By T.J. Buffenbarger
(August 24, 2024) — With two nights of pavement racing under my belt I have some final takeaways from the two-day Michigan swing for the 500 Sprint Car Tour and USSA Kenyon Midget Series.
• Tyler Roahrig is another driver I am running out of superlatives to describe his performances driving a non-wing sprint car. Saturday night Roahrig added another sprint car victory to his resume. While many consider Roahrig a late model driver that races sprint cars, his schedule seems to be shifting towards more open wheel races than with full bodied cars.
When asked about his plans for the rest of the year, Roahrig mentioned having some time off until some upcoming races with the 500 tour and a trip to Idaho for the Pink Lady Classic driving for Mike Newman, but any stock car races were remarkably absent.
Roahrig seems to get interests for teams to test their late model equipment, but for the bigger shows when it’s time to race them the question becomes how much money can he bring to the table, which needs to be substantial for the larger late model events.
It’s mind blowing to me a young man this talented his not getting more looks at some top-notch rides. It’s unbelievable there are not more offers for him to wheel race cars almost every weekend.
For now, big time late model racing’s loss is our gain, and Roahrig has been a fun addition to the pavement sprint car scene.
• Jake Trainor is still in single digit sprint car starts in his career but continues to impress me every time I see him on track. Coming off his impressive performance at Indianapolis Raceway Park with the midgets, Trainor gave Roahrig everything he wanted during the 40-lap 500 Sprint Car tour feature at Berlin Raceway.
Roahrig even admitted after the race that Trainor made his work harder than any other 500 Sprint Car Series tour race at Berlin. Trainor defended the lead in a manner that was well beyond his 19 years of age.
If Trainor was driving a winged sprint car on dirt, he might be the new flavor of the month, but much like Roahrig seems to be flying under the radar nationally. Hopefully weekends like he had at Berlin can raise his profile so we can see how far his talent car take him in the sport.
• Hopefully the 500 Sprint Car Series weekend in Michigan was successful enough for Kalamazoo and Berlin to schedule it again in 2024. Having two nights of racing for both the 500 tour and the USSA Kenyon Midgets helped make the weekend more attractive for teams to make the tow north.
The quality of the fields front to back were among the best seen at a pavement sprint car race in Michigan in a considerable amount of time.
The USSA Kenyon Midgets also made for a great addition to the weekend. Pavement midget racing was a staple when I was growing up in Michigan, and the Kenyon Midgets with their mix of young and seasoned drivers brought back a lot of memories of those specials that I would cover throughout the state.