Steve Carlson spent much of his career hopscotching across the Midwest, winning stock car races against top-flight drivers at tracks in Kaukauna, Wis., Grundy County, Ill., and Erie, Colo., to name a few.

Nine touring titles later, Carlson was often times mentioned in the same breath as Midwest legend Dick Trickle, and rightly so. He had made a living from racing without jumping into the big three — Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Trucks — and relocating to the South.
But even Carlson admits he never anticipated his career would take a turn back to the weekly tracks.

“I honestly never thought I would ever be running weekly tracks at any point in my career,” Carlson said. “You know what? It’s kind of neat to be running at a track seven blocks from home. It has been fun.”

Carlson’s return to weekly short-track racing, mainly at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway and Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been a bonus for local race fans. It also has made longtime friend and his current team owner Tim Jacobs smile.

Jacobs has arguably the two best drivers at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Carlson and Kevin Nuttleman. In fact, Jacobs has won three track championships at the Fairgrounds Speedway since he put together the Dutch Mill Trucking team (DMT) in 2005, and is about to go 4-for-4 if — actually, when — Carlson clinches the 2008 track title tonight.

Nuttleman, a 10-time track champion, won the 2005 and 2006 track titles while driving for DMT, while Carlson won the 2007 championship.

In essence, Carlson simply has to start each of the 50-lap features tonight and he will be the Kwik Trip Late Model track champion for the second consecutive season.

“I never imagined it would be like this. I never imagined I would have this much equipment,” Jacobs said. “Everything keeps growing and growing. It is stressful at times, but I never expected it to be like this. Our goal was to go out and compete and have fun. I am happy with the results.”

Carlson hasn’t been as dominant at the Fairgrounds Speedway this season, something he can thank his teammate, Nuttleman, for. Nuttleman has won a division-best five features this season, while Carlson has four. Carlson, however, has 14 top-five finishes — two more than Nuttleman — and has only finished out of the top 10 once.

Carlson won’t be making the NASCAR national championship tour — you know, the one where it was meet-and-greet all the racing stars at all levels, then take a jet ride to top it off. But he is about to do something he didn’t do last year.

Carlson won the track championship at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Friday night, and will win another track title at the Fairgrounds Speedway tonight when he hears, “Drivers, start your engines.” It has been a big challenge to repeat at the Fairgrounds Speedway, he said.

“Yes, the competition gets tougher every year,” Carlson said. “They (other drivers) were not making it easy.”

Without a doubt, a number of drivers at the Fairgrounds Speedway made their cars “wider,” so-to-speak, in order to make it difficult for Carlson to pass them this season. Who wouldn’t want to say they finished ahead of the defending Whelen All-American Series national champ?

That’s why Jacobs said the Blue Wave of DMT cars — Carlson, Nuttleman and second-year Late Model driver Emily Sue Steck — will do tonight what they have done all season: Go for it.

“We are bringing the spare car in case something happens to either one (Nuttleman’s or Carlson’s car),” Jacobs said. “We are going for wins. We are not there to finish second. It’s just like every other week. There is no way you can hold any of these guys back.”

Advertisement