By: Kevin Ramsell
(Morris, IL) – Ricky Baker remembers his battle with five-time ASA Midwest Tour champion Ty Majeski in the 2017 edition of the Wayne Carter Classic 100 at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL.
Baker was leading, and Majeski challenged him for the lead with 17 laps to go in the race.
The two made contact on the front stretch, causing Majeski to ride up on Baker’s driver side. The pair went into turn one, and Majeski spun, ending his night. Baker would hold off Paul Shafer Jr. for the victory.
Eight years later, the Plainfield, IL driver still remembers that night where he accomplished one of his racing goals.
“Going back to 2017 was a long time ago. Honestly, that was probably one of the most intense battles I’ve had in a race car,” Baker recalled of that night. “Ty and I were by far the best cars on the racetrack that night.”
Baker looked at that battle like a David vs. Goliath matchup.
“Being a smaller team and also crew chiefing the car myself makes it hard to compete with a team like them. They are the best of the best and have been for the last 10 years or so. Just being in the same zip code as them as far as speed goes can feel like an accomplishment at times,” Baker said. “It means the world to me to have my name on the winners list, and hopefully, we can do it again on Saturday. Cody and the guys at Hamke race cars, and Jeff at FRS shocks have been helping me out quite a bit in the last month and have made our program much better, so hopefully, it’s fast for 100 laps.”
This Saturday night, Baker will be looking for his second victory in the Wayne Carter Classic 100 presented by Rod Baker Ford & D’Arcy Chevrolet at the famed Grundy County Speedway.
It’s a race that has a lot of history behind it and has basically surrounded Baker’s life, in and out of the car.
“Being the race that ended up originating the ARTGO challenge series, I personally look at it as being the biggest race of the year in the Midwest,” Baker said. “I remember my Dad taking me in the early 90’s around the time he started to sponsor Larry Schuler. It seemed like Joe Shear won the race every year. Being young, maybe 8-10, it was hard to understand how someone could show up and be that dominant. As I got older and started working on people’s race cars, I was really interested in the history about it. Obviously, racing with Larry, I get to hear about it firsthand. Probably stuff not too many people know. The list of winners going back to its inception is the best of the best, but I’d even say the list of drivers who failed to win is almost just as impressive.”
Going off knowing the history of the race, learning from Larry Schuler, and then winning it himself, Baker and his family business are doing what they can to keep this historical event going year after year as Rod Baker Ford and D’Arcy Chevrolet are on board as the sponsors of the event.
“Having our family business sponsoring the race has been a pretty neat deal,” Baker exclaimed. “Having employees come that have maybe never been to a short track race, then having them start coming to the weekly shows is awesome to see every time. We’ve always loved supporting the racetrack and also Gregg and Angie McKarns with the tour.”
The Wayne Carter Classic honors Wayne Carter, who brought auto racing to the Grundy County area. Since 1975 when Art Frigo and John McKarns formed ARTGO Racing and began this event, the goal was to bring the top Wisconsin and Midwest drivers into Chicagoland to take on the top local talent. Just as it was 50 years ago, this Saturday night’s contest will continue the rich tradition of the Wayne Carter Classic.
Click here to purchase tickets online.
Tickets can be purchased in advance via the Ticket Hoss App or at the Grundy County Speedway ticket gate on Saturday beginning at 3pm. Adult General Admission tickets are $25, Seniors (ages 62 and over) are $20, Students (ages 12-17) tickets are $10 with ages 11 and under admitted Free.
Click here for the full event schedule.
Event Schedule:
1:00 Pit Gate Opens
3:00 Spectator Gates Open
3:30 Practice Begins
5:45 Qualifying Begins
7:00 Racing Begins
Racing Divisions: The ASA Midwest Tour will be joined by the Midwest Truck Series and Grundy Sixers.
Past Wayne Carter Classic Winners
1975 Tom Reffner
1976 Dave Watson
1977 Larry Phillips
1978 Mike Miller
1979 Mike Miller
1980 Mark Malcuit
1981 Larry Schuler
1982 Jim Sauter
1983 Tom Reffner
1984 Dick Trickle
1985 Butch Miller
1986 Joe Shear
1987 Dick Trickle
1988 Joe Shear
1989 Ted Musgrave
1990 Steve Carlson
1991 Kevin Cywinski
1992 Steve Holzhausen
1993 Joe Shear
1994 Joe Shear
1995 Joe Shear
1996 Dave Weltmeyer
1997 Joe Shear
1998 Eddie Hoffman
1999 Steve Carlson
2011 Ross Kenseth
2012 Eddie Hoffman
2013 Johathan Eilen
2014 Chris Weinkauf
2015 Eddie Hoffman
2016 Ty Majeski
2017 Ricky Baker
2018 Dalton Zehr
2020 Paul Shafer Jr.
2022 Austin Nason
2023 Paul Shafer Jr.
2024 Rained Out
