YORK, Pa. — The next generation tends to be heavily relied upon to keep the heart of a sport alive.
With younger viewers at the track, it's seen in how they are influenced by watching their favorites excel in the local racing scene, and how they look up to drivers like Lance Dewease, Mike Wagner, Gary Stuhler or Rick Eckert.
Right in our own backyard, the Susquehanna Midget Racing Association (SQMRA) has over 100 cars competing on a regular night; tracks like the one behind BAPS Motor Speedway are where the future of the sport lies.
BAPS was an Outlaw track for many years until SQMRA took over in 2019. Drivers race anything from quarter midgets to go-karts and speedsters. Now, the track strictly runs only quarter midgets, but it’s not just when they run 14 different classes.
This is the next generation of drivers, starting as young as 5 years old.
“They learn car control at a very young age. It’s not like driving a 410 sprint car, by any stretch of the imagination, but getting them to understand the importance of flags, listening over the race receiver, which is their ear piece that’s in their ear. They have it just like the big cars do. Lining up and just understanding what to do when things happen," said Josh Henise, president of SQMRA.
There’s 14 different classes and over 100 cars that compete on race day, and if there’s a problem, everyone is there to lend a helping hand.
The kids can race in multiple classes. The more classes, the more laps, the better a driver can be. Zellers Racing has four cars: No. 1 for 6-year-old Mason and No. 3 for 8-year-old Braeden.
“It’s very difficult because you only have so much time and then you already have to go again. Then, again and again and then it’s features and A-Main," said Braeden, quarter midget driver.
With a 60-race schedule for the young drivers, dad Scott Zellers didn’t ever think he’d be busier now than when he was crew chief on the Premier Racing 410 sprint car.
“It’s all mom's fault," said Scott, dad to Braeden and Mason.
He was quick to point the blame at his wife, Kayla. Braeden was six when the family was watching the Tulsa Shootout. That’s when mom asked Braeden if he wanted to race. His answer was yes.
Scott was hopeful to get Braeden into motocross, because that’s where he found his love for racing.
“I said, I’ll make you a deal, you find me a bull rider car. We’ll go look at it and we’ll go get it and give it a shot. Well, it was two hours later, you found one and said, welp, we have to go pick this car up tomorrow. Ok. So, we drove in the snow. Picked it up and we took him down to Lincoln (Speedway), to let him run around first and you could tell, right away, he just got it," said Scott.
Almost every weekend is jam packed at the track, racing Jr. Honda, Jr. Animal and Jr. 160.
Scott says to Braeden sitting in the car, "Do your thing. Smooth, smart and hard."
Braeden’s success started early in the season, and that’s what sparks all the travel around the Mid-Atlantic.
"When you’re going good, it’s easier to keep going good," said Scott.
The Jr. 160 is where Braeden excels. He won the Northeast Dirt Series Championship, racing at three different tracks, but his favorite place to race is an easy one.
“My favorite track would have to be BAPS, which is my home track," said Braeden.
Of course, at the track he also clinches the Jr. Anmial and Jr. 160 Susky After Dark Points Series and he knows, every race, there’s still room for improvement.
“You have to take, from that last race, and make sure you don’t do the same mistakes," said Braeden.
They’re having fun, getting to do everything as a family. But even when they aren’t racing, the boys still challenge each other, while dad works on the cars.
The goal is to have 50 feature wins by the end of the season. Next year, Braeden will be moving up to the senior classes to race in the 9 to 16 age group.
He dreams of possibly, one day, racing at Lincoln Speedway in a 410 or a late model.
Williams Grove
We're less than a week out from the crown jewel event, the National Open. I'd like to say the month of money concludes this weekend, when they race for $75,000 at the National Open, but it gets extended one more week with the rescheduled Tuscarora 50. The World of Outlaws will invade central Pennsylvania for two weeks.
Friday night served as the tune-up for this weekend's big race at Williams Grove. Brent Marks created some space leading, after starting on the pole. There was trouble on the front stretch, with ten laps left when Ryan Smith grabbed Danny Dietrich's rear wheel. He hit the wall and rolled over. Two laps later, Marks broke a gear leading, a week after winning the National Open at Selinsgrove. He handed the lead over to Dewease.
Nearly two months to the date of Kreitz and Dewease parting ways, Dewease is back in victory lane. He picked up win No. 114 at the Grove and a first with Macri Motorsports. It's a good time to find speed a week out from defending his National Open Title.