Published: April 8, 2014
Area racers get out onto track for 1st tests
12-year-old tries out limited late model
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
SLINGER — For someone who won’t be 13 until October, Grant
Griesbach talks like a polished veteran on the race track.
“We got to the point where we weren’t learning anymore,” the
Waukesha native said. “We just thought we should get into something bigger and
better.”
Griesbach completed his first test session Sunday at Slinger
Superspeedway in a limited late model, making the jump from the Slinger Bees.
“I think it went pretty good,” Griesbach said about the test
session. “I learned the lines of the track and how to control the car.”
“It’s ... different,” he added. “It’s got three times the
power. It’s got rear-wheel drive and there’s a whole different line around the
track.”
Griesbach, a two-time feature winner in the Slinger Bees,
was one of a handful of area stock-car drivers who finally got onto a race
track over the weekend in preparation for the rapidly approaching 2014 season.
Slinger regulars Adam Peschek, John DeAngelis and James Swan
tested Saturday at Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, Ill. Peschek and DeAngelis
are slated to compete in Sunday’s 37th annual Spring Classic at Rockford, while
Swan is expected to compete in a 150-lap race Saturday at Toledo Speedway in
Toledo, Ohio, with the ARCA Midwest Tour.
Swan was the series’ Rookie of the Year last year.
Later this week, Chris Blawat and defending super late model
champion Steve Apel are scheduled to test.
On June 17, 2012, Griesbach became one of the youngest
feature race winners in Slinger history when he won the Slinger Bees feature at
10 years old.
He went on to collect 10 top-five finishes in 14 starts that
season, including eight in a row. He was also second in laps led in the
division (29), trailing only division champion Nick Schmidt (62).
In 2013, Griesbach won another feature and eight top-five
finishes in 17 starts, including five in a six-race stretch.
He finished third in the points in both seasons.
“They were a lot of fun,” Griesbach said of the Slinger Bees
cars. “It was a good jump from go-karts.”
Griesbach has been racing since he was 5 years old. He raced
go-karts in Dousman. At 6 years old, he finished second in his division in the
points standings.
Griesbach expects to race the full limited late model
schedule this season at Slinger.
The track’s 67th season begins April 27.
He thought about moving up to the area sportsman or midwest
sportsman division. But he and his crew decided to go to late models because
they will run each week at Slinger.
Griesbach has three more test sessions scheduled before the
open practice date at Slinger, which is April 26.
“Our goal is to get used to the car, get as much seat time
as we can,” Griesbach said, adding he turned about 150 laps Sunday.
“It was a little more power than expected,” he added. “It
had a lot more than I thought. For the first couple laps, we were just getting
used to the track. We did a lot of short sessions.”
Also in the offseason, Griesbach did some testing with the
INEX Legends on asphalt in Charlotte.
“We thought that was comparable to a late model,” he said.
“We thought it’d help us adapt to everything a lot quicker.”
Griesbach does also hope to race an asphalt legend car in
Madison this summer.
“I’m really excited to get on the track and race,” he said.
“I want to get to NASCAR one day.”
Griesbach is scheduled to test again Sunday, along with Ken
Schraufnagel, Nick and Mike Egan and Tyler Schley. Defending limited late model
champion Ryan DeStefano is scheduled to test April 18.
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