9/23/2015
Luxy Raceway
Van Straten's Title Race Comes Down to Wire
Hortonville’s Travis Van Straten could get confirmation in the next day or two if he can lay claim to a national title.
Van Straten, who races locally in the rough-and-tumble IMCA stock car class is having a season most local drivers can only dream of. Van Straten clinched his 34th IMCA-sanctioned feature win last weekend at the World Nationals at Marshalltown (Iowa) Speedway. Van Straten is tied with former national champion Mike Nichols of Harlan, Iowa, with 1,200 points — the maximum number a driver can earn in IMCA competition.
What are the tiebreakers to determine the champion? The number of feature wins you accumulate during the season.
The problem is that with 1,200 points, both have “maxed out” their points with 30 feature wins. Drivers are awarded 40 points in IMCA competition for a feature win.
“When we determine a national and/or regional champion, we take a driver's best 30 finishes out of their first 55 starts in their region,” said IMCA public relations director Bill Martin. “After the final numbers are tabulated Sunday we will then announce who earned the national championships.”
In addition, drivers earn bonus points for up to two tracks if they capture track championships.
Nichols earned track titles at Shelby County Speedway in his hometown of Harlan, Iowa, and Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa. That bonus is based upon the track's average weekly car count in the division at that track.
“I have more wins than Travis but he has more bonus points, so as I see it he’s already won,” Nichols said.
Van Straten, who declined to be interviewed, earned track championships locally at Oshkosh Speedzone, Shawano Speedway and Seymour Speedway.
If he wins the national crown, Van Straten would become the third driver locally to win the national title.
Pulaski’s Rod Snellenberger clinched the national honors in 2008 while Appleton’s Brandon Czarapata accomplished the feat in 2013.
LUXEMBURG SPEEDWAY TRACK CHAMPIONS 2015
IMCA modified: Shawn Kilgore, New Franken
IMCA stock car: Shawn Havel, Algoma
IMCA Northern sportmod: Todd Weise, Algoma
Street stock: Scott Boulanger, Luxemburg
IMCA hobby stock: Dan Van Pay, Green Bay
Late model: Bret Swedberg, Shawano
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