SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (Aug. 12, 2024) – Brandon Schmitt isn’t coming to Boone with a goal of making the Saturday night show.
He’ll make the trip to the Sept. 2-7 IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s looking to qualify for both Modified and Stock Car main events and, most importantly, being competitive in each.
“I’ve made it in the show before and that was cool,” said the Sun Prairie, Wis., speedster, 21st in the Modified Big Dance two years ago. “Obviously, everybody wants to get in the main event but I want to make both big shows, be competitive and run in the top five or top 10.”
“To get into an All-Star race would be special, too, because of the amount of talent. To get in those races would be special.”
Schmitt is one of a handful of drivers eligible to qualify for both the B & B Racing Chassis All-Star Invitational and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational events, doing so on back-to-back nights July 19 and 20 at home track Beaver Dam Raceway.
“Running both cars helps you know what the track conditions are and what the track is doing,” explained Schmitt, in a Modified since 2019 and in his first full season in the Stock Car. “The two divisions usually run back-to-back to each other at Beaver Dam. Everybody on the crew knows what their job is and we all work on set-up together so it usually goes pretty smoothly.”
Schmitt’s father Steve and uncle Keith both raced IMCA Stock Cars. He ran a go kart and then an INEX Legend Car, earning a pair of National Dirt titles in the latter class, before moving up to the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods.
He’s driven for Jack Jones since day one of his Modified career and for Josh and Stephanie Sorce since a single start in their G-Force Chassis in a late-season Stock Car special at Beaver Dam last fall.
“I still like the Modified better. It just feels a little bit more sporty to me,” said Schmitt, now contenting for a second straight Modified crown and his first Stock Car title at Beaver Dam. “You can be a little more aggressive in the Stock Car and rub a bit more, but the Modified still feels faster. They definitely drive differently.”
Leading up to the King of the Park special at Angell Park Speedway – his last race before switching to a Rage Chassis – he’d made 27 Modified starts and all but one of his 21 Stock Car starts on the same night, at four different tracks in Iowa as well as 141 Speedway and Beaver Dam.
“We always try to get 5-10 races on before anything local in Wisconsin opens up. We’re kind of itching to get going anyway and wanted to get experience on both cars this year,” Schmitt said. “Early on in the season, maybe people were expecting more wins out of me but both these divisions are very competitive. Everyone is getting on the same page and there’s less of an advantage for anyone.”
“The days of knocking out 5-6-7 wins at Beaver Dam are over because these divisions are just so competitive.”
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