The Scoop
BRADY BALDRY – MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF IN WIR’S ‘THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER’ ACTION
Posted on: Tuesday July 6, 2021
Omro, Wisconsin’s Brady Baldry is making a name for himself, showing steady improvement weekly at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.
When you’re the son of the winningest driver at any racetrack’s history in the United States odds are you may never be able to fully live up to those expectations.
Brady Baldry is fine with that. The 36-year-old super late model racer from Omro, Wisconsin is the son of racing legend Terry Baldry. Baldry won an unprecedented 12 track championships at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wisconsin during a three-decade span.
Despite having that well-known last name, the younger Baldry has funded his super late model program for the most part on his own dime. There has been no sugar daddy to help along the way. “To prove that my dad sold me one of his old racing suits for $100,” Brady Baldry pointed out. “He didn’t give it to me. He’s always there for advice and sort of acts as a co-crew chief with my brother Kevin (Baldry) on race day. But he’s always been insistent if we want to race we’re all on our own financially. It’s probably for the better that way.”
After attempting to race super late models several years back on the most meager of budgets Baldry is becoming more of a steady presence at WIR’s D-shaped, half-mile in 2021. Despite still likely ranking in the bottom tier of funding compared to many of his competitors, the younger Baldry is beginning to carve out his own niche’ and is making a name for himself during WIR’s ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ program.
Recently Baldry qualified for the six-for-six fast dash for the first time in his career and has creeped close to the top ten in the Fox River Racing Club’s super late model point standings. “I guess one thing that’s really helped us out this year is we really upgraded out motor program,” Brady Baldry stated. “When Hank Calmes downsized to a one car team we bit the bullet a little bit and bought a spare motor from him. Between that and the entire team we’ve been working our collective butts off. The car we’ve got is a Racetech chassis. It’s one of Brent Piontek’s old car we bought from Maxwell Schultz. We’re finally starting to see the fruits of our labor now.”
This 2021 season was supposed to occur in 2020. But engine woes and Baldry’s limited funding forced him to put his super late model racing dreams on hold for a year.
“When Brady first told me that he wanted to race years ago I was a little hesitant,” admitted dad Terry Baldry. “But I also knew enough that if he wanted to do it, he had to do it by himself. And the best way to learn is to just race and get as many laps as you can.”
Brady Baldry (left) poses next to his dad Terry Baldry, who won more track titles at WIR than any other driver in track history.
There is no substitute for seat time and logging laps as any successful driver can attest to. By racing weekly Brady Baldry is getting that seat time it was tough to get years ago. “He’s never really run enough laps in a season to get the feel for it,” Terry Baldry said. “He didn’t really want to race for points (at WIR) but it’s probably better in the long run. He’s going to get used to racing with different guys. I think he’s getting better all the time.”
As a kid Brady would often travel to Green Bay with his dad to Mike Butz Racing where he would tag along as they’d work on Baldry’s car. “It wasn’t until we got to be 15 or 16 when Kevin and I got our driver’s licenses that would start traveling to races ourselves,” Brady said. “I got my start ice racing on Marion Pond for the Mid-State Ice Racing Association. After that, my Uncle Denny (Baldry) put together a street stock and I started racing at 141 Speedway when It was 15.”
From there Brady Baldry would battle with a dirt street stock at his home track Sunnyview Speedzone in Oshkosh, a track no longer in existence. His first dabbling with late models was at Golden Sands Speedway in Plover, Wisconsin where he earned rookie-of-the-year honors.
One area Brady Baldry has made strides in his program on Thursday nights is in qualifying. “I was never a very good qualifier but we’re slowly making progress,” Baldry admitted. “There is still plenty of room for improvement though. Our budget remains limited. I’d love to go to Norway (MI) for example and race a little bit, or Plover. The budget is tight and the focus this year is to get laps here at WIR and keep on improving. It’s everything from picking the right lanes in a race to our spotter improving his game too. We’re all learning as a team and slowly improving.”
Brady Baldry scales his number 74 super late model after qualifying for the 6-for-6 fast dash for the first time ever at WIR on July 1, 2021.
At times, Baldry admits he feels like he’s bringing a knife to a gun fight when it comes to matching some of the cubic dollars some teams spend the super late model class. “My car is a 2010 Racetech and it’s probably old enough to run with the quarter-mile late model class,” Baldry confessed. “But every year I try to improve upon something with this racing program. It took a me many years to get to this point. In my opinion you can’t really field a super late model at WIR for under 40 grand and still expect to be somewhat competitive. You can spend a lot more than that too. Looking back on it all I wish I would have just taken two full years off and spent the money ten years ago. It’s hard because you want to keep racing. I’ve got a few sponsors and I appreciate everything they provide. But the bulk of this deal I’m funding.”
Baldry’s team of marketing partners includes A. Kalmerton Welding Supplies, Don’s Auto Body, Shawn Dockry State Farm Insurance, Advance Auto Parts, Automotive Supply, Racetech Chassis, Competition Specialist and Chad Olson Design.
When he’s not at the racetrack Brady Baldry is a welder by trade for the State of Wisconsin. “I always tell the pit crew members when it comes to shop night just show up and help whenever you can because it seems like I’m always working on this car,” Brady Baldry said.
Baldry’s pit crew consists of co-crew chiefs Kevin and Terry Baldry, Jeff and Evan Sagmeister, Rick Frye, Jeff Brooks and his stepmother Missy Dehn-Baldry. “We don’t have a huge crew but we do the best we can,” Brady Baldry said.