The Scoop
JEFF STEENBERGEN – WISCONSIN’S DIVERSE SHORT TRACKER ON MAKING TWO “BIG DANCES” @ BOONE, BUILDING RACECARS & MORE
Posted on: Tuesday September 13, 2022
Johnson Creek, Wisconsin’s Jeff Steenbergen made the “Big Dance” in two divisions at IMCA’s Supernationals at Boone (IA) Speedway September 9-10. (Byron Fichter photo)
When it comes to making the “Big Dance” at IMCA’s Supernationals down in Boone, Iowa it’s tough enough to qualify for even one of those big shows much less two of them.
Last week Jeff Steenbergen pulled off that fete. The 40-year-old Johnson Creek, Wisconsin racer made the show in both the IMCA northern sportmod and stock car classes, respectively.
Steenbergen scored a 15th place finish in the stock car A main last weekend while in the sportmods Steenbergen finished 14th.
“It was a crazy thing from a logistics standpoint to race down there with two cars for an entire week,” Steenbergen explained. “I don’t have some big stacker trailer to haul two cars. I hauled my sportmod in my enclosed trailer and my one crew guy who went down with me, Wayne Walker, towed my stock car down on my open trailer. It was just us two all week.
Steenbergen made the trip to Boone with lone crew member Wayne Walker bringing Steenberger’s stock car in a second trailer.
“I only had one pit stall to work with so that made things tough. We had to squeeze both cars into one stall and it seemed like we were always walking around one to work on the other. I am not sure what I was thinking after we unloaded down there.”
2022 marked Steenbergen’s second time tackling Boone’s tricky oval. “I was down there once before and Boone a very unique place for sure,” Steenbergen confessed. “The way the whole event works with the draw and the way the heat races are weighted it makes it real difficult. You really can’t have a bad race. Ever. You have to bring your “A” game every time you hit the track. Your setup has to be good, and you always have to be mentally focused with no mistakes.”
Steenbergen likes the stock car class, where drivers often trade paint going three and four wide on occasion. (Byron Fichter photo)
What helped Steenbergen slightly was the fact that the stock cars and sportmods did not often race together on the same night throughout the week. That, combined with large car counts (270 stock cars and 182 sportmods) and weather delays spaced things out enough where Steenbergen and Walker were able to stay up on things between maintaining the two machines. “We were changing stuff constantly in between races,” Steenbergen admitted. “We changed shocks and springs on both cars pretty much in between all the races and a few other changes as well. I took a lot of swings at it with more changes in the stock car but we kept at it and it paid off.”
Like many dirt track racers in 2022 Steenbergen opted to bounce around to different ovals and not chase points weekly at any track. “This year I was all over the place,” Steenbergen explained. “We started off at Seymour (Outagamie Speedway) and Gravity Park (Chilton) and we ran at 141 (Speedway, Francis Creek) a bunch of times. We even went down to Beaver Dam Raceway once and ran at Benton County in Iowa where we won the stock car special there.”
For Steenbergen, traveling to new tracks keeps things exciting and provides opportunities to try different setups with his cars. “That learning curve never really ends and I do enjoy traveling around,” Steenbergen said. “You get to see different parts of the Midwest and catch new tracks. For me it helps keep things fresh.”
Steenbergen’s diverse resume boasts competing in more than one dozen divisions on both dirt and asphalt ovals in a career spanning 23 seasons. “I even did some road racing,” Steenbergen pointed out. “We raced mini-Indy cars, Midwest truck series, Mid-American series stock cars, Big 8 and limited type late models and even a little super late model stuff too.”
On dirt Steenbergen has raced both A and B mods, legends and even wheeled a street stock. “I even had an asphalt midget I was going to run one time,” Steenbergen recalled. “I didn’t make the show and the car broke.”
Steenbergen has been building his own race cars since 2011 through his business Ultimate Race Cars. “I usually build two or three cars on average per year,” Steenbergen said. “The first two years I was building four or five cars a year but now with kids and my real job I just can’t put that much time into building race cars like I once did.” Steenberger has built 30 race cars in the last 12 years.
Running your own equipment that you’ve built car be a two-edged sword at the end of the day. “I know I have something else not many other drivers have,” There are just a few of us who run URC cars. And those customers are like me and they want to run something no one else has.”
The downside to that is a much smaller group of teams to network with and share setup ideas. “I can’t call upon Rage or Harris chassis or anyone else for example if I was looking to try something different,” Steenbergen admits. “Ultimately when guys come to me for advice on these cars that all falls upon me.”
Two of his customers who compete with URC-built racers were stock car racers Tim Warner and Mitch Meier. “They both came to me at Boone and for a while I was struggling,” Steenbergen admitted. “That makes it tough to give them good advice because for a while I wasn’t able to help them much. Tim’s car was quick all week it seemed.”
So which car does Steenbergen prefer to race with on dirt – the sportmod or the stock car? “I guess that really depends upon the day,” Steenbergen explained. “The sportmod is faster and more fun to drive. But the racing with the stock car class is way more fun. You can do more rubbing and beating and banging in the stock car class. The cars seem to be able to race closer together.”
When he’s not racing or working on his cars in his shop Steenbergen works full time at Briggs and Stratton in fuel injection programming. “I’m not sure if I’d ever build race cars for a living,” Steenbergen said. “Right now, with the economy and all I think it would be a bit too risky.”
As far as post season specials go in September and October, Steenbergen plans to hit 141 Speedway, Beaver Dam Raceway’s Duel at the Dam and the Iowa Dirt Nationals.
Marketing partners of Steenbergen’s racing operation include Ultimate Race Cars, J & L Tire and Auto in Johnson Creek, BMRE Electric Carts and Tim’s Tool Sales. In addition to crew member Walker Steenbergen’s dad Leon lends a hand whenever Steenbergen races closer to home.
“Down the road I still get that itch to race at Jefferson Speedway,” Steenbergen confessed. (Jefferson is dubbed “Wisconsin’s action track” and is a quarter-mile, paved oval). “Jefferson is 15 minutes from my house. I built a pavement car to run there a year ago, but I sold it. This year with us traveling so far away to other dirt tracks it got really expensive to compete in the weekly shows. Fuel was costly and it was tough most nights wherever we went to break even financially and that was when we ran in the top five. It took its toll.”