Lucas Oil Speedway
Imhoff trying to end season with a flurry
By Lyndal Scranton
Lucas Oil Speedway
Brandon Imhoff (gsstanekracingphotography.smugmug.com)
A third-place finish in the Warsaw Auto Marine & RV-sponsored Late Model division doesn’t typically raise eyebrows, but for Dalton Imhoff his strong run the last time out definitely was an attention-getter at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo.
The 24-year-old Imhoff only has a handful of Late Model outings over the last couple of seasons, while sharing the car with his dad, Walt Imhoff. The younger Imhoff’s top-three run has given him a boost of confidence entering this Saturday’s program at Lucas Oil Speedway.
“We have been struggling all year,” Dalton Imhoff said. “We got that new (Black Diamond) car this year and we’ve been having a hard time figuring it out. We’ve been talking to Black Diamond and they’ve been helping us and changing quite a bit of stuff up.
“We kind of threw the book at it. Finally, something just happened to work out right and we went from there.”
Imhoff, from Jamestown, Mo., finished behind three-time reigning track champion Johnny Fennewald and current points leader Cole Henson in the Aug. 1 feature. Keeping that sort of company is a sure sign of progress that Imhoff hopes to continue as the ULMA Late Models get ready to run a 25-lap, $1,000-to-win feature Saturday.
“You never have the mindset that somebody is gonna have a bad night and you’re gonna get lucky,” Imhoff said. “If you do good it’s because you hit something right and were on your A-game. The guys down there are all good. Any of them can win a feature on a given night.”
Dalton Imhoff also has a street stock and the original plan for the last two seasons has been for Walt to drive the Late Model and Dalton the Street Stock. But the family construction business keeps both extremely busy and Walt, just as he did a year ago, has turned the Late Model duties over to Dalton in the second half of the season.
Dalton has two top-10 finishes in four outings this season and sits 15th in track points — one spot behind his dad. Combined, the Imhoffs would have enough points for eighth overall.
Walt has been racing since about 2004 and Dalton would always tag along. It was a natural that Dalton would up behind the wheel.
“I actually started out in a Late Model back when I was 16, in about 2012,” Dalton Imhoff said. “I only ran it about five nights, on and off. Our old car, we got it about 2015 and had a hard time with it, too. We had a hard time getting a consistent car out of it. Then it started to become, ‘Let’s focus on one instead of two cars.’ ”
Now that he’s starting to drive the Late Model more often, Dalton Imhoff said he’s starting to cut into a steep learning curve.
“I had a hard time with it last year,” he said. “I’d race the street stock one week and the next I’d go and race the Late Model. The street stock is a lot more steering with the steering wheel and being consistent with your throttle. The Late Model is a lot more driving with the throttle and not so much with the steering wheel.
“I’d go out and usually every hot-lap session, I’d spin out and have a heck of a learning curve trying to figure out what I was doing. There’s a big mental aspect to it. The faster you’re going, trying to get everything to click in your head … it definitely has felt a lot more comfortable this year and especially the last couple of weeks as we’ve got the car working better.”
Imhoff said he pays attention to lines more-experienced drivers are using. He said Henson, along with Henson’s crew chief Rob Schlup, have been helpful.
“We’re pretty good friends with Rob and Cole and get feedback from those guys,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that help, just being around those veteran guys.”
With the season winding down, Imhoff said he just wants to keep building positive vibes.
“Our main goal always is to make sure we show up with a consistent car, one that is gonna be fast right off the trailer,” Imhoff said. “Hopefully we can have a strong ending so we can have a good start next year.
“I have to give a shoutout to Joe Creason Race Engines, out of Troy. He’s been our engine builder since the start. Also, Ron Stuckey with Black Diamond and shoutout to Russell Kueffer. He’s come on the last couple of years and been a big asset. Has several years experience with Late Models on his resume and he’s helped us out in the shop and is a big part of the team.”
