Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight: Army vet Welschmeyer hitting his stride as Big Buck 50 renewal arrives
2024-10-04 18:56
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WHEATLAND, MO. (Oct. 1, 2024) - Ted Welschmeyer got a later start on his racing career than most, sitting behind the wheel of his first race car at the age of 28 after a stint in the United States Army.
"Growing up as a kid … I always wanted to do it. It just took me a long time to get there," Welschmeyer said of driving a race car. "I didn't have the money or backing. I finally just decided that I was gonna go racing.
"We started at California (Double X Speedway) and we had to borrow a truck and trailer every weekend to go. But you either decide to do it or you don't."
Now a quarter of a century later, Welschmeyer is having the best season of his career. The residence of Tebbetts in central Missouri, near Jefferson City, recently clinched the POWRi Super Stocks points championship with a second straight track championship at Callaway Raceway.
"I"m very blessed over the last 24 years to have a lot of people help me and a wife (Vickie) who's every understanding, who lets me put a lot of time and money into this," Welschmeyer said. "I'm just a very blessed guy."
Welschmeyer, 53, will be one to keep an eye on this week at the 8th annual Big Buck 50 Presented by Whitetail Trophy Hunt returns to Lucas Oil Speedway. The Big Buck will be run Thursday through Saturday, in conjunction with the Lucas Oil MLRA Fall Nationals.
Both divisions will wrap things up Saturday night with 50-lap, $10,000-to-win main events.
Like others, Welschmeyer was thrilled with the announcement that the Big Buck 50 was returning after its popular run ended in 2020. Since that time, Welschmeyer had made tremendous strides, especially the last two years, with him home-built Super Stock chassis.
While he had a pair of top-10 finishes in past Big Buck 50s, Welschmeyer said a key to his recent success in the division has been from the research and development side.
"We've gone to some chassis seminars with KR Promotions and Scotty Allen," he said. "We've learned a lot. We're running the car we built three years ago and applied some of the stuff we've learned, just trying to educate ourselves better and it's paid off tremendously."
At the Full Fender Challenge at Lucas Oil Speedway in mid-August, Welschmeyer didn't have the run he wanted, finishing 12th in the feature that combined the Super Stocks with USRA Stock Cars. He had a 10th-place run in the Super Stocks main event.
Neither finish was anything to brag about, but Welschmeyer came away with some knowledge of how to improve in October.
"We had a different motor and we geared it a little different," Welschmeyer said of the August event. "This motor doesn't make quite the torque that the other one did. We learned that we have to change our gearing. It was every educational. We ended up making both features, so it was good. There was some stiff competition there that weekend."
While he's raced most seasons since 2000, Welschmeyer was taken off track by a couple of tours in Iraq while he remained in the Army Reserves after retiring from full-time Army duty. But now he's not only racing, but succeeding with 10 overall feature wins this season.
He's helped in his racing pursuits by by long-time crew members Madison Oligschlaegar and Matt Oliver. Sponsors and supporters include AFCO Shocks, Allen Autosports, Bronze Star Truck and Trailer Repair, Bryke Racing, Engine Connection of Boonville and engine builder Chris Zeller, Elite Performance Parts, Luebbering Oil Company, Superior Steering Wheels and Graphics, Toebbens Towing, Winning Technologies and Champion High Tech Lubricants.
The Big Buck 50, which will kick off with practice sessions Thursday along with time trial qualifying for their Friday heat and dash races for their Saturday $10,000-to-win finale.
Super Stock pre-tech will open at noon Thursday and Friday. All Super Stocks must go through pre-tech before Friday heat races begin.
A star-studded field of Super Stocks is expected for the event with Whitetail Trophy owner Craig Danuser stepping up as the title sponsor as he was in previous renditions of the event.
In the Late Model portion, Chad Simpson of Mount Vernon, Iowa, will be looking to move closer to his third straight MLRA championship. He brings a 100-point lead over Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon into the Fall Nationals. Jackson and Chris Simpson of Oxford, Iowa, captured feature wins at the MLRA Ron Jenkins Memorial in Wheatland one month ago.
Drivers can find the Big Buck 50 entry form on the drivers' dashboard portion of lucasoilspeedway.com.
With the races scheduled to be live on FloRacing and on MAVTV at a later date, drivers are encouraged to fill out their profile on MyRacePass with information that can be used by announcers. Drivers planning on running can use this link to for the driver profile.
Pit gates will open at 3:30 p.m. with grandstands at 4, hot laps/practice at 6 and racing to follow on Thursday. Along with a full MLRA program, Super Stocks will run several practice sessions and then will run a special qualifying session to set their heat races for Friday night.
On Friday, Super Stocks will hold heat races and two dash races to determine the top 12 or 16 (based on car count) that advance to the Saturday main event. Last-chance qualifier races on Saturday will finalized the field for 50-Lap, $10,000 to win main event.
The Late Models again have a full program on Friday, kicking of with time trials. Pits will open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 4:30, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.
The final night on Saturday will find another full MLRA program along with last-chance qualifiers for the Super Stocks and a Pole Dash prior to the 50-lap Super Stocks main event. Pit gates open at 4 with grandstands at 4:30, hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.
Thursday admission:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (13 and up) - $22
Adults (13 and up) - $25
Seniors (62 and up)/Military - $22
Youth (6-12) - $10
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass - $60
Pit Pass - $40
Friday admission:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (13 and up) - $27
Adults (13 and up) - $30
Seniors (62 and up)/Military - $27
Youth (6-12) - $10
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass - $70
Pit Pass - $40
Saturday admission:
Advance Discount Tickets online only (13 and up) - $27
Adults (13 and up) - $30
Seniors (62 and up)/Military - $27
Youth (6-12) - $10
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass - $70
Pit Pass - $45
Camping:
Reserved with Electric and Water - $40/Night (Limited Availability) Reserved Dry Spots - $25/Night (Limited Availability) Dry Camping - $15/Night
For ticket or camping information on any Lucas Oil Speedway event, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.
For information about Lucas Oil Speedway, including schedules, point standings and other news, please visit LucasOilSpeedway.com.
CONTACT:
Danny Lorton
Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager
Office: (417) 282-5984
DLorton@lucasoilspeedway.com
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Lucas Oil Speedway is located at Highways 83 and 54 in Wheatland, Missouri. A campground with shower and bathroom facilities is available. With its entrance located just outside the pit gate, this sprawling scenic camping facility will continue to enhance the racing experience.
For ticket and camping information and everything about the Show-Me 100 event, visit www.LucasOilSpeedway.com for all the information and detailed directions to the speedway or call the Track Hotline at (417) 282-5984.
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Complete Lucas Oil Speedway event information, archived race recaps, previews and driver features, along with ticket information and schedules can be found by visiting LucasOilSpeedway.com.
About Lucas Oil Speedway
Lucas Oil Speedway is considered by fans, drivers and industry insiders to be one of the top five racing facilities in the nation. Located in Wheatland, Missouri, approximately an hour from Springfield, Missouri, and just an hour and a half from the Kansas City metro area, the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" lives up to its title.
Twenty-One VIP Luxury Suites, HD Jumbo-Tron Screen, Stadium Style Musco Sports Lighting, a Bose Sound System, Go-Kart Slick Track, The Diamond Bar, Track Treasures Gift Shop, the best track food in the country and paved pits are a few of the spectacular amenities setting the Diamond of Dirt apart. This year marks the 12th season for the Liquid Quarter Mile Drag Racing Lake, "Lake Lucas." New for 2017 was all-purpose built Off Road facility featuring a host of regional events.
Lucas Oil Speedway's dirt oval track plays host to some of the largest and most-popular events in the Midwest with national and regional touring series appearing frequently including: The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, POWRi Midget National Series, Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League, United States Modified Touring Series, ASCS Sprint Cars and the Lucas Oil MLRA.
In addition to the special events, the Lucas Oil Speedway Weekly Racing Series features the Late Models, USRA Modifieds, USRA Stock Cars and USRA B-Mods.
2024 Official Lucas Oil Speedway Marketing Partners
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2024 Lucas Oil Speedway Supporters Include:
AM Pyrotechnics, Alliance Sport Marketing, Arctic Food Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts, Berry Tractor and Equipment Co., Big Adventure RV, Bill Roberts Chevrolet, Bolivar Auto Sales & Detailing, Bolivar Farmers Exchange-MFA, Boone's BBQ Barn, Boubin Tire/American Racer, Bridal Cave, BWI Sanitation, Candlelight Creations-Dick's Wild Root Horseradish, Casey's, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, City Magnet, Clearlight Inn, Dixie Chopper, Eibach Springs, Farmers Insurance Agent Kristy Reynolds, Fast Shafts by Axle Exchange, Foley Equipment-Cat Rental Store, Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Hermitage Lumber, HICKAMO Country Store, Hobbytime Motorsports, Iconic Apparel, Impact Signs Awnings Wraps, In the Garden of Eden, KC Bobcat, Kluhsman Racing Components, Kona Ice, Lucas Cattle Company, MD3, Midwest Sheet Metal, Miller Welding, Missouri Division of Tourism, MyRacePass, Nutrien Ag Solutions, OakStar Bank, O'Bannon Bank, O'Reilly Auto Parts, Ozark Golf Cars, Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper, Ozarks Community Health Center, PEM, Pitts Homes, Pitts Realty, Pitts Cattle, Pomme de Terre Resort, Proboat, ProThings Apparel, RACEceiver, Racinboys.com, RacinDirt.com, Rains Ice Company, RCR Designs, Real Racing Wheels, Rod End Supply, Ron Jenkins Accounting & Tax Service, Rugged Radios, Ryan E. Murphy Law Firm LLC, SBU Athletics, Safety Kleen, Scott Furniture, Sidetrack RV Park, Simpson Racing Products, Southwest Electric Cooperative, State Tech, Stillwater Resort, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels, Turn 1 Bar & Grill, US Army Corps of Engineers-Pomme de Terre, Vietti Marketing Group, Wheatland Motel, White's Marine Center, Wieland, Wild Animal Safari, Woods Supermarkets.