By T.J. Buffenbarger
On a night that honors one of the nice guy racers in our area, here are my takeaways from the Chuck Wilson Memorial featuring the All Star Circuit of Champions at Butler Motor Speedway.
• Sometimes it just takes a chance of scenery for things to start working properly. For Cale Thomas and Brian Grove Racing, that seems to hold true for both parties since joining forces earlier this month.
Thomas now has three feature victories in five starts with Grove’s race team. The moves we’re seeing out of Thomas on the racetrack seem to be done with more confidence.
When Bryce Lucius slowed on the front stretch while leading and Thomas was right on his back bumper, rather than try going to his outside and going over Lucius’ right rear tire or get collected by the field, Thomas went to the inside and cleared Lucuis car safety knowing there would be a caution flag. Staying calm in that situation helped Thomas inherit the lead and hold it through the finish.
After having a revolving door of drivers, Grove seems to have found some stability with Thomas and the results have shown improvement in their race team. It’s clear the chemistry is working.
When Thomas split with Ruzdik Racing several weeks ago, it appeared his run to challenge Kalib Henry for an All Star Circuit of Champions point title would be thwarted, but now that he is driving for Grove that title fight seems to be alive again with Thomas just 31 markers out of the lead.
• At one point in the early stages of the feature even it appeared Thomas would make up a significant amount of ground on Henry of the lead. Henry was mired mid pack and didn’t appear to be making headway quickly during that portion of the feature event.
Then methodically like the veteran driver he has become, Henry pulled out a top five finish to maintain some breathing room between himself and Thomas.
Henry is turning into a very seasoned racer when being able to see the big picture. Rather than push the issue, Henry waited for others to make mistakes throughout the feature on Saturday at Butler and capitalized on them to collect another top five finish.
• I get to type A.J. Flick’s name almost every week on this website after winning a feature in Western Pennsylvania. I didn’t know what to expect with Flick filling in for Cody Bova this weekend with the All Stars, driving a different car than his family owned entry.
Flick was impressive all night in new surroundings finishing just outside of the top five, which likely thrilled Bova.
It’s always fun to cross paths with racers from different regions, and especially so when they exceed expectations for performance.
• Several young stars stood out in their performances that may not show up in the box score but were impressive throughout the night.
This was my first time seeing the aggressive Gauge Garcia in person, and he did not disappoint with several slashing moves challenging for position during the 31 lap feature event.
After a spin off turns three and four on lap 12, Garcia drove back up through the field to finish 11th.
Darin Naida also overcame struggles early in the night to pick up hard charger honors advancing from 21st to eighth position at the finish.
• If you had told me before Saturday that 44 sprint cars would show up for the Chuck Wilson Memorial at Butler Motor Speedway on Saturday, I would not have believed you.
Even after Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio had cancelled on Saturday and having Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio dark for the Sandusky County Fair, I didn’t think Butler would pick up that many cars. I had my expectations around the high 20/low 30 mark.
When I pulled in the gates and saw how full the pit area was with sprint cars, I could hardly believe it.
Saturday was also more proof of why so many drivers felt inclined to travel north to Butler because of the perseverance of promoter Tim Wilber and his family.
With rain threatening Butler throughout Friday and Saturday, hot laps began with one of the dryer tracks I’ve seen during Wilber’s tenure at Butler. With the challenges the track faced with the weather, I was not surprised the surface was dryer out of an abundance of caution. What did surprise me was seeing Wilber bring out a tiller (a piece of equipment added to their track prep arsenal and brough the track back to life.
Saturday also showed how great Michigan sprint car racing fans are. While fan bases in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and California get more attention, our fan base in the Great Lakes state might be one of the most appreciative and enthusiastic in the sport.
Saturday, they faced the same unrelenting wind that took a toll early in the evening on the track surface blowing right into the faces. That face base stuck those conditions out to support another major touring series event in the state.
When we look back on the season Michigan has seen the World of Outlaws, High Limit Racing, Interstate Racing Association, United States Auto Club, and the All Stars join our strong Great Lakes Super Sprints and Traditional Sprints this year, all of which except for the All Stars came to Butler.
This says a lot about our fan base and how well you support these races. That’s a series lineup that could put our region with some of the best in the country. 2026 has proven Michigan fans can and will support these touring shows and hopefully we see just as robust of a schedule in 2027.