Bruening tests mettle in DIRTCar Nationals at Volusia Speedway

BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Each February, while the NASCAR world descends on Daytona International Speedway, another group of racers make the trip to Florida for a week of racing.

The elite short track racers in the country haul to New Smyrna Beach for the World Series of Asphalt, and to Volusia Speedway Park for the DIRTCar Nationals. The best of the best from every traveling series pack the pits to race for $10,000 each night.

Decorah native Tyler Bruening has been making the trip with his dirt Late Model to Volusia for the past few years to test his mettle and see where he stacks up with racers and teams with more than twice the budget and corporate sponsorship.

'The competition that's down here is bar none the best in the country. I could say the best in the world, in my opinion,' Bruening said after the Feb. 19 races. 'I've heard people say this is a World 100 lineup. The best of the Lucas Oil (Late Model Series), the best of the World of Outlaws, the best of the UMP and they all assemble here and go at it for a week.

'But when you run good and you're on pace, you feel like you should be able to get in there. It's tough.'

As tough as it was, Bruening had plenty to look back on at his week in Florida to be proud of. He only made the main event one night while he was there, but did so by winning his heat race on Feb. 17, beating racers who have multiple wins on the Lucas Oil Late Model Series.

He finished 11th one one main event and 19th in another, finishing ahead of the likes of Don O'Neal (who drives for Clint Bowyer Racing), Billy Moyer Jr., Donny Schatz and Jason Feger — all drivers who have won races on this tour in the past. The main event results may not have been a victory, but to run as he did and get a heat win was enough to make everyone watching back home sit up and notice.

There was no doubting it was an accomplishment.

'And I had Shane Clanton, the champion from last year, came over to compliment me,' Bruening said. 'When we got done (after Wednesday's races), I checked my phone and I had 100-some Facebook notifications. People I hadn't talked to forever, people I didn't know — it was unbelievable the response we got. It was awesome to get that support from back home.

'Even when we had rough nights (after), you can still look back on it and say, 'People are cheering for us and pulling for us back home.' It makes us come to the track every night and try to get it right.'

Volusia Speedway is a high-banked ½-mile that features a sandy clay racing surface unlike anything Bruening sees when he races weekly at Independence Motor Speedway or with the IMCA Deery Brothers Summer Series for Late Models.

The surface lacked consistency the more the week went on. Lack of seat time in situations where the car needs to be able to work in different parts of the track every lap put Bruening at a disadvantage compared to his fellow competitors. Failing to make the main event the rest of the week certainly wasn't satisfying, but Bruening didn't lose perspective.

Drivers like Darrell Lanigan, Steve Francis, Jimmy Owens, Moyer, Schatz and others each failed to make at least one main event throughout the week, too.

He made the trip and tested himself against the best.

'It's a tough racket. You're on top of the world one night, then the next you have a little slip up and you're behind the eight ball all night,' Bruening said. 'You have to be really maneuverable and get around those holes. These guys are masters at doing it. It humbled me a little bit. There's just no room for error at all.

'There's nothing like it anywhere unless you go to a show like the World 100 at Eldora (Speedway). When you're parked next to a guy like Jimmy Owens and he's loading up for the feature, it puts it in perspective for us — a small team just trying to make some noise.'

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