Enough of watching the race from the pits!

All of the excitement is happening beyond the pit gate. Steve Slater helped Dave Murdick as a pit crew member for 16 years before making the decision to get behind the wheel of his own race car.

“I was on the pit crew all that time and enjoyed it, but one day I just decided it wasn’t satisfying enough anymore. I figured it was time to get my own Modified. I bought my first car from Tim Temple that was numbered 35 and decided to keep that as my own. As a matter of fact, I still have that car in the garage,” Slater said.

Slater has been driving now for eight years.

“I had four years in the Rush Modifieds and got three feature wins, one being in Lernerville’s “Stampede”. Then I joined the Lernerville Big-Block class. There is more talent and experience here, but I am still having a lot of fun! I am thankful for all my sponsors, the people that help me out and the fans,” he said.

Slater is currently eighth in the points standings, with four top ten finishes.

Slater owns Steve’s Auto Body in Butler. Krill Recycling and Advanced Auto Parts help sponsor his car. There is not much time for other recreational activities.

“When I am not at home working on my car, I am at the body shop,” he said.

His pit crew consists of crew chief Dale Stevenson, Troy Angert, and Adam Beil. Murdickhas been driving Slater’s back-up car for three weeks while his was getting repaired.

Steve enjoys watching NASCAR’S Kyle Larson race: “He is very talented and means a lot to the sport. Kyle is very cool, level headed and can win in practically anything he drives. If he came to Lernerville, I’d let him drive my Modified. You get to know a lot of people in racing and they are like family and you can rely on them to help you. They are all friends. The Big-Block class has a lot of respect!”

STAR Family Event

Lernerville hosted the fourth annual STAR Family Event recently.

Modified driver Chris Rudolph has organized this event each year with the help of Garrett Krummert, Rick Regalski, and a group of other drivers. They did fundraising in the form of some awesome Silent Auction Prizes. There were many beautiful baskets donated by race teams, fans, and autographed race car panels contributed by numerous drivers as part of the raffle raising over $3,000 for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

You just love to see the support race teams and fans put into events like these! Chris Rudolph also did a great job setting up the “Ride for Kids” event that gave them a chance to drive around the track in the pace truck.

Delayed honeymoon

A few weeks ago, Sprint driver Brandon Spithaler and his wife Nikita took their delayed honeymoon trip to Scotland.

They both are history buffs. One of Nikita’s majors in college was World History and part of her grandmother’s heritage was Scottish. They thoroughly enjoyed seeing the castles and visiting battle fields. It was a thrill to ride Harry Potter’s train that runs daily. The Hogwarts Express is in fact a highly famous steam train, the “Jacobite”, that takes passengers 84 miles through mysteriously misty lochs and the green hills of the Scottish Highlands. It doesn't just look like the famously magical Potter-train, it is the actual vehicle used for filming.

Knocking on the door

Seventeen-year-old Late Model driver Levi Yetter is knocking on the door of his career first win!

Recently, the Knoch senior garnered a second place at Marion Center Speedway. He earned a spot in the big Lernerville “Firecracker” Late Model feature that had the top 24 drivers in the USA competing, finishing 21st and collected $2,200. He is currently fifth in the track points battle —179 — that Tyler Dietz leads with 219. Look for him to win that elusive first victory soon!

Special memory

DJ Johnson reported that Latrobe Speedway will honor the memory of Ron Schmucker, the son of the Speedway’s founder, Paul Schmucker. Ron Schmucker passed away on Feb. 8, 2022. Ron drove race cars for many years and, along with his father, were the original owners of Schmucker's Speedway. Ron is survived by his wife, Judy, and three children, Natalie, Juliann, and Rodney.

Racing notes

Logan Schuchart dominated the Sprint 50-lap Eldora Speedway Million to become racing’s newest millionaire last week. He is the grandson of Sprint driver Bobby Allen, age 79, who many referred to as “Scruffy” at Lernerville. The winner’s share of the Tony Stewart Foundation’s 50/50 raffle eclipsed $107,000.

Sprint driver Davey Jones made his 2023 Lernerville debut last Friday. This is his 49th season that began when he was 18-years-old!

“I always say 60 is the new 45,” said senior driver Bob Felmlee. It was nearly two years to the day since he won his last sprint feature. At Tri-City Raceway, Felmlee was glued to the inside line at the start of the race and he drove away from Brandon Spithaler for the victory. AJ Flick was third.

The Autism Awareness 50 for Super Late Models at Lernerville boasts a $10,000 winner’s check July 28, for the Fab Four event. The Tomson family has hosted Autism Awareness Night for the last five years, but the major increase in Late Model payout is a new feature.

Jeff Stull, from Thrower Cement Company, made some calls to a list of local business friends asking for donations and they were quite receptive. That evening there will be a silent auction for Autism Awareness. Local businesses, race teams and fans are donating baskets, die cast cars and racer’s side panels. Stull said, “Everyone I talked to was super gracious!”

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle