Bad Luck the Only Thing Keeping Weinkauf Off the Podium
by Jana Wimmer
June 19, 2014 – The words ‘tough luck’ seem to sum up the start of the 2014 race season for Chris Weinkauf. Coming off of a fifth place points finish in the ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment in 2013, Weinkauf and his crew had expectations to win races and compete for a point championship this year. While those expectations have not changed, the way this year started is proving to make achieving those goals more difficult than expected.
Weinkauf and his team will have a chance to turn things around this Friday night, June 20th at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL for the Calypso Lemonade 100 as the Midwest Touring Stars take on the local heroes.
In the five ARCA Midwest Tour events so far this year, Weinkauf has never qualified outside of the top five, however he has only finished one race. “The hard work that we did in the off season has been paying off and the hard work was worth it,” says Chris Weinkauf, “We have proven our abilities in qualifying and in race, but it is extremely frustrating knowing that we have a podium finish car and never being able to show it.”
Weinkauf was involved in a wreck at the season opener in Toledo and again at Madison International Speedway. He responded with a fifth place finish at State Park Speedway, where it appeared his luck was turning around. But then Weinkauf experienced back to back mechanical problems at Illiana Motor Speedway and most recently, the Milwaukee Mile, where he led the first 90 laps of the race. “Milwaukee was not as much frustrating as it was severely disappointing,” says Weinkauf, “Knowing that we were the car to beat and leading so many laps and then having to pull off was heartbreaking.”
Despite the rough start to the 2014 season, Weinkauf and his crew continue to work hard each week and have not let the recent stroke of bad luck keep them down. “I know that the amount of time and effort and hard work that VDGR Team 75 puts into the car each week and the dedication of the crew,” says Weinkauf, “Eventually we will be rewarded and we will get the finishes that we know that we deserve. Also, the constant positive attitude that Jay, our car owner, has is very encouraging. He knows we have a good car and team and that our time will come. “
And Weinkauf’s hopes of competing for a point title are far from over. With seven races left he currently sits fourth in points, just 69 points back from leader Nathan Haseleu. “Making a run for the point title is definitely still on my mind and no one should count out Team 75 yet,” says Weinkauf, “But we are losing our opportunity to gain points on the leaders.”
In a sport that is known for its superstitions, like no peanuts on the race car and no green in the pits, Weinkauf himself isn’t ready to resort to anything drastic just yet. “I am not a very superstitious person,” says Weinkauf, “But my wife is and she is seriously looking at changing her routines. I think a lot of racing is just luck sometimes and even if you have a good car, being in the wrong place at the wrong time or mechanical failures happen, unfortunately it is has happened a lot to us this year.”
Weinkauf hopes to change his luck around this Friday when the Tour heads to Grundy County Speedway for the Calypso Lemonade 100, where he finished just outside of the top ten a year ago.
What: Calypso Lemonade 100
Where: Grundy County Speedway, Morris, IL
When: Friday, June 20th
Times: 2:00pm-ARCAMT Practice Begins, 5:00pm-ARCAMT Qualifying, 7:00pm-Racing Begins
Be sure to follow the ARCA Midwest Tour on Facebook (midwesttour) and Twitter (@midwesttour).
To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on to arcamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ARCA Midwest Tour office at (262) 729-4111 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or Steve Einhaus (630) 212-6022 at or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@arcamidwesttour.comor Steve Einhaus at steve@arcamidwesttour.com.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
