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Part Three of Four Introducing Dells Raceway Park's 2010 Rookies of the Year

by Matt Panure
Tomah's Tuffy Myer sat on the sidelines just waiting for the right opportunity to get back into racing. After eight years, and a change in rules, Myer jumped back behind the wheel of a car raced to a championship by his late brother Tim in 2000.

Although the car sat dormant for so many seasons, it showed little rust. Myer, who spends countless hours behind the wheel of a big rig by trade, didn't show any. Recording three wins and 14 top-five finishes, Myer finished second in season standings on his way to being named Rookie of the Year in the Dells Raceway Park (an ASA member track) sportsman division.

Racing has always been a family affair the third-generation driver said. Myer had provided help for his dad and his brother Tim in their racing careers. Tim passed away in December of 2000 after winning the super stock championship and rookie of the year.

After leaving the car idle for the 2001 season, Tuffy decided to take over for his brother. "I would say racing is in our blood," Myer said. "The reason I got out of it was because [Tim's] passing. I never had the time or the money to compete on a weekly basis. It was fun to take that car out."

Myer said he was only able to field the car for a handful of races in 2002. "I never did much with it," he said. "The car kind of got outclassed between 2000 and 2002."

During the 2009 offseason DRP officials made changes to the super stock class, scaling the rules back to fit a sportsman-type car. It was all the 32 year old needed to jump into the division with the car he had raced in '02.

"The car was sitting there, we made a few changes to it and there it is," Myer said. "I think for the drivers that we had this season [the rules] fit everyone."

One of those drivers was Myer's good friend Daron Fish. The two spoke before the season and almost ended up racing in a different division together. "My original plan was to build a pure stock and race with Daron," Myer said. "We both caught wind of what the rule changes were going to be for the sportsman." Myer said at that point they decided to jump into the class.

Ironically Myer rejoined racing on a full-time basis one decade after Tim's passing. "I never put a lot of thought into it that this had been ten years since he passed," Myer said. "I was talking to Daron, asking him how cool would it be if I could win the championship and rookie of the year ten years after my brother had done it in that car."

Myer came close to accomplishing the feat. Only 14 points, and his friend Fish, stood in the way of grabbing the championship. However, Myer said he was happy to be as successful as he was in 2010.

"I came away with three feature wins and two quick qualifiers. I think it was better than expected," he said.

A fast start helped propel Myer to the top of the class. He began the first five weeks with two consecutive fourth-place finishes, followed by three consecutive second-place finishes. Myer claimed his first win on July 10. "I always made the comment to my friends that this car hated me because I never could get a grip on it. That was my first win ever in that car."

Myer recalled battling another friend, Denny Schott, to notch the victory. "I kind of felt bad because he looked like he was going to win it. I was happy for him," he said. "Then when we had the caution, I thought, 'this is where I go.' I kind of hated to take it from him, but that's racing."

The win started a streak of alternating wins and recording top fives over the next four weeks. "It was circumstantial. You get the win then the next week you start in the back," Myer explained. "I had a lot of things go my way, but then the next week the deck was stacked against me. You'll have that."

If things fall back into place again in 2011, Myer hopes to return to the sportsman division. He said he grabbed one good lesson from this past season. "Don't give up," Myer said. "I sort of rode around and tried some things during the middle of the year. Had I found that a couple weeks earlier, maybe the points would have gone different, maybe not. It's hard to say."

In 2010 Myer was sponsored by Napa Auto Parts of Tomah, CJ Construction of Tomah, DSR Chassis, Harry Myer Trucking, Schott Repair, and Doug's Trucks Unlimited of Oakdale.

Myer and his fellow rookies of the year will be honored at the Dells Raceway Park Championship Banquet on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells.
For more information visit www.dellsracewaypark.com or www.chulavistaresort.com.