Watching ‘The Gray Ghost’
Schmeissing emerges with four heat wins and three features at Grundy County Speedway
No one has carried the checkered flag more times this season at Grundy County Speedway than Dan Schmeissing.
The Manhattan resident went into Friday’s program with four heat wins and three features.
Schmeissing only ranks third, however, in the 4-cylinder division standings. Too many disqualifications as a result of the division breakout rule.
How many?
“I’m not keeping count of DQs this year,” Schmeissing joked. “I’m only keeping count of the wins.”
The number of disqualifications is six, counting heats and features. But he’s not complaining.
Schmeissing, in fact, is one of the biggest proponents of the breakout rule, which limits the lap speed the 4-cylinder cars can reach during an event.
“In our type of racing, the different makes and models of the 4-cylinder cars have different packages,” Schmeissing said. “We have weightto-horsepower issues. And beyond that, there is so much aftermarket stuff you can do with 4-cylinders that can be hidden in motors. And they’re not going to tear down a motor in tech for a $100 payout.
“It can be very aggravating, but the rule is basically the great equalizer for the whole division.”
Schmeissing, 44, is in his 11th season of racing. He has two track titles at Grundy, and also raced successfully in the pure stocks division at Illiana Speedway.
“This is my Friday night getaway,” Schmeissing said. “I can release all of my energy out on racing. And then after the races, we have an even better time hanging out. You can’t put a price tag on that.”
Schmeissing bought his first 4-cylinder car on eBay and debuted at Grundy in 2011. The Honda Prelude became known as “The Gray Ghost.”
“I don’t remember who actually named it,” Schmeissing said. “The car was painted all gray. Somebody said it the one time, and the name just stuck.”
Schmeissing is a late bloomer behind the wheel, but he has been a lifelong racing fan.
“It goes back to the Raceway Park days,” Schmeissing said. “I grew up in Richton Park, so in the 1980s we used to go to Raceway Park. Then we purchased a summer place in Seneca, and from there we’d go to Grundy on Friday nights.
“Mike Varner was one of my favorites. I always say my first trip to victory lane was with Mike Varner. The year he won the championship, I have a picture with him in victory lane down on the track. Whenever he comes out to watch the special events, I bump into him and we tell some good stories.”
Taking flight: Ricky Baker led all 30 laps of the late model feature. It wasn’t close.
“I just kept going,” Baker said. “I’m trying to make this car better. Cruising around, you don’t really know what you’ve got. I went pretty hard the whole time, and obviously it showed.
“I haven’t been able to get this car to qualify all year. It’s driving me nuts. Hopefully, we can figure that out.”
Splendid second: Runner-up Dean Patterson was left in the dust by Baker, but he held his own against a talented pack behind him to record the best late model feature finish of his career.
Along the way, he won out in a grueling side-by-side battle with Larry Schuler.
“I feel a little bad that I got into him,” Patterson said. “But second place is like a win to me right now. It’s been very frustrating for a couple of years. Some key people helped me out, and I think we’re going in the right direction. A great time, man. Hopefully, more to come.”
Schuler held off Eddie Hoffman for third place. Anthony Danta and D.J. Weltmeyer completed the top six.
Make it three: Tristan Batson’s climb to being a Mid-American title
contender has been, in his own words ...
“Pretty crazy,” Batson said. “We went from not knowing if we could get heat race wins to being able to score a few features.”
Batson went wire-to-wire for his third victory. Aaron Shelton finished a close second, ahead of Kevin Murphy, David Einhaus, Kenny Benson and Blake Brown.
Scotty Gardner made a dramatic last-lap pass of Eddie Ligue to earn the first street stock feature win of his career. Landon Hocking swept the Super Cup heat and feature.
Colton Alexander won the 4-cylinder main.