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Jeff Wildung Ends 2009 Season with a WISSOTA National Championship
Jeff Wildung's crew members find themselves walking a fine line while helping the team's yellow No. 50 run up front in WISSOTA Late Model events, as it often does. Wildung's frequent victories usually put him in the mix for the WISSOTA weekly points championship — he's been fifth or better each of the last six seasons — but the 46-year-old driver from Nassau, Minn., isn't personally interested in points chases.
"I guess I won the Regional (title) in NASCAR with that Weekly Racing Series back in '95, and ever since then I said I wasn't going to chase points anymore," said Wildung, who just wrapped up his 27th year of racing.
His crew members, who generally like the idea of winning championships, weren't exactly thrilled this mid-season when Wildung, while heading for the winningest season of his career, stuck with vacation plans, trading family time for track time. "That kind of tees them off a little bit," Wildung acknowledged, "because they're pushing for it."
Turns out that Wildung's 2009 season was so good that even missing a few mid-summer races couldn't stop him from grabbing his first-ever WISSOTA Late Model crown. Within striking distance of the points lead the final few weeks of the season, Wildung overtook leader Chad Becker of Aberdeen, S.D., in the season's late stages. Wildung finished with 1,673 points to top Becker (1,661), Jeff Provinzino of Hibbing, Minn. (1,621) and former champ Kent Arment (1,616), also of Aberdeen, S.D.
While Wildung did the driving, his crew less-than-secretly kept tabs on the points chase. "I told them I didn't want to hear about it. I guess when I'm in the car I never think about it," Wildung said. "To be quite honest with you, I don't even know how the points work."
While Wildung eschews any kind of points strategy — or taking extra-long racing trips to chase points — he more closely follows the mantra of long-time Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis: Just win, baby.
He's got that down pat, racking up a career-high 20 feature victories at five different tracks: Viking Speedway in Alexandria, Minn.; Madison (Minn.) Speedway; I-94 Speedway in Sauk Centre, Minn.; Red River Valley Speedway in Fargo, N.D.; and Fiesta City Speedway in Montevideo, Minn.
Ironically, Wildung's season couldn't have started off much worse than it did. In his first night of practice April 24 at Viking, he was caught off guard with a yellow flag following a hot-lap session and tangled with a slowing car that cut across the racetrack. Wildung's flipping Rocket Chassis was virtually destroyed and had him quickly making a phone call to the Rocket manufacturing shop in Shinnston, W.Va., to order another backup car. "Luckily, I never needed it," Wildung said.
That's because Wildung jumped into his original backup car and reeled off six victories in his first seven starts. The start of the season was so impressive it had the team gunning for the loftiest of goals for Wildung's Sturdy-powered Rocket.
"We pretty much just had a good summer," said Wildung, who won 20 features in 44 outings and had four different stretches of at least three consecutive victories. "We were almost 50 percent, and that's what we were going for actually."
Wildung also locked up another track championship at Viking Speedway's half-mile oval, among the regular half-dozen or so ovals where Wildung competes. "Viking is probably my favorite, and it's not because I win more there. ... I've always liked the big half-mile. There's a lot of guys that don't. Some guys are better on 3/8-miles." Another reason Wildung might like the bigger Viking oval? "Maybe I'm getting older and I need more time to think," he cracked, laughing heartily at his own joke.
Wildung is among WISSOTA's older generation — his buddies Joel Cryderman of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Lance Matthees of Winona, Minn., are among the others in the over-45 set — who still pick up plenty of checkered flags in the upper Midwest where twenty something drivers like Zach Johnson, Adam Hensel, Jake Redetzke and others often grab headlines. "It's pretty awesome," said Wildung, adding he usually talks to Matthees and Cryderman a few times a week. "Us three guys work good together, and any time we go anywhere, any of us three are going to be up front, or got a good chance of it. I'm not saying we're old — but we're a lot older than some of the younger guys."
Wildung isn't talking retirement yet, but working with his brother at their farm implement and trucking businesses, spending time with teenaged children and occupying himself with other middle-aged activities mean racing isn't always the highest priority. For Wildung, 2014 seems like a good time to retire. He'd be 50 - matching his car number. So if that holds true, is Cryderman (No. 51) retiring at age 51 and Matthees (No. 90) retiring after his 80s? That's a bit far-fetched, but Wildung sees a time when he'll climb out of his race car for good — and give those younger drivers a better chance at grabbing more headlines.
"I claim I'm going to quit when I'm 50. That's what I'm claiming. I'll tell you what, I'm not going to be one of those guys trailing around in the back. I've always said that," Wildung said. "I've always just said 50, and we'll see what happens."
