Local Sprint Car Driver Ready for Bedford's Annual Sprint Race
Johnstown, PA is famous for many things: the incredible floods, the incline
plane, the movie Slapshot, and Charles Bronson to name a few. It's possible
that someday, the name Dan Shetler may be a household name with race fans all
over the East Coast. At just 24 years of age, Dan is already making his
mark in the 410 sprint car division in Central Pennsylvania. Central
PA is nationally acknowledged as having the best group of sprint car drivers
(known as the PA Posse) in the entire US.
Dan took an interest in racing at a young age. He grew up with a family
of race fans, and when his Dad took him to the races when he was a youngster
he realized that someday he wanted to race. He started his racing career
when he was just 12 years old, spending three years racing go-karts. When
he was 15, he moved up to the motorcycle engine powered Micro Sprints. Three
years later, he took the big step into a full size sprint car at age 18. He
spent 1 1/2 years in the full size sprint car, racing in the Limited 358 c.i.
division before moving on to the wide open, top of the food chain 410 sprint
cars.
Dan races regularly at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa on Friday nights,
and spends Saturday's at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa. Lincoln, located
in the heart of "sprint car country", hosts some of the most talented sprint
car racers in the nation. Shetler is competitive with these racing icons,
and nearly won his first 410 sprint feature a few weeks ago.
Speaking with Dan is a pleasant experience, and you can tell he's dedicated
to the sport of racing. Any racing superstar will tell you that racing is
as much about learning as it is driving. It appears that Dan is heading
in the right direction.
Many fans probably wonder what it's like to race with sprint racing stars like
Keith Kauffman, Fred Rahmer, Greg Hodnett, and Lance DeWease.
"Its awesome", stated Shetler. "One of the main reasons I race at Lincoln
is to race against the best in the country. You can learn so much from
those guys because they truly are the best in the business. Being around
them racing, and watching, teaches you so much in the long run to improve you
as a driver. To be one of the best, you need to race with them and learn."
Dan holds his own against these famous drivers, nearly winning a few weeks
ago. Many
of the drivers he races against are full time racers with big time sponsors. Typically,
very wealthy individuals own the race car and hire top notch drivers. Dan
owns and funds his own team, and it has an effect on his life aside from racing.
Dan acknowledged, "Owning and funding my own team definitely makes it tough. I
still live at home, and I couldn't afford to race if I didn't. I get my
paycheck on Friday, and I pretty much put that entire check into the race car
every week. I don't have a lot of the top notch, best of everything parts,
but it does make you feel good when you can hold your own with those guys. I
do most of the maintenance too. A few crew guys help during the week, but
these cars are a lot of work. When I get home from work, I pretty much
spend most of my time in the garage. It really limits other hobbies if
you want to race serious."
Do you think someday you might be one of these drivers for hire? "It's
my goal. It's important to do good in your own equipment. I hope
to prove myself, and maybe get the opportunity to run for another car owner. I
would still like to be involved with working on the car and that stuff, but it
would be nice to have the opportunity to save some of my own money. It
would be great to get the opportunity to run better equipment, like chassis
and motor and stuff like that."
Since this area isn't really known as sprint car territory, you must really
have to put forth an extra effort to gain sponsors. Dan agreed, "Oh yeah. It
makes it tough. At a lot of places I approach, they ask 'where do you race?' When
you tell them the closest track is over 100 miles away, it makes it tough. Bedford
is the closest track, but they only run sprints once. Lernerville is about
90 miles away. I really have to persuade local businesses. One thing
we do is promotions. Like going to all the local race car shows, and working
with the Race Against Drugs Program. We go to schools on a local basis
to speak about the program. We talk about staying away from drugs and alcohol,
and about how to spend time doing better things. I try to tell them that
racing is my kick, and that's what I do to spend my time. Football, soccer
- it could be anything they enjoy doing. I tell them that they could
make a career out of doing what they like if they stay away from drugs and
alcohol."
Sprint cars are a huge part of Bedford Speedway's history. Unfortunately,
mostly due to logistical reasons, it's only feasible to have one 410 sprint
car race each year. Dan enjoys the annual show, stating "I
definitely look forward to it. I like racing close to home. It
makes it nice. The
short drive, the hometown crowd. A lot of people from this area go
to the Bedford sprint race, and it makes it nice to have people pulling for
ya."
Dan races Lernerville and Lincoln on a regular basis, which means he can't
attend races at the legendary Williams Grove and Port Royal speedways because
they run the on the same nights as Dan's tracks. There are reasons for Dan's track
decisions. "The one thing as far as Lernerville vs. the Grove is Lernerville
is a lot more affordable. Lernerville is a lot easier on the motor, tires,
the entire car. I like the Grove, but economically I can't afford to do
it weekly. Lincoln, is kind of the same reason. It's a smaller track,
and it's easier on equipment than Port Royal. It seems like the competition
might be a hair stiffer too. I like to put myself against the best
and learn as much as I can."
Both Lernerville and Lincoln are 3/8 mile tracks with pretty good banking. Bedford
is a huge 1/2 mile (or 5/8 mile, depending on who you talk to) with semi-banked
turns. the speeds the sprint cars are hitting is incredible. You
would think it would be scary. "It's not scary. You don't want to
hit the track and be scared. It's an awesome feeling on big tracks like
Bedford, Williams Grove, Port Royal. I went to Eldora last year - unbelievable! The
speeds we're carrying is incredible, especially on the 1/2 mile tracks. I
like big tracks, but like I said, it's hard to afford running on the big
tracks."
When you're racing at other tracks, is there a buzz about the Bedford race
in the week's leading up to it? "Right now it's kind of tough to say, because
the World of Outlaw shows are coming through town. After this weekend,
there will probably be a pretty good buzz about the race. I the past there
has been. Like at Lincoln, I heard a lot of guys talking about the Bedford
race. Most guys enjoy coming to Bedford."
Keith Kauffman has more modern day sprint car wins at Bedford Speedway than
any other driver. It would have to be meaningful to beat him on a track that
he's been so dominate at in the past. "Oh that would be awesome, to be
able to beat someone who's been dominating like that. It would prove that
you have your program running well. Obviously, Keith has the place
figured out pretty well, so beating someone like that would be phenomenal."
Sprint cars are truly unique. Weighing in at 1,200 lbs without the driver,
and having over 800 horsepower puts them in a racing category all by themselves
(for instance, a Nascar stock car weighs about 3,400 lbs with about the same
horsepower as a sprint car). One question that any race fan would want
answered is what does it feel like to control that much power? "It's unreal. I
mean there's almost nothing to compare it to. I've never been in any other
form of race car that has that much power. You hit the throttle, and it
just goes like a rocketship. It's an unbelievable experience to have
that much horsepower when the cars are so light."
Sprint cars are able to get through the turns at any track at near full throttle,
if not full throttle. They can carry speed through the corners like no
other dirt race car. Is it physically demanding on your body? "Oh
yeah, no doubt about it. You get a work out. It depends on the track
conditions also. A rough track will really give you a work out. You're
constantly busy, even on the straights. Working with anything from 10 to
14 inches of stagger makes your car want to always turn left. So even
in the straights you're always correcting the car to stay straight."
It's a known fact that auto racing is a dangerous sport. Do you have to
mentally prepare before strapping in? "The new safety equipment I've
been wearing makes you feel more secure in the car."
Not forgetting those who help make his dreams become reality, Dan stated "I'd
like to thank my sponsors and crew. Mully's Billiards on Scalp Avenue in
Johnstown. They have a pool room and also sell pool tables and game room
gear, and Arnold's Trucking in York, Pa. I picked him up from racing
down at Lincoln. My crew is my Mom and Dad (Dan and Susan), Dennis
Knisely, Ken Stoltz, Bud Crawley, Brett Neubert, David Luther, Geoff Arnold
from Arnold's Trucking, and Danny Mulholen."
Dan's future plans are to hopefully pick up his first feature win somewhere
this year. He's hoping to have an overall successful season, and maybe get the
opportunity to drive for someone else. And why not? Dan's a young,
talented racer who's a public relations director's dream come true.
Bedford Speedway will host the sprint cars on June 8th for the PA Posse Sprint
Car Invitational. The raindate for the event will be June 9th.
