The Scoop
NATHAN VAN WYCHEN – CLOSING IN ON A WIR LATE MODEL TRACK TITLE
Posted on: Tuesday July 27, 2021
Kaukauna, Wisconsin’s Nathan Van Wychen poses next to his late model. Van Wychen is the current division point leader at Wisconsin International Raceway.
Could 2021 be the year that Nathan Van Wychen can lay claim to becoming a track champion at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna?
The 40-year-old hometown late model racer certainly thinks so. As of late July, the second-generation racer currently sits atop the division point standings. Heading into the final third of the Fox River Racing Club’s ‘Thursday Night Thunder’ season Van Wychen currently enjoys an eight-point lead over Appleton’s Bryan Monday. Manitowoc’s Travis Rodewald sits third 14 points out of first place. Appleton’s Brandon Reichenberger is 4th 28 points out of first with Omro’s Brian Henry sitting in the fifth position 56 points out of first place.
“It’s the best position we’ve been in for quite a while,” explained Van Wychen, who also raced super late models for 12 seasons. “Things have been going well and the car has been running as well as it’s ever been.”
Van Wychen has teamed up with Eric Hopfensberger, who raced the car himself for a few seasons before placing a call to Van Wychen. “I had run late models for two years before I jumped up into the super lates,” Van Wychen explained. “Eric called me up and asked me to drive the 56 car.”
The race team is a true ‘team’ effort as Hopfensberger owns the car while Van Wychen owns the truck and trailer they use to tow their hot rod to the track on Thursday nights. “I’ve driven my own stuff and have also raced for a few different car owners over the years,” Van Wychen pointed out. “My first car owner I drove for on the half-mile was Jeff Zwiers. I also drove for Jim Kemkes and Denny Lamers over the years too.”
While Van Wychen has been doing nothing but making left hand turns at WIR’s D-shaped, half-mile paved oval for the past couple of decades it was actually the wild and crazy Figure 8 track where Van Wychen cut his teeth making both left and right hand turns.
He was 17 years old. Nathan’s dad, Kenny Van Wychen, is one of the most popular drivers to ever compete in the Figure 8 class at WIR. “We both worked out of the same shop when we raced Figure 8 and it was a lot of fun,” Van Wychen said. “It was especially neat when I beat dad for the first time. Because in the Figure 8s at Kaukauna he most certainly was a legend. That’s a moment that will always stick with me. I ran Figure 8’s for eight seasons total.”
When it came to adjusting to the half-mile there wasn’t a whole lot of knowledge or technology that Van Wychen was able to use. “Truth is my first year on the half-mile I wrecked a lot of equipment,” Van Wychen confessed. “I really didn’t have much of a clue as to what I was doing. But we all learned quite a bit in those early years along the way.”
One area that Van Wychen has improved upon during the ’21 campaign is his qualifying performances. Anyone who’s ever been a serious contender in a WIR half-mile title chase can vouch for how important it is to qualify well and make your way into the ‘fast dash’ which pays out more points than a regular heat race does.
Nathan Van Wychen prepares to scale his late model after a qualifying run. Van Wychen’s dad and crew member, former Figure 8 legend Kenny Van Wychen, looks on.
“I’m normally very bad at qualifying but we’ve gotten a lot better in that area,” Van Wychen admitted. “This year we got one fast time and we’ve been in the fast dash most nights. That’s key because qualifying really isn’t one of my strong suits. We strive to stay consistent every week and no matter what happens you’ve got to finish. I don’t care if its 10th or 12th. We had a wreck where we didn’t finish a couple of weeks ago. That hurt us bad.”
As the final weeks of the Fox River Racing Club’s season march on there are a few drivers Van Wychen knows he needs to keep an eye on in the championship title chase. “For sure we’ve got to watch out for Travis Rodewald, Bryan Monday and Brandon Reichenberger as those three are always tough,” Van Wychen said. “Also the 7 car (Brian Henry) and the 18 car (Chase Randerson) are fast. And last week Todd Verhagen was fast and tough to beat. Our car count is up in the division and that’s more fun to race against a bigger field of cars and that’s always a good thing.”
While Van Wychen wouldn’t call himself a ‘hired gun’ for the 56 car he admitted Hopfensberger performs roughly 95 percent of the work on the car. “The car stays in the shop in Kaukauna,” Van Wychen said. “Our car is a 2007 RanderCar. When ‘Hop’ worked for RanderCar Racing he built that car himself. He did every single weld on that car by himself. He raced it himself for a while, too.”
Under the hood Van Wychen runs a Big 8 legal motor built by B & B Race engines of Appleton. “It’s a real solid powerplant,” Van Wychen admitted. “We also have a newer Racetech chassis sitting in his shop ready to go with a crate motor under the hood. But honestly, I love this old car so much. This is my 5th year driving this car. This car accepts change so well and is so consistent. I credit Eric and the crew with keeping it out there strong each week.”
Nathan Van Wychen poses with his team members.
That pit crew that services the 56 late model includes Hopfensberger, Kenny Van Wychen, Todd Schmidt, Glen Wirth and Steve & Justin Johnston. The team’s list of marketing partners includes AIT Business Technologies, Hank and Karen’s Pub and Grill, Bob’s Inn of Kaukauna, Becker Custom Services, Lakeview IBA Dairy Supplies, Plan B, Baughman Trucking, Verhagen Plumbing, B & B Race Engines, Rocky and Tarra’s Nuthouse, Lamers Motor Racing, 920 Wraps, 360 Construction, RaceTech and Ma and Pa Hop.
Two years ago Van Wychen just missed snatching a Red, White & Blue title after a motor let go. “I finished third one year in the points in the late model,” Van Wychen recalled. “When I ran the super late models, I always seemed to finish in the top ten in points. Maybe 2021 will be the year. We’ll keep after it.”