From Tim Tuttle
Belleville, IL –(March 20, 2013) — Andrew Felker had a breakout season in 2012, winning his initial two features and the championship in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series. The 20-year-old from Carl Junction, Mo., also became the first driver to take victories in POWRiโs Midget and Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series in the same event.
They are successes that have fueled his confidence and ambition going into the 2013 season, which begins Saturday (March 23) with the POWRi Midgets and Micros plus UMP Modifieds in the Bullring 30s on Belle-Clair Speedwayโs one-fifth mile track.
โOur goal is to try to win both championships,โ Felker said. โWe definitely want to back up what we were able to do in the Midgets and we want to run more consistently up front and rack up some more wins.โ
Felker is a proven race winner in the Micros. He has had at least three in each of the past four seasons and 14 total, second on the all-time POWRi list to Dereck Kingโs 20. Felker had four in 2012 including on May 19 when he won in both divisionsโand his first in a Midgetโat Peoria (Ill.) Speedway.
โThe Micro championship is unfinished business,โ Felker said. โAnd it would be awesome to overtake Dereck King, who has been the best Micro driver (with three championships) in POWRi history.โ
Felker drove in all 29 POWRi Midget features last year and had nine top-fives and 17 top-10s. He had a strong post-season, too, finishing second to Tony Stewart in POWRiโs non-points Battle at the Center at DuQuoin, Ill., in December and reaching the A main in the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., in January. Both indoor events attracted all-star fields and the Chili Bowl had 270 entries.
โIโm more confident than ever and you could see it at the Battle at the Center and the Chili Bowl,โ Felker said. โIt was my first time to make the A main (where he was a DNF/20th). I had to pass Levi Jones and Cole Whitt on the last lap of the B main to make it to the A.โ
Felkerโs experience is also a factor in his improvement. Racing frequently in two series in the same event takes considerable energy and effort, but he believes the tradeoff of more laps on the track is worth it.
โI donโt think it takes away,โ Felker explained. โIโm getting to see the track multiple times. You take what youโre doing in each division and put it together. Itโs an advantage to see the track more than anybody.โ
Felker had four wins in the POWRi Micros a year ago, but finished seventh in the championship. He had several mechanical failures early in the year that put him out of title contention and when he was leading the points in the Midgets in the second half of the season, he either didnโt enter or withdrew from the Micros in order to concentrate on the Midgets. Felker drove in 14 of the 19 Micro features.
Felker returns with his family-owned team intact. Danny Felker, his dad, was joined by Duane Moore as co-crew chief a year ago. Heโll drive a Fontana-powered Spike in the Midgets and a Momo Suzuki-powered Suzuki in the Micros.
Felkerโs schedule for 2013 isnโt limited to POWRi, which has 10 Midget events co-sanctioned with USAC and 18 with Badger Midget Auto Racing Association included in its 39 scheduled events. The three sanctioning bodies converge for four events this season. POWRi has 26 events scheduled.
โWe have a tentative schedule with 65 events,โ Felker said. โOur game plan is to run the full POWRi, run all of the USAC we can and all of the Badger. Weโll run most of them with Felker Motorsports, but will probably try to find some rides for Badger events.โ
Grandstands for the Bullring 30s open at 5 p.m., hot laps begin at 6 and racing at 7. Tickets are $15 for adults and children under 12 are free. Pit passes are $30.