Benjamin becomes youngest ARCA winner

National Speed Sport News: Aug. 26, 2013

http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/stock-cars/arca-stock-cars/benjamin-becomes-youngest-arca-winner/

By Nicholas Dettmann

OREGON, Wis. - Kyle Benjamin was on a nice Sunday drive through the country of southern Wisconsin on a hot and humid late summer day.

Benjamin is 15 years old and isn’t licensed to drive on the streets on his own.

Benjamin, a 15-year-old teenager who isn’t licensed to drive on the streets on his own, stole the show from local favorites Ross Kenseth and Travis Sauter by leading the final 131 laps of the ARCA Racing Series Herr’s Live Life With Flavor 200 at Madison Int’l Speedway.

With the victory, Benjamin became the youngest driver to win a race in the ARCA Series.

“You’ve always got to be a little bit scared when Ross is behind you because he’s a really good driver,” Benjamin said. “He’s tough to beat. ... You’ve always got to worry about him.”

That was especially the thought as Kenseth was racing on his home track, where he’s won five times, for his ARCA debut.

“It’s a big deal to beat Ross anywhere, whether it’s a late model or in a foot race,” Benjamin said. “He’s a great driver. He’s really fast and I respect him a lot. It’s a big deal for me to win the race and beat him.”

Benjamin, a native of Easley, S.C., was already the youngest pole-sitter in the series’ history, which he accomplished for the May 19 race at Toledo Speedway.

“The car was really good,” Benjamin said. “It was a top-five car in the first run. Then we made that (pit) stop and we changed two tires and (crew chief Kevin Reed) made some adjustments, exactly what I needed to go out and run good in the second (run).

“He’s the best crew chief around. That’s what crew chiefs are for. He gave me a shot to win the race.”

James Buescher was the youngest winner in series history before Benjamin, having won at USA International in Lakeland, Fla., in 2007. He was two days shy of his 16th birthday when he took the checkered flag in an ARCA Series event. Benjamin won’t turn 16 until November.

“It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me,” said Benjamin about just winning an ARCA race. “I’m ecstatic. I’m not going to sleep tonight. I’m not going to sleep tomorrow night. It’s a big deal.”

Justin Boston finished second. Frank Kimmel dropped to 0 for 6 in his attempt to become the series’ all-time winningest driver by finishing third. Kimmel tied legendary driver Iggy Katona after winning at Winchester Speedway on June 30 with 79 victories, six races ago.

Kimmel has 25 straight top-10 finishes and five straight top-fives.

Benjamin, in a way, almost felt guilty for winning because so many drivers in the series have far more experience than he does, like Kimmel, who has been racing longer than Benjamin has been alive. But Kimmel can’t and won’t deny the teen’s talent.

Benjamin won three straight races at New Smyrna (Fla.) in 2012 when he was just 14 years old and won the 37th annual Hardee's Rattler 250 at the South Alabama Speedway in late March.

“He just does a good job and always has,” Kimmel said. “He did a great job.”

Spencer Gallagher and Mason Mingus rounded out the top five.

The final margin of victory for Benjamin over Boston was an overwhelming 7.09 seconds or almost one full straight away. The race broke two track records for the series: time of race (1:15:44) and average speed (79.21 mph).

Kenseth finished sixth.

Sauter had a rough day as he chased for his 11th straight feature win at Madison. Troubles with a brake caliper early in the race dropped him to eight laps behind the leader. He finished 16th, 19 laps behind the leader.

“The car just got super, super loose,” Sauter said. “I just tried to ride it to the first pit stop then the brake pedal went to the floor.”

Kenseth’s debut had a lot of excitement surrounding it in the week leading up to the race. There was also a lot of excitement around Sauter, who made his NASCAR debut with the Nationwide Series on Aug. 3 at Iowa.

The track has a lot of history for the Kenseth family. Kenseth’s father, 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, won a championship on it in 1994. He is a 28-time winner at the track in two divisions. He is fifth on the all-time wins list at the track in the super late model division with 26. Only Dick Trickle (72), Joe Shear (66), Tom Reffner (58) and John Ziegler (30) have more. Kenseth, who was fresh off his victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol the night before, was in attendance.

Ross Kenseth was the event’s top qualifier with a fast-lap time of 18.217 seconds on the half-mile oval. He led the first 51 laps of the race and appeared to be in control of the race.

“We were the best car,” he said.

A crash by William Gallaher on lap 49 brought out the race’s first caution. Kenseth was among a large group of cars to make a pit stop, including Benjamin. Just before the field was going to restart the race, Kenseth returned to pit lane to make a minor adjustment.

It had a major consequence. For the rest of the race, Kenseth struggled mightily with an ill-handling race car.

Kenseth was in second place with 15 laps to go. With four laps to go, he quickly fell to fifth. Mingus passed Kenseth on the last lap to break into the top five.

“We made a bad adjustment in the pits,” Kenseth said. “It was 100 percent my call. We should’ve just left it alone.

“We went the wrong way with the adjustment and it really hurt us. We raised the track bar to free it up in the middle and it just killed the right rear tire in the long run. I had the best car here today. I just didn’t get it done.”

The last caution came out lap 67 after contact between Brennan Poole and Michael Lira coming off Turn 2.

Kimmel was the race leader at the time, ahead of Boston and Mingus. They pitted under the caution, while Benjamin stayed out, running in fourth.

Benjamin never relinquished the lead. The green flag came back out on lap 73 and stayed out until the checkered flag flew.

“When you have a long run like that, you’re thinking this is too good to be true to go all the way to the end green like this,” Benjamin said. “It really surprised me. I’m happy.”

Running that many laps without a caution isn’t unprecedented. Last year at Berlin, the series ran 162 consecutive green-flag laps.

“It’s always in the back of your mind,” he said about a possible caution toward the end of a race, especially after a long green-flag run. “You’re worried, sitting there thinking, ‘OK. Forty (laps) to go, no caution. Thirty to go, no caution. Please no caution.’

“It was on me because I was out there riding like that. I did not want to see a caution.”

Kenseth was able to give Benjamin a slight challenge just beyond the halfway point as Benjamin struggled with lapped traffic. Once clear of the traffic, Benjamin cruised to the victory.

“We really needed that last caution to come in and put four (tires) on and make that adjustment to where we had it before,” Kenseth said. “It’s 100 percent my fault. It wasn’t broke; shouldn’t have fixed it.”

“The car was fast and everybody knew it,” he added. “We just came up short in the race.”

Right now, Benjamin can only compete on the short tracks. He’s not old enough. However, he hopes the age to race on the bigger tracks is lowered to 16 as he said there has been talk about doing just that.

What a way to end the summer for Benjamin. He starts his sophomore year of high school next week. He is home-schooled.

“I’ll be in a good mood,” he said with a glowing smile.

It also didn’t take long for a NASCAR reference to be dropped in.

“I hope somebody picks me up,” Benjamin said.

Ross Kenseth working toward NASCAR

National Speed Sport News: Aug. 26, 2013

http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/stock-cars/arca-stock-cars/ross-kenseth-working-towards-nascar/

By Nicholas Dettmann

OREGON, Wis. - Ross Kenseth didn’t get the result he was hoping for, but it was a major step toward the ultimate goal: the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

And, in another month, he’ll look to make another one, on a dirt track.

Kenseth, the 20-year-old son of 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, finished sixth in his debut with the ARCA Series presented by Menards on Aug. 25 at Madison International Speedway. He was the fastest in qualifying and led the first 51 laps of the race.

However, a miscalculated adjustment may have cost him the race and that left him visibly frustrated sitting on the pit wall afterward.

On the race’s first caution on lap 51, Kenseth, the race leader at the time, changed two tires, which was required for the event. Then, just before the restart, Kenseth came back into the pits and made a track bar adjustment. He made his car become a handful the rest of the day.

“It was 100 percent my fault for working on the car,” Kenseth said. “We had the best car and ran the best times. We probably could’ve come out of here with a win, and anything short of that would have been disappointing.”

Fifteen-year-old Kyle Benjamin won the race for his first career victory.

Kenseth drove for Ken Schrader, who earlier this year became the series’ oldest winner at age 57. Kenseth was sponsored by his long-time supporter, Blain’s Farm and Fleet, a local company which is headquartered about 30 miles from the track.

Right now, he doesn’t know if he’ll get another with the ARCA Series.

Frank Kimmel, the nine-time series champion, believes Kenseth won’t have to wait long for his next chance.

“I wasn’t really around him a whole lot today,” Kimmel said. “But I’ve seen him in his late model and he’s a smart racer, just like his dad. He’s a good racer. He’ll be fine.

“He’s got the right last name. I can see (NASCAR) happening someday.”

Kenseth made his late model debut in 2007 at 151 Speedway in Columbus, Wis., which is about 20 miles northeast of Madison. In 2008, Kenseth won his first late model race at Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells and added five more victories that season.

In 2009, he won the Big 8 Late Model Touring Series championship, winning a series-best five features. In 2010, he was the ASA Midwest Tour, now ARCA Midwest Tour, Rookie of the Year. He won eight races that season in a late model.

In 2012, he won the All-American 400 in Nashville, the Winchester 400 in Indiana and the Red Bud 300 in Anderson, Ind. He and short-track legend Butch Miller are the only drivers to win the Winchester 400 and the All-American 400 in consecutive weekends.

“He’s a great race car driver,” Kimmel said. “I think these cars have so much more horsepower than what he’s used to. He did a hell of a job. He was one of the guys to beat and that was what we expected. It was a pretty cool day for him, I’m sure. Next time I’m sure he’ll do better.”

The big event up next on the young Kenseth’s schedule is school.

Kenseth is going into his third year at Clemson University in South Carolina, where he is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering.

In the middle of classes and homework, the budding star plans to get dirty.

He is signed on to compete in his first dirt race Sept. 27-28 at Chilton Speedway in Chilton, Wis., about an hour south of Green Bay. Chilton is a quarter-mile dirt track and it is hosting the Fall Invitational, which is an event that expects to have about 300 cars spread across eight divisions.

Kenseth will compete in a late model normally run by Brad “JJ” Mueller, a close friend.

“I look forward to every race,” Kenseth said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun and something new for me.”

Mueller is a three-time super late model track champion at Slinger Superspeedway and is a champion in the late model division at the Plymouth Dirt Track, about an hour north of Milwaukee. Mueller is leading the points this year as the track heads into its final points night this weekend. It’d be Mueller’s second championship in three years. He lost the 2012 title by one point.

“I figure before Ross gets away from all of us and he’s down south for good, I thought I’d be that guy to give him an opportunity to drive a dirt car,” Mueller said Aug. 25 after Slinger’s regular Sunday night program. “I think he’s very talented and I think he’ll do really well in the car.”

Earlier this summer, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competed at Eldora Speedway, a dirt track in Ohio, with the Mudsummer Classic. Austin Dillon won the race, an event that got a lot of praise.

“I’ve really wanted to try a dirt track for the past four or five years and when Brad approached me with this opportunity didn’t have to think twice,” Kenseth said. “I have wide open expectations for how the race will go, but I’m excited to give it a shot and have some fun.”

Mueller said it’ll be a challenge, but one Kenseth can handle.

“In a dirt late model, you’ve got a 2,300-pound car that makes 800 horsepower,” Mueller said. “They’re amazing. His eye balls are going to open up.

“The first time I jumped in one, my heart like you wouldn’t believe. It’s a completely different feel from what he drives now.”

Kenseth’s victory at Winchester was what opened Mueller’s eyes.

“You just don’t go to Winchester and win,” Mueller said. “That place is absolutely amazing and fast. I raced an ARCA there back in the late ’90s and I was like, ‘Man, I’ve never driven on anything like this in my entire life.’

“For him to go there on his first time and win is awesome.”

Mueller believes Kenseth has a future in auto racing because of his demeanor.

“He holds himself real well; he’s comical,” Mueller said. “He doesn’t have any young kid arrogance about him.”

Mueller also admires how Matt Kenseth is bringing his son up through the ranks.

“Matt’s making him work for it, which is more appreciative than anything,” Mueller said. “Yes. He’s got great opportunities. But most dads would rush their kids into a (NASCAR Nationwide) car.”

With a full school schedule, including classes and homework, learning how to race on dirt will have to be done on the fly.

“Besides getting seat time and going to race track, there’s nothing I can really do,” Kenseth said.

Mueller will make one promise to Kenseth: “I think he’ll have an absolute ball.”

Accepting of role

Daily News: Aug. 10, 2013

SEMI-PRO BASEBALL

Accepting of role

Mike Mueller provides rare treat for 7 UP

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor

Mike Mueller has been asked this question so many times he’s lost count: Why did you pitch and not hit?
Well, as a 20-something baseball player dreaming of getting to the major leagues, he believed it was his best way to get to “The Show.”
When the Atlanta Braves drafted Mueller in the 16th round of the 2002 MLB June Amateur Draft, the Braves wanted Mueller to pitch. At 21 years old, Mueller believed it wasn’t a time to be arrogant.
“I wasn’t going to pass it up,” he said.
He was a solid hitter for West Bend East, helping lead the Suns to a state championship in 1999. He continued to be a strong hitter at Triton College in River Grove, Ill., leading the Trojans to a NJCAA World Series appearance in 2000, and at Auburn University.
Still to this day, Mueller remains a threat with the bat in his strong hands.
From 2002-04, pitching was what propelled Mueller to a level most baseball players dream of.
“The ultimate goal is the top, whatever sport you play,” he said. “I would love to have hit, but I did what I could. No hard feelings or no regrets. Pitching may have been my only way in.”
Mueller reached the Advanced A level of the Braves’ organization, playing with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in South Carolina. In his three years of professional baseball, Mueller accumulated a 3-9 record with a 5.26 ERA in 79 games pitched (five starts).
Mueller was drafted twice before he signed with the Braves. He was drafted out of high school by the San Diego Padres in the 23rd round of the 1999 draft, and in the 34th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2000.
“My years of pro ball went well,” Mueller said. “It was pretty exciting to be a part of that. We had some really good teams.”
Mueller played with Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur, two players who have since gone on to Major League Baseball stardom. Mueller doesn’t chat with either player all that much these days. They’re busy and he’s busy.
He also played with Jon Schuerholz at Auburn and then again with the 2003 Rome Braves.
At the time, Schuerholz’s father, John, was the general manager of the Atlanta Braves, who won 14 straight division championships from 1991 to 2005.
Mueller was discovered by the Braves through the Schuerholz connection.
“You just want to get in,” Mueller said about becoming a full-time pitcher in the pro ranks. “You want to have the opportunity to play. I swung the bat well at different college levels, but I always seemed to be in that pitching role.”
Does he think about what might’ve been? Sometimes.
“I think anybody that plays a professional sport and doesn’t achieve that ultimate goal, they’ll ask what if?” he said. “I worked hard to be able to play at that level.”
Today at the age of 31 those experiences have been a benefit for the West Bend 7 UP.
“It’s been a great learning tool for a lot of kids,” 7 UP manager Craig Larsen said. “He can help you learn things in a way that has some serious credibility to it. When Mike Mueller says something, they know it’s legit.”
This season got out to a slow start for Mueller, but, in a way, it was almost expected. He was coming off knee surgery after tearing his patellar tendon at about the halfway point of the 2012 season.
“Right away I thought, we’re coming down the homestretch, two games out of first place,” Larsen recalled. “We were without Bryant Bullock pitching. I was wondering where the runs were going to come from. (Mueller’s) the leader by example.”
This year, after an offseason where it took almost six months to be able to walk up or down stairs, Mueller started 0 for 15 at the plate.
“I wasn’t really sure how my knee was going to react,” Mueller said, adding he wasn’t hesitant, but more conservative on how hard he pushed himself and his knee.
It wasn’t until about a month ago to where Mueller felt like he could step it up.
“I’m still working toward 100 percent,” he said. “When you don’t use a leg for several weeks, you lose a lot. It’s taken awhile to build it back up.”
He’s fared quite well since then.
Since he went hitless in his first three games, Mueller’s had only three hitless games in the next 26.
“Mike makes everyone in our lineup better,” Larsen said.
Since July 1, Mueller is 34 for 60, a .567 batting average with six home runs, 12 doubles and 26 RBIs. For the season, Mueller is 52 for 134 with 10 home runs, 15 doubles and 35 RBIs and a .455 batting average.
“He starts rallies,” Larsen said. “He has such an ability to be able to pick the team up.”
The 7 UP are also 12-2 since July 1 heading into today’s postseason game against Menomonee Falls.
“We’re finally starting to be able to play consistent baseball,” Larsen said. “If we can continue to hit the ball like we have been, good things could happen.”

Bynum a likeable figure

Daily News: Aug. 14, 2013

SEMI-PRO BASEBALL

Bynum a likeable figure

7 UP player has special season

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News Sports Editor

There is a lot to like about Billy Bynum.

This year, he played just as well as he could, and it was pretty good. That’s one reason and one of many.

Bynum, a West Bend 7 UP player, won the league’s Triple Crown, leading the Land O’ Lakes’ Western Division in batting average, home runs and RBIs.

“It must be darn near impossible because, talking to the commissioner, since 1990, there’s been only other person that’s done it,” 7 UP manager Craig Larsen said. That person was Menomonee Falls’ Bob Manders in 2004.

Bynum didn’t have the best overall season on his team. That distinction went to Mike Mueller. The difference is the award only takes in divisional play. That’s where Bynum had the numbers to win the Triple Crown.

Bynum, a 2002 Milwaukee Lutheran High School graduate, batted .493 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in division play. For the regular season, Bynum batted .426 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs. He only went hitless in three of 28 games. Mueller batted .460 with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs, and batted .441 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in division play.

Mueller, a former professional baseball player and a college All-American, has never won the league’s Triple Crown.

“There have been some great baseball players that have come through (the league),” Larsen said.

Other notable players to have played in the division include Ryan Rohlinger, who has played in 46 Major League Baseball games and is in the Cleveland Indians’ farm system, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball coach Scott Doffek.

“With the players in this league, I think it’s got to be one of the tougher leagues to do it,” Bynum said. “I didn’t even have the best year on our team with Mike Mueller. It really was a special season.”

He took his game to another level when Mueller suffered a knee injury at the midway point last season. Having Mueller hurt may have been the best thing to happen to Bynum.

“When Mike went down and I said, ‘Where was I going to get the offense?’ Billy was the one who stepped up. He should’ve been the MVP last year.

“He carried us the second half of the year last year.”

Bynum was clutch, too. Last season, he had five walk-off hits, four of which were home runs. But three of those walk-off home runs came after Mueller’s injury.

“He’s a guy that is capable of handling any position, any spot in the lineup,” Larsen said. “He’s a natural leader by trade. He’s a vocal leader and he shows by example. No situation phases him. If you need a clutch hit, he’ll come up with a clutch hit.”

Bynum is a teacher at his alma mater and is on the football team’s coaching staff. In high school, Bynum played on the varsity baseball team for four years. He was twice all-conference, all-district his junior year and all-state his senior year. He helped lead the Red Knights to a WIAA state championship in 2002.

He also starred on the school’s football and basketball teams. In his senior year, he had a knee injury during the football season, which just about wiped out a chance to be a walk-on at Wisconsin.

Bynum wanted to be a teacher so he went to Concordia University in Mequon. For the Falcons, he played baseball and basketball. He graduated in four years, while playing two sports, with a 3.4 GPA and a degree in education with a minor in Spanish.

“That’s something I’m really proud of,” Bynum said.

“He’s probably, on top of being a baseball player, he’s an even better person,” Larsen added.

It was at Concordia where Bynum was introduced to the 7 UP. After college, Bynum played with a semi-pro team in Hustisford. While playing the game was fun, the drive to and from games wasn’t. He needed something closer. At Concordia, he was roommates with Adam Rohlinger. For a couple years, Bynum begged Rohlinger to put in a good word for him. Then a spot finally opened up.

“About four years ago, he asked me if I was in and I said yes,” Bynum said. “The guys I’ve played with at 7 UP are some really good ball players.”

At 29, there is still a lot of satisfaction playing at this level.

“I know a lot of guys in college that gave up right away and played softball. That’s not for me,” Bynum said.

Having Bynum on the 7 UP has been a blessing for Larsen, especially batting near Mueller.

“It’s been a great luxury to have,” Larsen said.

Formula for success

Appeared in August 2013 issue of Full Throttle Magazine

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

BEAVER DAM, Wis. – A long list of victories and championships in cars and trucks on dirt and asphalt didn’t satisfy Jeff Steenbergen. Something was amiss.

A winner in just about anything with wheels in his racing career, Steenbergen had never won a race while in the top division at a track or in a traveling series. The biggest hole in his career was an “A” main feature victory in the modified division at Beaver Dam Raceway, a track he often came to while growing up.

He accomplished that feat last year, winning the modified “A” main feature June 16, 2012.

“It was really special,” Steenbergen said.

What Steenbergen did to start the 2013 season in the sport modified division at Beaver Dam was special too.

The Watertown driver won the first five features of the season.

“It’s very cool,” Steenbergen said after winning the July 13 feature at Beaver Dam to make it 5 for 5. “Every week I expect it to end. This car is making me look a lot better than I am.

“It’s really hooked up on a rail.”

It sure was.

He took two years off from the sport mods, competing in the grand national division in 2011 and the modified in 2012, and travelled with the Badger Modified Tour. So dating back to 2010, when he won the sport modified track championship, Steenbergen won 11 straight “A” mains, as he won the final six features of the 2010 season en route to the championship.

That streak was halted July 20, ironically, by the driver who won 11 straight features to start the 2011 season: Zeke Bishofberger.

"Tonight was just lucky because of the track conditions and started up front," Bishofberger said after the July 20 feature. "It was a good night."

"It's always a goal: beat the best guy out here."

Up until then, Steenbergen was that guy and still maybe that guy as the season makes it was through its second half.

“It’s definitely not easy, but it’s rewarding against these guys,” Steenbergen said.

 “I think this is one of the best tracks in the state as far as competition goes,” he added. “Everybody’s really stepped up their game this year.”

Steenbergen finished third in the July 20 feature that ended the streak. Disappointed he couldn’t make it 6-for-6? Absolutely. But he knew it was coming.

"Zeke's pretty strong competition," Steenbergen said. "I'm not surprised (he won)."

During Bishofberger's championship run in 2011, there was talk of putting on a bounty on him. If Steenbergen continued to win, the talk grew louder as to whether to do the same. Bishofberger is glad no bounties were set.

"I think they're all right, but you end up with a wrecked race car a lot of times," Bishofberger said. "My dad, back in the day, had some bounties put on him and he came home with a wrecked race car a couple times."

"Bounties," he added. "There's pros and cons. I don't want to end up with a wrecked race car."

The car count was a bit lower in 2011, which Bishofberger believed took a little bit of the excitement away from winning 11 in a row. This year, that's not the case. The competition has vastly improved and so has the car count.

"I was just the class of the field ahead of everybody," he said. "But it's still tough, though. You've got to avoid accidents, play it safe, have things that don't break. There's more than just getting beat. There's beating yourself and your car."

And that’s why Bishofberger believed Steenbergen’s streak was far more impressive.

Steenbergen said he began his racing career the day after he finished high school as his mom wouldn’t let him race until then. He got sucked into racing because his father helped sponsor a Sprint Car in the 1990s.

Almost immediately, Steenbergen, a graduate of Waupun High School, proved he was a winner and was going to remain a winner on dirt or asphalt. In 2000, his rookie year of racing, he was the Formula Indy Racing Association’s Rookie of the Year, finishing second in the points. He won two races and had 17 top-five finishes in 20 starts.

In 2001, he won the Mid-American Super Truck Series Rookie of the Year, winning one race in 11 starts. He also finished in the top three in his first career road-course race (Road America).

In 2002, he brought in his first championship, winning the Mid-American Super Truck Series title, winning one race (Road America) and had 13 top-10 finishes in 14 starts.

For the next couple of years, he took to the short tracks, racing stock cars. And just like he did when he broke into the sport, Steenbergen was tough in a stock car. By 2007, he won a Big 8 Late Model Series feature and set fast time at the Slinger Nationals.

He switched to dirt in 2008, racing a legends car. He won one race in 24 starts and had 15 top-10 finishes. In 2009, he won nine features in a legends car.

This season, Steenbergen has nine feature victories between Beaver Dam, Manitowoc, Oshkosh and Lafayette County Speedway in Darlington. His goal is to win 10 features.

Why 10?

That would top his in-season total of 2009. In all, he has 41 career feature victories in his racing career, including more than 50 preliminary race victories. He has raced dirt modifieds, Midwest Super Trucks, Limited Late Models, Mid-American Stock Cars, Go-Karts, Grand National, Legends, Midgets and Formula Indy Cars and has won in all of them.

He races against others online as well.

Yet winning the modified feature in 2012 was almost the pinnacle of his career.

“That’s all I really wanted to do (at Beaver Dam), so I did more traveling after that,” he said. “It was kind of a dream come true. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time because I used to come here as a kid and watch the races.”

But don’t be fooled, it hasn’t always been this easy for Steenbergen.

Just days before the July 13 feature at Beaver Dam, he had a big crash at Darlington and had to burn a lot of midnight oil to get that car ready just to race.

“It took a lot just the car to the track (Saturday),” Steenbergen said.

His competitors wish he didn’t.

Heading into the five-division double header July 26-27 at Beaver Dam, Steenbergen leads Brandon Schmitt by 50 points. Aaron Muhle is third, 59 points back, and Travis Kleindl and Bishofberger are 61 points back.

Steenbergen is back in the division after he blew the motor to his modified toward the end of the season. Call it a blessing in disguise.