CHICAGO WHISPERS
by Stan Kalwasinski 

December 30, 2014

 Chicago, Ill.—With the New Year upon us, let’s do a review of track and association champions from in and around the Chicagoland area.

 Late Model ace Ricky Baker claimed his second consecutive track championship at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, grabbing eight feature wins along the way at the third of a mile paved oval.  Former three-time champion Eddie Hoffman and “ageless” Larry Schuler trailed Baker in the points.  Schuler closed out the season by winning the track’s annual Lee Schuler Memorial race, which honors Schuler’s dad, a former Grundy track champion.

Ricky Baker raced to his second consecutive Late Model title at the Grundy County Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)

 Tom Knippenberg put together another championship season as he won the track’s Mid American Sportsman title for the second straight year.  Knippenberg won nine feature victories during the season.  Eddie Ligue was Grundy’s Street Stock champ, while Austin Blackwell claimed top honors in the Pure Stocks (four-cylinder) division.

 Mike Spatola used three feature wins to help him claim top honors in the DIRTcar United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) Late Model action at the Kankakee County Speedway.  2013 track champion Jay Morris finished second in the points at the quarter-mile dirt raceway.  With a total of five wins to his credit, Mike McKinney was the track’s UMP Modified titlist.

Mike Spatola was the UMP Late Model champion at the Kanakee County Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)

 Other Kankakee champions included David Hurst (UMP Stock Cars), Dave Polak Jr. (UMP Pro Late Models), Chase Osterhoff (UMP Pro Modifieds) and Michael Balthazor (UMP Sport Compacts). 

 Jon Reynolds Jr. won his first NASCAR Late Model title at the Rockford Speedway.  Reynolds posted three feature wins and took the championship ahead of 2013 champ Alex Papini and seven-time track champion, Ricky Bilderback, who returned to full-time action.

 Other track champions at the high-banked quarter-mile paved oval include Brett McCoy (Sportsman), Kelly Evink (American Short Tracker), Bobby Frisch (Roadrunner), Cassidy Frisch (Winged Women on Wheels), Mark Bielefeldt (Hornets), Dennis Smith (Figure 8) and Justin Pearson (Bandits).

 Nailing down three feature wins during the campaign, Rich Bell was the UMP Late Model champion at the LaSalle Speedway for the first time in his career.  The quarter-mile dirt oval saw Travis Kohler become a first-time UMP Modified track champion.  Kevin Lenzen garnered Street Stock division honors with Jake Momper winning the Hornets class title.  LaSalle kicked off the local racing season on March 29 with its annual Thaw Brawl Late Model event with Dennis Erb Jr. winning the $15,000 race.

 Jay Brendle was the Super Late Model champion on the dirt at the Sycamore Speedway, winning his first division title of his career.  Jordan Jackowiak was the track’s Late Model champ with Mike Brancecum (Spectator) Linda Sparks (Powder Puff) and Scott Vetter (Compact) winning other division titles. 

 At Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind., Jeff Cannon captured his fourth Late Model track championship at the half-mile paved speed plant.  2012 champ Eddie Hoffman and Late Model newcomer Chris King trailed Cannon, who won four feature races, in the final points.  Racing on Illiana’s quarter-mile track saw Chris Woodall win his first Turbo Stox division crown with Paul Shafer Sr. winning the Legends title. 

Jeff Cannon garnered his fourth career Late Model championship at Illiana Motor Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)

 For the seventh time in his career, Nick Allen claimed top honors in the UMP Modified competition at the Shadyhill Speedway, the quarter-mile dirt track in Medaryville, Ind.  Allen bested Brad DeYoung by a mere 3.75 points to claim the championship.  Allen finished fifth overall in UMP Modified National standings with 20 feature wins to his credit.

Nick Allen won his seventh career UMP Modified championship at Shadyhill Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)

 Other Shadyhill champs include Cam Bales, who won his second Pure Street division title of his career, Travis Wolford (UMP Stock Cars), Tim Sullivan Jr. (I Mods) and Harley Sutton (Teen 4s).

 Jamie Lomax pretty much tore up the competition in UMP Modified action at Indiana’s Plymouth Speedway.  Overall, Lomax won a total 25 UMP feature wins and finished fourth in the National standings.    Michael Clark (Super Streets), Bryce Shidler (Thunder Stocks) and Billy Cribbs (600 Sprints) were other Plymouth champions for the year.

Jamie Lomax won the UMP Modified title at Indiana’s Plymouth Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)

 The former Kamp Motor Speedway near Boswell, Ind., shuttered since 2009, reopened under the new ownership of Mike Daugherty and a new name – Daugherty Speedway.  The dirt track saw Tim Reynolds win the UMP Modified crown.  Other champions include Mike Staggs (Sportsman), Jerrad Krick (Street Stocks), Mike Reitz (Pure Streets) and Clint Hall (Sport Compacts). 

 Local open-wheel midget racing was again supported by two groups – Short Track Auto Racing Series (STARS) and Illini Racing Series (IRS).

 Racing at the Grundy County Speedway on a pretty much regular Saturday night basis, the STARS association saw Austin Prock win its midget driving championship.  The 19-year-old driver from Avon, Ind., won four feature races in 2014.  Other STARS champs include Greg Wills (Classic Modifieds), Cullen Camasta (Legends) and Dallas Frueh (Super Cup).

 Patrick Bruns won his third consecutive IRS midget title.  Bruns posted six feature wins, driving for car owner, Mike Wallace. 

 For an amazing seventh straight year, Bill Balog, a native of Alaska, was the champion of the Interstate Racing Association (IRA) Bumper-to-Bumper Outlaw Sprint series.  Balog scored 11 feature wins.

 Paved track series champions include Wisconsin’s Ty Majeski, who won the ARCA Midwest Tour title and West Virginia’s Travis Braden, who won the ARCA/Championship Racing Association (CRA) Super Series crown for the second straight year.   Michigan’s Dan Leeck won the JEGS CRA All-Stars Tour championship with local competitor Josh Nelms finishing second in the points.  Wisconsin’s Casey Johnson won the Big 8 Late Model Series crown for a second consecutive time.

              Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., captured the DIRTcar UMP National Late Model championship.  The 17-year-old son of Hall of Fame driver, Bob Pierce, scored 14 victories during the season.   Devin Gilpin of Columbus, Ind., picked up his third consecutive UMP Modified National championship, winning 33 times in Modified competition.

 The year was not without sorrow as a number of members of the racing community passed away including former stock car drivers Ed Hoffman, Jim Sauter, Dick Potts, Rich Sundling, Tom White and Russ Foust, along with open wheel speedsters Gary Bettenhausen, Newt White and Ronnie Kaplan and track officials, Al Chodora and Tim Luchene.  Rest In Peace, Gentlemen.

 The address for news and comments is 9618 Cypress Ave., Munster, Ind. 46321-3418 or e-mail to skalwasinski@yahoo.com.

 END