The Scoop
COLE CZARNESKI – AMBITIOUS 85 RACE SCHEDULE IS IN FULL SWING
Posted on: Thursday January 25, 2024
Cole Czarneski is joined by pit crew members Sean Merline and Jamie Miller in victory lane at Cocopah Speedway. (seeking photo credit)
Cole Czarneski can lay claim to being the first dirt tracker from Northeastern Wisconsin to score a feature win in 2024.
The 18-year-old from Denmark picked up the ‘W’ at Cocopah Speedway during IMCA’s Winternationals in Somerton, Arizona earlier this month. The series hosted eight nights of IMCA sanctioned action. Czarneski’s win came in the IMCA stock car class. Czarneski raced with both a stock car and modified which he has at his disposal.
Czarneski started 10th in the stock car contest he emerged triumphant and picked the cars off every few laps before snagging the lead with three laps to go in the contest. “We left our trailer and cars down there from when we raced in Las Vegas last November,” Czarneski explained. “It was about a four-hour tow from Vegas to Cocopah.”
Czarneski’s duo of pit crew members Sean Merline and Jamie Miller were tasked with tinkering with the stock car and IMCA’s recent rule changes regarding ride height on the front right corner of the car. “That rule change is something many of the teams will eventually have to deal with down the road,” Czarneski said. “We’re glad we got to work through it early in the year. That seat time you get during the winter months you can’t put a price tag on really. We were able to figure out a lot of stuff down in Arizona.”
Anytime a Midwestern driver can get valuable laps during the winter months is a bonus. “Cocopah I’d say was a three-eighths mile and didn’t compare really to anything back close to home,” Czarneski said. “It was real sandy dirt. It looked dark but there was a lot of sand in the surface itself.”
The stock car Czarneski pilots is a B & B Chassis by Bob Harris Enterprises (BHE). It’s the same car Czarneski picked up a pair of wins with in Las Vegas last November. The team fared better with the stock car in Arizona than they did with the Lethal chassis modified as the team battled fuel issues the first couple of races. According to Czarneski the team did ‘much better’ with the modified the final few nights they competed.
Driving styles differ quite a bit from Wisconsin to the southwestern corner of the country. “In Wisconsin we race on much drier surfaces and there’s a lot of finesse involved back home,” Czarneski pointed out. “Everything is so dry in Wisconsin with all the cars we get. Out west they like they’re wide-open stuff. Drivers often must pack the track every night out there.”
Czarneski has a short turnaround before his next upcoming races in sunny Florida. The team is loaded for bear and plans to compete during Speedweeks. In addition to the IMCA stock car and modified the team is also bringing down a United Midwest Promoters (UMP) modified. It’s a totally different animal than the IMCA stuff. “That UMP car is the one that Benji LaCrosse drove in Florida last year when I was wrestling yet for Denmark at state last year,” Czarneski said. “I haven’t raced that car yet only practiced it. That UMP car is an Elite Chassis by Nick Hoffman. It’s a totally different animal with more motor and more tire. We’ve got our work cut out for us with that thing.”
The second-generation racer has the luxury of having Merline and Miller work on his race cars full time as it’s their jobs. It’s something he understands he’s very fortunate to have. “My Dad (Tim Czarneski) is always working so it’s most of the time just the three of us on the road,” Czarneski said. “Without Jamie and Sean none of this would be possible. I’m very fortunate to have those guys.”
In all the team has 14 nights of racing planned in Florida this winter. The trio will be on the road for a total of three weeks and will have a few nights off ‘built in’ to their schedule to work on their cars and maybe enjoy some other Florida sightseeing in their nights off. Some of the tracks the team plans on competing in will be Northwest Florida Speedway, Southern Raceway, East Bay Raceway Park and Volusia Speedway Park.
This year of racing will be a busy one for Czarneski. An aggressive 85-night schedule is set for the second-generation racer. As if the IMCA stuff weren’t enough, Czarneski also has a dirt late model at his disposal. Czarneski plans on competing in at least five Dirt Kings Series events, including races at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, and Langlade County Speedway in Antigo. “I’m really looking forward to Antigo,” Czarneski said. “I only got to hot lap the late model there last year before it rained out.”
For now, at least, Czarneski doesn’t mind living on the road for long periods. “(The traveling) is still new to me for now,” Czarneski said. “We’re gonna race a lot but not chasing weekly points anywhere.” There are a number of high dollar shows the 21cz car will be chasing, including some of the monster payouts including a six figure payday XR event in Farley, Iowa. “There are a lot of big paying shows out there and they are drawing a lot of interest,” Czarneski said. “Traveling and racing on the road you sure do learn a lot. As far as the schedule goes, we truly are just winging it. The shows we have down in chalk are the bigger paying races.”
When he’s not racing Czarneski works at his dad’s businesses Pro 1 Transport or CZ’s Bushville Lanes. Max Larsen is another crew member who chips in on occasion. The team’s marketing partners include Tri County Heating, Prestige Custom Cabinetry, Concrete Finishers, Northeast Cattle Company, Bob Cullen Racing, Loopy’s on the Loop, Off the Hook Bar-n-Grill, Hermans Construction, Professional Fabrications, Inc., Mathis Family, Bradley Livestock, Custom Concrete Curb, CZ’s Bushville Lanes, Northeastern Mud Jacking Service LLC, Dick Czarneski & Donna Czarneski, DD’s Saloon, Julia Wesa-Goelz, Keller Williams Realtor – Licensed in Florida & Wisconsin, Scotty’s, Precision Asphalt Sealers, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, Lethal Chassis – David Stremme, BHE – Bob Harris Enterprises & The Kuehl’s.