“It takes a village to run a race car,” said first year V-8 Modified driver Chris Rudolph of Gibsonia.

“As a 5 year-old kid, I remember that dad (John Rudolph) was racing Semi-Lates and I helped him through my school years.”

John collected 15 feature wins in his impeccably neat No. 32 and later ran the Senior Series. “Dad’s state inspection number was 523, so he picked his number from those digits,” Rudolh said.

After graduating from Pine Richland, Chris attended Vale Technical School, where he got an associates degree. He now owns Rudolph Auto Repair.

While in his teens? Chris started racing in Enduros for a year and a half. “My best finish was a fourth,” he claimed. His car is numbered 25.

“I took it from my dad’s state inspection sticker, too,” he chuckled.

In 2017, Chris bought an E-Mod from Clayton Kennedy.

“I wanted to be competitive and have fun chasing my dream of racing that I had for a long time.” he said. “It was thrilling being able to run with guys that I have watched over the years.”

He scored several top tens and a feature win at Marion Center. Then around mid-year, the track decided to cancel the E-Mod division.

“That meant we were forced to drive two hours to Bedford or Sharon,” lamented Rudolph.

They wanted to race closer to home and cut the travel time. Lernerville Speedway was a perfect fit for them.

Since Lernerville did not have an E-Mod division, they sold their racer and purchased a V-8 Modified Bicknell Chassis that was originally bought by Steve Feder, to race in the 2018 season.

Currently the team is 11th in the point standings and their best finish is a ninth in this division.

“It definitely is a lot more difficult than I anticipated,” said Rudolph. “The suspension and the tires are different from the E-Mod, and you sit in the middle of the race car.”

He and his wife Kerri have five children between them, ranging in age from 15 -22; Andy, Jonathan, Tyler, Drew, and Emily.

“Jonathan and Andy help me with the car,” Rudolph proudly shared. “Emily helps clean the car and draws a smiley face on the racer before each heat and feature.”

The Rudolphs are close friends with the Chuck Kennedy family and park beside them in the pits.

“They have been instrumental with helping me, mainly with advice,” said Rudolph. “I always liked watching Chuck race. I have been a Jeff Gordon fan all of my life too!” Steve McDonald, who was formally with Tommy Winkle’s team, is his crew chief.

Outside of racing, Rudolph prefers outdoor activities like hunting. They have a camp in Tionesta where the entire family enjoys boating, skiing and tubing. He recently restored the late Glade Neal’s Senior Series racer.

“I like to concentrate on racing one night a week,” said Rudolph. “I couldn’t do anything without all my help.”

Before he goes out on the track Rudolph has a ritual. He looks at three stickers on his dash. One from his daughter reads, “I love you more.” The second is his wife’s name Kerri and the last is Mom. He says a prayer for safety and then he’s ready to race!

New Crate Late Model

Plagued with bad luck so far in 2018, the Late Model team of Mike Pegher and Lynn Geisler have put together a Crate Late Model for the rest of the season. Pegher already recorded a victory at Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in August.

Hall of Famers

Jennerstown Speedway has announced the Hall of Fame inductees that will be enshrined in September. This year’s honorees include drivers Ed Lynch, Sr., Bobby Henry, Jerry Price, Paul Fess, Sr., the late Jack Sotosky, and engine builder “Rocket Rick” Koontz.

Points titles

Mother Nature has abbreviated many track race schedules in 2018 and the regular season point titles are about to be determined this week.

At Lernerville, Mike Norris has already wrapped up the Late Model title, as did Rex King Jr in the Modifieds. In the Sprint class, A J Flick leads Jack Sodeman Jr by nine digits and Corey McPherson has a slim seven-point edge over Tyler Dietz.

Fireworks at the track, compliments of the Butler County Tourism Bureau, will celebrate these championships Friday.

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle