'From the Driver's Seat ' series

Stories and photos by
Terry Spradley

Second in a Series

Track annoucer, Bill Grit interviews Dauer before the start of the feature race April 30. Dauer credited his supporters, crew and fans for much of his success.

BJ Dauer chases National title in Hobby Stock class

 

Have you ever had one of those cold-sweat nightmares? The one where you are driving down the highway, and just as a speeding car veers into your lane, the hood of your car smashes up against the front windshield. BJ Dauer, Marquette , has, only he did not have it in the comfort and safety of a warm cozy bed.

April 23, at Salina Speedway, Dauer was battling for position into turn one during the ‘A’ Main when things got ugly. Starting in sixteenth, he moved to a position near the front of the pack when suddenly, with traffic close on each side and more in front of him, the hood of his already battle-weary Monte Carlo finally let go of its retainers and folded up against the roof of the car.

“That scared me a little bit,” Dauer said. “I thought they were going to send me to the back of the pack.

At the speed they were traveling, the hood did not obscure Dauer’s vision for long. It ripped loose and took flight for a few brief seconds before crashing to the ground in front of cheering fans. The hood may have obscured his vision momentarily, but it did not cause him to lose sight of his goals. Dauer is a man on a mission.

“Last year we chased national points really hard, ended up third,” Dauer said. “This year, if we keep up our streak right now we’ll have a good shot at winning”.

Dauer has won 10 of his last 14 starts in 2005. Last year he placed third in points at Salina Speedway, won the series at Hutchinson , and placed first in the state series points.

Before the hood flying incident Dauer’s #33 Monte Carlo had already suffered some dents and bruises. A flat tire in the heat race put the yellow Chevy with white swooshes in the row 8 for the start of the main. The hobby stock ‘A’ main was mayhem. Several caution flags came out as cars ‘got together’, spun into the barriers, or disappeared off the backside of the track. Each yellow advanced Dauer a little further in the pack, but a couple of them added a dent or two to the Chevy as squeezing through tight fits became the rule of the night. By the midway point of the race the left front fender and cowling were hanging a lot lower than at the start of the race. The right rear had lines no Detroit designer ever considered, and the hood was just along for the ride.

As a full-time racer, chasing national points takes considerable time and dedication. Employed at Buildex north of Marquette , their company logo is displayed across the car’s rear deck as a sponsor. Besides being a sponsor, Buildex helps with the time required of racing a full schedule. “They’ve help me a lot. I probably couldn’t race as much if I didn’t have a boss like I have.”

Eagle Automotive, The Hair Company, and Honkers are just a few of the other sponsor logos covering the rest of Dauer’s car.

A full-time schedule also takes plenty of help in logistics and repairs. The 33 car is tended to by Dauer and a plethora of friends and family. Justin Hopp, Marquette , is Dauer’s most consistent helper. “We did 72 shows last year and he was at all of them,” Dauer said. He and Hopp are high school friends. Their long friendship lends well to working as a team in the chase for a national title.

Monday as I approached the house for an interview the 1985 Monte Carlo was sitting in the driveway, looking more like a tired bloodhound after a long weekend hunting, than the popping snarling rabid animal it looked like Saturday night as it clawed its way around the dirt oval.

The BJ Dauer racing team is a family affair. His brother Beau, and father Bob Dauer along with a local character known as the lawnmower man are just a few of the people that spend time bending, tuning, and tweaking on the #33. Dauer’s wife Maryann goes to most races and the couple occasionally brings their sons, Robert (6) and Mitchelle (4) to the races.

“They’re kind of a handful at the track,” Dauer said. “They don’t like sitting still very well.”

The boys’ father does not like sitting still very well either. Besides the various local tracks he frequents, he also attends the Super Nationals in Boone Iowa each September. Many local racers as well as competitors from across the nation visit the Super Nationals in Boone each year. Over 900 competitors, or more, make the weeklong event a racer’s vacation. The first year Dauer made ‘the show,’ out of 170 entrants he placed seventh.

“Last year I didn’t make the show. I had a couple of flats or I probably would have made it the first night.”

With Dauer’s dedication, support crew and determined driving style making ‘the show’ again is almost assuredly in his future.

Saturday night after the hood-launching incident, Dauer was not sent to the back of the pack, as he feared. Fortunately, a short caution removed the yellow crumbled piece of debris left behind by #33, and the race was under green flag again. With very few laps left to go Dauer picked off drivers until he was in second place dogging on the heals of race leader, Rick Slothower, Gypsum. Lapped traffic on the final lap gave Dauer the opportunity he needed to power the battered and hoodless Monte Carlo to its second consecutive first place win in the Speedway ’s hobby stock main event.

Trophy in hand, the Dauer crew went to work loading gear and bent racecar to prepare for a Sunday night race in Deshler Neb. Dauer would win this event as well, logging his fiftieth win as a hobby stock racer.

Follow-up, April 30 Salina Speedway, Dauer again came from the middle of the pack in another hard fought battle, won on the last lap of the race. Before that win, Dauer was rated fourth in the national points chase. He has now won 11 out of 15 starts, 51 lifetime.

You can follow BJ Dauer’s points pursuit, along with many other local drivers competing every Saturday night at the Salina Speedway on Burma road west of Salina . More information on the speedway can be found at www.salinaspeedway.com. Photographs from April 23 race can be viewed at www.tslegends.com.

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