Turning up the heat - #20 Chad WeinrickTurning up the heat

Thursday, July 19
Turning up the heat - #20 Chad WeinrickTurning up the heat
Scott Brandenburg Chronicle correspondent

Three years ago, Chad Weinrick wasn't even on the local auto racing radar. Today, the Twin Lake resident has his name listed with some of the top local racing drivers in the nation. In just his second full season of racing, Weinrick has raced well enough to move into the top five in the nation in the UMP points standings for the Sportsman class. Despite a relative lack of experience, Weinrick has his sights set high for the remainder of the season as well. "I'd love to win the points race nationally," said Weinrick. "That's what I'm shooting for. I think I can do it."

The national points winner will be awarded to the person who accumulates the most points out of 25 feature races. If a driver competes in more than 25, only the best 25 will be counted. Weinrick is having such a steady season at both Winston Motor Speedway and Thunderbird Raceway that he has totaled the fourth-best total in points in the nation at 1,343 -- only 138 behind leader Greg Kimmons of Illinois.

According to Weinrick, he isn't worried too much about catching Kimmons because there's several tracks to choose from around the Chicago area and Kimmons' likely has more races finished than he does. In fact, the top three in the standings are from Illinois. Weinrick is also leading the way at Winston with 611 points in the Sportsman series, 10 points ahead of Ralph Sternberg. "The first thing I think about when I get in the car and start driving is getting to the front," said the 34-year-old Orchard View graduate. "I'm very aggressive when it comes to trying to move up." Turning up the heat For several years, Weinrick's race of choice was drag racing. However, three years ago he traded his dragster to his friend Dean Wilkerson for a race car and competed for half a season in the Bombers class.

Weinrick immediately decided he wanted to move up and bought a 2006 Monte Carlo, which looks more like the Winston Cup cars than what many local competitors drive. He's looked awfully comfortable in his No. 20 car ever since. Last year, Weinrick won the Mid-Michigan points series and finished runner-up at Winston. This year could be even better. "I'm having a blast," said Weinrick. "Everything's been going great and I got a lot of people rooting me on and helping me out and a very supportive family.

I'd like to thank my wife, Christy, for being so understanding." C.J. Heskett's the engine builder behind the Weinrick team, Fran Couch helps work on the car and Brandon Olsen serves as the crew chief. Together, the team, which has sponsors from Vor-tech Heating and Cooling, Four Seasons Home Crafters, Fairfield Dentral, Old Clover Bar and Mossy Oak Builders, is speeding toward a possible points title. So far, Weinrick has three feature wins -- two at Winston and one at Thunderbird. His best race may have been in this past Saturday's 75-lap Quad Memorial at Thunderbird. In that race, Weinrick started 15th, sat in 20th at the halfway point and roared back to take third. "I cleaned the radiator off and they made me go to the back of the pack," said Weinrick. "It helped though. "I can't really explain how I've done so well so quickly. Things have just clicked."