Mike Lichtfeld in victory lane on July 24 (Jeff Blaser Photo)

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

by Matt Panure
Three points were all that separated Pardeeville's Mike Lichtfeld from pulling off the improbable. The 2010 Dells Raceway Park (an ASA member track) late model Rookie of the Year fell just short of upsetting a group of savvy veterans in DRP's premier division.

The championship race came down to the final night and a final four with a chance to leave with the title. Defending division champion Corey Jankowski had the edge with Lichtfeld lurking in third. After losing some ground in qualifying, Lichtfeld claimed the win and had to hope for some help. However, Jankowski raced his way to second and kept Lichtfeld at bay in final standings.

While it may have been difficult to swallow at the time, Lichtfeld has put the scenario in perspective.

"There was a lot of learning to do with the car alone and I kind of expected that; I didn't really have too high of expectations," Lichtfeld explained. "I knew the competition was stiff with all the veterans, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy."

"It was a little bittersweet just because we were that close," he continued. "I had the goal of being rookie of the year, but I never really was thinking that we would be in the hunt for the championship up until the last lap of the last feature. Only finishing three points behind Corey, that's a pretty good rookie year."

Lichtfeld showed steady improvement all season long. He claimed his first feature in the second week of action on May 15. His second came just over a month later on June 26. Over the final six weeks Lichtfeld did not finish outside of the top five, including his season-ending third win.

"Being a brand new car to us it took us a good portion of the first part of the year to figure it out," Lichtfeld said. "My very first win was from the front row but the other two I won from pretty deep in the field. It was a testament to how good our car was."

Had Lichtfeld somehow denied Jankowski the title, he would have claimed his third track championship in four years. Lichtfeld claimed top prize in pure stock standings in 2007 and in super stocks in 2009.

Although he dominated the super stock division Lichtfeld said the learning curve was still steep. "The cars drive totally different," he said. "It was a different mindset trying to get adapted to that car."

Lichtfeld held on to the racer he drove to the super stock title in 2009 and raced in a pair of Mid-American Stock Car Series races after the DRP season concluded. In an ironic twist, Lichtfeld finished second in both races.

The success of Lichtfeld's first season in the late model may have been reduced if he and his team had stuck to their original plan. Prior to 2010 Lichtfeld and his dad Tom were planning on splitting time at DRP and doing some traveling.

"We didn't really plan on running full time anywhere," Lichtfeld said. "It was the second week at the Dells that I won the feature, my dad kind of handed over the reigns. He raced the car once at Madison earlier in the year and that was it, there wasn't much sharing going on after that."

With Mike taking the wheel on a solo basis from May until the end of the season, Tom still remained an overseer on the team. A team that also fields a car for Mike's brother Steve, who claimed his first ever feature in 2010. With years of super late model experience, Tom was able to help Mike through the season, and pass along a few lessons.

"We race smart. There are going to be accidents; you have to get through them and know who you're racing around," Mike said. "We learned a lot about the car too. We've got a good notebook on the car, and I can't wait for April to roll around."

In 2010 Lichtfeld was sponsored by Culvers of Mauston, Country Plumber, Dennis 'Simy' Simonson, Interstate RV, Wisconsin Street Liquor & Wine, Highway 51 Liquor & Bait, Murphs Chop Shop, DJ on the Go, Badger Transmission & Auto Repair, Gawronski Signs, Wegner Automotive, Joes Auto & Truck, and Matt Raimer Roofing.

Lichtfeld 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.