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ARCA Midwest Tour Racing This Friday at Grundy County Speedway: Racing Begins at 7:00PM
by Kari Shear-Carlson
June 20, 2014 – “It’s hard to look back in history because I’m still trying to make history,” said veteran Larry Schuler, driver of the #30 Rod Baker Ford Racing late model. Schuler carries a lot of experience to the plate when its comes the Rod Baker Ford Racing team. He and his teammate, a young Ricky Baker, driver of the #52, are leading the way on Friday nights at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. The two finished first and second in the point standings in 2013, with Ricky claiming the Championship, and find themselves first and second in the current point standings.
When the ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment invades their home track this Friday, June 20th for the Calypso Lemonade 100, Schuler and Baker will be ready to apply what they learn from each other week in and week out.
As a 23 year old rookie in 1976, Larry Schuler, dubbed as “Junkyard Dog,” won 43 races and three championships between Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL, Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, IN, and Wisconsin International Speedway in Kaukauna, WI. Ricky Baker claimed his first track championship last year and continues to make a name for himself, so one might think that the difference in experience would play into the teammate’s relationship. Yet it is quite the opposite.
When asked what it is like to race with and against such young talent, Larry Schuler’s response was a bit unexpected. “In a lot of ways, it’s an honor. It’s a young sport and I’m still doing it. I always feel good about that. When I started, I was racing against the guys who kind of started the sport and got these cars going. Pretty soon I’m racing their sons. Now I’m racing the grandsons. All that time went by but it seems like yesterday.”
Baker doesn’t see the age and experience gap between him and Schuler as any different than any other competitor. “It’s a lot of fun. A lot of people think he’s got all these years of experience so he just knows it all. But we learn a lot with all the new set-ups. It’s so different. He’ll say, ‘I remember doing this back in the 70’s and 80’s.’ Some of that stuff is coming back. But honestly, his stories are the best part,” joked Baker.
Being out of the same garage, Baker and Schuler work closely together and while they don’t cut each other any slack on the track, they spend a lot of time going through things and learning from each other. “I look at him (Baker) as my equal. I don’t feel like I know anything. In fact, my favorite times are when it’s the just two of us and we sit down and talk about things,” said Schuler.
When the Midwest Tour comes to their home turf, Schuler and Baker have similar, yet different perspectives.
“We are not used to the tire and we are used to setting the car up for 30 laps instead of 100. But it will be fun and interesting to see how it all pans out,” said Baker.
This is one area where Schuler’s experience plays a role in how he responds to racing with a series like the Midwest Tour. “Those guys pretty much take over, but it wakes you up a little bit. It makes you think; how good are our cars? It really gives us a benchmark on what we could do to make ours be even better.”
Seneca native and series Vice President, Steve Einhaus agreed with both Schuler and Baker. “We have both sides of the spectrum here. Both of them are really putting their heads together and producing some pretty successful stats. It’s always tough for us to bring in the traveling hot shoes and put them up against the locals, and Grundy is one of the toughest race tracks on the schedule. I’m excited to get back home again and we hope all of our friends will come out and see the race. They are going to get their money’s worth thats for sure.”
One thing Schuler and Baker do share in common when it comes to competition is that a competitor is a competitor, no matter the age or experience. They both agreed that they race each other just as hard as they race anyone else. They’ve even spun each other out, not on purpose, of course, but because they are both hard racers, and that will be no different this Friday night.
Both drivers would like to extend a special thanks to Fred Roempler of FRS, and Ray Jaeger of Powersource Racing Engines. Additional thanks go out to the Baker family, CPC Powder Coating, Harmonic designs, and Appleton Rack and Pinion, as well as Joe Wood and Jason Schuler at Pathfinder Chassis.
A special early start time of 7:00pm will kick off this Friday night’s racing.
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.
