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With their eyes on the $50,000 prize that awaits the USMTS national champion later this year, Mike Wedelstadt Racing is teaming up with dirt modified standout Lucas Schott for an aggressive 2018 campaign on America’s dirt ovals.
With Schott behind the wheel, the team plans to compete on the full national tour in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup while also making time for other marquee events including several high-profile IMCA Modified shows.
While both Wedelstadt and Schott will find time in the cockpit, Schott will spend his time on the road driving MB Customs race cars powered by Vic Hill Racing Engines and Wedelstadt will compete on a limited schedule.
Schott won’t be alone on the road, however. Wedelstadt recently hired Riley Hatfield to be the team’s full-time crew chief. Most recently, Hatfield has been turning wrenches for Morgan Bagley’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series stable, and has extensive experience with Modifieds and the rigors of the USMTS trail.
Wedelstadt’s son, Tony, will also give the team a three-way punch from time to time.
Since first teaming up with Wedelstadt in November of 2015 in Arizona, Schott has had success racing IMCA Modifieds for Wedelstadt—a racer and businessman from Fremont, Wis., who has thousands of hours of seat time behind the wheel of a dirt modified.
“Lucas is humble but aggressive when he needs to be on the racetrack,” Wedelstadt said. “Most of all, he’s a hard-working quality guy with strong character. He’s exactly the kind of guy I want driving my cars.”
Wedelstadt was equally enthusiastic about his car builder.
“Jimmy (Mars) builds the best cars on the track, but the thing I like best is their customer service and how strongly they support and offer feedback for their customers,” he added. “As long as I am in this sport, I’ll always work with MB Customs.”
Schott, who turned 21 this past July, has already assembled a résumé that would be the envy of most seasoned veterans.
Starting off in go-karts at the age of seven, Schott made the jump from Slingshots to a full-fledged USRA Modified in 2010 at the age of 13. In that season, he finished 16th in USRA national points, second in USMTS rookie points and scored his first feature win at the Nobles County Speedway in Worthington, Minn.
Over the next four seasons, he racked up another 26 feature wins including his first USMTS victory—a $7,500 win on Friday night during the Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., and was a $5,000 Triple Crown winner at the Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. During that time he also nailed down a pair of track championships at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis.
In 2015, Schott spent time behind the wheel of an IMCA Modified and although he wasn’t even old enough to gamble yet, then 19-year-old Schott won big in Las Vegas at the Duel in the Desert to earn a check for $7,777 at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
It was two years ago that his fellow competitors and dirt modified racing fans realized that ‘Cool Hand Luke’ was something special.
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| Lucas Schott celebrates after winning the inaugural Grant Junghans Memorial USMTS feature on Sept. 30, 2016, at the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. |
Against one of the toughest and most talented fields ever assembled, he emerged as the winner of the inaugural Grant Junghans Memorial at the Lakeside Speedway and returned to the Kansas City oval in October to win the 3rd Annual USRA Nationals en route to capturing the 2016 USRA Modified National Championship.
Several sponsors will support Schott’s efforts with Mike Wedelstadt Racing, including Wedelstadt’s Auto Pro Express and Graveyard Auto in Hortonville, Wis.
Vic Hill Racing Engines will power the team’s MB Customs race cars, with crate engines from Friesen Chevrolet under the hood in IMCA Modified competition.
Other marketing partners making things go include Big Cat Transportation, Landrum Springs, Dynamic Drivelines, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Bassett Racing Wheels, CMD Race Shocks and Forty9 Designs will keep the bodies wrapped.
The team will kick off the 2018 season this weekend racing USRA Modifieds at the Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at the Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley, Ariz. The ten-day excursion starts this Friday, Jan. 5, with an open practice, followed by racing on Saturday, Jan. 6; Sunday, Jan. 7; Wednesday, Jan. 10; Friday, Jan. 12; Saturday, Jan. 13; and Sunday, Jan. 14.
The 20th anniversary season for the USMTS features a points fund of more than $160,000 highlighted by a record top prize of $50,000 awaiting the 2018 USMTS National Champion. The USMTS Hunt for the Casey’s Cup has 43 nights of racing penciled in at 37 of America’s most popular dirt ovals with the first points race on Friday, March 9, at the Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss.
To learn more about Lucas Schott, visit LucasSchott.com.
