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Conrad Has Caught The Racing Bug
...And it’s squirmed its way into every part of his
life
by Dan Bailey
(Independence, WI) – “I had seen a couple of races when I was younger,”
explains Independence, WI racer Mike Conrad, “But it wasn’t until FOX
RIDGE SPEEDWAY opened in Arcadia that I REALLY got the bug. I went to opening
night the year they opened and my life changed right then and there – I was
hooked!”
To spend time talking with Mike Conrad is like getting a personal training
session in exuberance. The excitement in his voice is contagious and his “I
don’t know if I can contain it much longer” laugh is infectious – before
you know, you’re talking just as fast and laughing just as loud as he is. If
racing is a disease, Mike Conrad has got it BAD!
To say that his new found love of the sport has changed his life would be an
understatement. In 2002, after visiting the FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY every single
race night during their inaugural 2001 season, Conrad and his friend Matt
Wolfe decided to get out of the stands and behind the wheel. “We built a car
and each took turns driving it that first year,” explains Conrad.
But it doesn’t end there. Conrad decided that he loved the sport so much, he
was going to go beyond adopting it as a hobby, he was going to integrate it
into his life, “I thought to myself that I needed to get the car
lettered,” recalls Mike, “so I decided to do it myself. I went about
getting all the equipment necessary to do some vinyl lettering – lots of
people noticed my work and before you know I’m running my own business.”
After just over a year or so of working full time as a welder and operating
his ‘Velocity Vinyl’ business on the side, he finally dropped his other
job and made the transformation complete. “Business is booming,” offers
Conrad, “I’m doing work for some trucking companies, milk haulers, lots of
local businesses like that . . . and a handful of other people’s race cars
as well.”
And just like his business, his on track performance is steadily improving
week by week. “You know, when you’re just starting, when you’re a
rookie, it’s all about learning,” Mike says, “Now I’m to the point
where all that learning is paying off and I feel like I’m really starting to
be a competitive factor on the track.”
After a couple of mechanical hiccups forced him to struggle through the first
few weeks of this season, the past two at FOX RIDGE have shown that when his
machinery is holding together Conrad can run in the pack at the front of the
Street Stock field.
And in a weird sort of way, the turning point in his on-track performance was
a ferocious accident midway through the 2004 season. “I remember my right
rear tire beginning to climb the back straight wall,” recalls Conrad of the
night he brought a nearly packed house at FOX RIDGE SPEEDWAY to an eerie
silence, “My first thought was ‘This isn’t going to be good’ and then
my next thought, as the car began to roll over, was ‘I can’t believe this
is going to happen AGAIN’!”.
In his short on-track carrier, Conrad had already rolled over his race car
twice. But this third roll over was different. “Those first two roll-overs
were just kind of like soft tumbles,” he continues with his laugh,
“Actually, the one time we rolled the car back over on its wheels and drove
the car away.” Not so the third time. “I remember seeing some flames and
some of the rescue workers, but then the next thing I remember was looking up
at my Dad in the hospital and asking him if I rolled the car a couple
times.”
His father replied that it went over at least six! The car was destroyed –
beyond repair.
But then, just like with his new business, he attacked the job at hand with
enthusiasm. Conrad took a car a fellow racer offered to loan him and went on
to collect his very first checkered flag. “I don’t think anyone really
knows that even with a concussion I rebuilt that car. I mean, when I picked it
up, it was in about six feet of weeds, they were storing siding in it!” he
offers with a laugh and goes on to explain how he burnt the clichéd midnight
oil and slept very little to rebuild the car over the following weeks and
ended the 2004 season with a heat race win at the prestigious WISSOTA 100!
2005 is looking just as promising. With two top-5, and third top-10, feature
finishes Conrad is showing that his on-track action can be just as successful
as his new business. And whether or not he attains his goal of three feature
wins during the 2005 season or not, his laugh and his energy will insure that
his enjoyment of the sport is a complete success!
To see if Conrad can collect one of those feature wins, stop out to ‘The Big
3/8 Mile’ this Friday night; begin your extended Memorial Day weekend by
enjoying some family fun with “Veterans Appreciation Night” at FOX RIDGE
SPEEDWAY in Arcadia. Hot Laps begin at 7 pm with the first green flag
scheduled for 7:30!
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