Riding with Outlaws
BUFFALO TWP — Brian Ellenberger knew what he was up against when he decided to compete full time in the World of Outlaws Sprint Series.
He still does.
After hitting the track with them on a regular basis, Ellenberger, 43, of Center Township, has even more respect for his Outlaws counterparts.
"When you race against them a couple of times a year, you want to do well, but you know it's a long shot," he said. "When you're on the same track as them night after night ... these guys are incredible."
Through 38 Outlaws shows this season, Ellenberger has three top-10 finishes and one top-five: a third-place finish at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas June 12.
Ellenberger's other two top-10 finishes were in Michigan and Wisconsin. All three performances were on tracks he never raced on before.
He stands 11th in the Outlaws points race, trailing Lucas Wolfe by 51 points for 10th place.
Even returning to his home track of Lernerville Speedway for last week's Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race didn't change his luck for the better. Ellenberger failed to finish higher than 20th in either of the two 30-lap features.
Before that night, he had finished among the top 10 in his last seven Lernerville appearances.
"I know I have a long way to go," he said. "We're taking on the best in the business now. It's going to be a step-by-step process."
Ellenberger has 15 Sprint car wins in a career that dates back to 1996. Joey Saldana has 12 wins this season on the Outlaws tour alone and Steve Kinser has well over 500 career Outlaws feature triumphs.
Entering this year, Ellenberger had never raced on 70 percent of the tracks on the Outlaws schedule. He embarked upon a season that is comprised of 75 race dates from Feb. 6 through Nov. 7.
"No matter what track we're on, the size of it, the location, what time of year it is, what the weather conditions are, Steve Kinser is hooked up every single night," Ellenberger said. "I mean, the guy is practically perfect.
"Saldana and Donny Schatz have been dominating (22 wins between them). Those guys are at the top of the heap and there's so much talent right behind them. When you look where I am, it's a long climb," he added.
Ellenberger is coming off a career-high five feature wins last season, when he primarily followed the All-Star Series. Todd Hutchison is his crew chief for the seventh consecutive season.
While great finishes have been hard to come by, he describes his Outlaws experience to date as "awesome, extremely exciting.
"I never knew there were so many different tracks out there," he said. "We raced on three different tracks in North Dakota in three nights. They were different sizes with different surfaces. The California tracks are unbelievable.
"The travel in general is one of the biggest adjustments."
One of 12 full-time drivers on the Outlaws tour, Ellenberger participated in races in Florida, Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Indiana and South Dakota — all by May 1.
"We race three or four nights a week," Ellenberger said. "We usually stay in a motel, but there are times when we sleep in the truck.
"You're going non-stop. It's the ultimate challenge in racing. I'm not shocked over anything I've experienced, I'm just experiencing it for the first time."
