Jeff Blaser Photo

WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (January 6, 2012) – When competing in one of the toughest weekly Late Model classes in the Midwest, it’s important to put your best foot forward. Just ask Rich Schumann Jr.

Having won a Championship at Dells Raceway Park in the same division in 2007, Schumann jumped out to an early point lead and cruised to his second title in the highly competitive Budweiser Late Models.

“I look at the caliber of drivers I was racing against, it was really unbelievable,” said Schumann, of Portage. “It’s not like you’re racing against three or four good drivers. You have 17 drivers who can win. I think this was one of the best Midwest tracks to race at. There was such good, hard-nosed racing.”

“I think this year was one of those years where we came out firing right out of the gate,” Schumann said. “We led from the get-go and that was one of my goals.”

A string of top-ten finishes shot Schumann out to a healthy advantage in standings through the first seven weeks. Schumann finished third in the first two features of the season, sixth in the next two, second on June 25 and July 2 and third on July 9. He also had a three-week string of setting fast time from June 4 to June 18.

During those weeks several Budweiser Late Model features became marred by cautions. While other contenders had their problems in the melees, Schumann was immune. A little luck and a lot of patience kept Schumann out of trouble, he said.

“Some of the guys were trying to win the race in the first 15 laps. It takes time and patience to sit back and let things develop,” Schumann said. “I sat back and watched it all happen. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Although Schumann was reeling off consistent finishes, he had yet to visit victory lane by the midway point of the season. After experiencing engine problems on July 16, the Late Models had a week off to refocus and reenergize. Schumann received a new motor on Thursday, and he and his crew worked frantically to be ready for the July 30 race, when Schumann finally broke through.

“I wasn’t really nervous. I knew sooner or later it was going to come,” Schumann said of the win. “The guys kept telling me when it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

While the win helped Schumann inflate his lead even more, the next week, August 6, he found himself behind the eight-ball. Schumann had a poor qualifying effort, had a tough time in the heat race, then realized that he was utilizing a tire that was the wrong compound.

“That was one of those nights I was definitely trying to forget. I can’t put the blame on anyone,” Schumann said. “I knew something wasn’t right. We figured the tire out and it was a huge difference. It wasn’t anything we were trying to do.”

Schumann cruised over the next two weeks with a third-place finish the following week and a near win when he was nipped at the line by Zach Reining on August 27. With the Championship all but locked up on the final night, Schumann approached the feature like any other race.
“I went into that night thinking all I have to do is start the race, but I’m not here to think about the Championship, I’m here to think about winning that race on the last night,” he said.

However, it was on the final night that one of the melees finally caught Schumann.

“I think I thought I had an opportunity to win the race,” Schumann said of Championship Night. “There would have been nothing bigger than to cap the night off with a feature win. I got in the mix of things a bit. I probably should have sat back a little bit, but the next thing I knew something happened ahead of me and I had nowhere to go.”

Not only did the wreck take Schumann out of contention in the feature, it also handicapped him after drawing the pole for the $2000-to-win Wegner Automotive Research Fast Dash Clash.

Although things didn’t hash out on the final night, the overall body of work for Schumann and his team was more than impressive.

“I took myself in a different mode this year,” Schumann said. “I was in the mode that I was in when I won the championship in ’07. I took things as they came. I went out and really concentrated on what I was doing every night. When it came to race time I was patient. When things were there I took them, when they weren’t I sat back and waited for the opportunity to come.”

The Championship also served as a form for retribution for Schumann who was one of four drivers that had a chance to secure the title on Championship Night of 2010. Schumann broke a trailing arm while leading the standings in the final feature event. Although disheartening, there was motivation to be found.

“We went to Oktoberfest at the end of the year and qualified really well. We saw we had things heading in the right direction for the Dells in 2011,” Schumann said. “All of my guys were excited. We took a lot of time in the winter going through the car. When we practiced in the spring we knew we had something.”

If Schumann’s performance this season was any indication of what is to come for the Budweiser Late Models, the competitors may want to start doing some homework. “We’re going to come back and try to repeat, that’s the plan for right now,” Schumann said.

In 2011 Schumann was sponsored by Portage Plastics Corporation, Crawford Oil and Propane, Tiry’s Race Engines, Raceteamgear.com, Overnight Wraps, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Weaver Auto Parts and Nathan Haseleu.

His crew consisted of Chad Miller, Josh, Joe, Kyle, Maria, and Mark.

Dells Raceway Park's 2012 opening date is set for Saturday, May 19. A meeting for Late Model teams is scheduled for Saturday, January 14 at Wintergreen Resort and Conference Center in Wisconsin Dells. A full 2012 schedule will be released when details are finalized through the month of January.

Dells Raceway Park is located at N1070 Smith Road, five minutes north of downtown Wisconsin Dells, Wis., off highway 12-16. For more information including the latest news, the 2011 schedule and more visit www.dellsracewaypark.com.