might concentrate on my Late Model and try to make it better. Sometimes a person can spread themselves to thin,” he said.Joey Zambotti was the feature winner. Dietz won the title over six-time Pro Stock Champion Corey McPherson by six points.

Lernerville Speedway and the Tomson family will end the season this week with the 13-division DIRT Car Roundup which will take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday.<i>Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle</i>