11/13/2017
Season Summary: Luke Howard Racing
(Photo by High Fly’n Photos)
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Heading into his sophomore season in the midget ranks, Luke Howard had a new challenge ahead of him: transitioning from his Chevy Ecotec-powered Stealth Chassis into a new BOSS Chassis with a much more powerful Esslinger engine under the hood. Three tries to make a POWRi National Midget main event were unsuccessful, but there were other massive strides made in 2017. Though everyone in the talented 13-year-old’s pit area envisioned his transition to the new car and engine package to go well, they may not have predicted a victory in just the sixth race of his season. However, on June 10 at Grain Valley, Mo.’s Valley Speedway, he did just that.
After finishing in the second position what seemed like countless times in 2016 and even on the Saturday prior, Howard commandeered the top position when polesitter and early race leader Pat Schudy was retired to the pit area with mechanical woes. Through the remainder of the race, Howard was unchallenged en route to his first career midget victory, and his first feature race victory in any division since a restricted micro sprint score on September 19, 2015, ending a nearly 21-month drought. With the triumph, Howard became the youngest winner in POWRi Allstar Midget Series history at the age of 13 years and 125 days.
“Lightning” Luke earned several other strong finishes throughout the summer in the A-Class and nonwing micro divisions at Sweet Springs (Mo.) Motorsports Complex as well as at Valley in the midget. A third-place A-Class effort at Sweet Springs on June 17 and another at Valley on August 12 set the stage in September for a display of perseverance on one Saturday night and the Overland Park, Kan. native’s most prominent accomplishment to date on the next.
September 2 had all the ingredients for a second career midget win. The evening began with a convincing heat race victory after starting in the fourth spot. The earned pole position helped Howard rocket to a substantial lead in a hurry. Unfortunately, it was not to be on this night. Navigating through the second turn, he lost control of his machine and spun to a stop, dashing his hopes of his second win of the year. Not all was lost, however. Relegated to the rear of the field, Howard composed himself and rallied back through the field to earn a third-place showing.
After what seemed to be a sure win slipping from his grasp, it would have been easy to be dejected. Luckily, there is little time to mope when raceday comes again in seven days, and particularly with a special event at Valley on tap: the Weld Family Memorial, honoring Kansas City’s famed Taylor “Pappy” Weld and his four sons, Jerry, Rick, Greg, and Kenny, the latter two of which won a combined five Knoxville Nationals between 1963 and 1973.
For Howard, the night began with a respectable runner-up heat race result, which would align him in the fourth spot for the main event. Howard found himself in the midst of several feverish battles throughout the opening half of the race. He quickly conquered eventual 2017 Allstar champion Dustin Gilbert for third and then successfully took second from another series regular in Morgan Frewaldt. In order to capture the top spot, he would have to move past Frewaldt’s father Chad, a seasoned veteran of the midget ranks with years of experience under his belt. Howard, as poised as ever, mounted an unrelenting charge against Frewaldt and came out on top just after the halfway point. From there, Howard set sail and added an impressive victory in the popular event to his resume.
Several weekends worth of adverse weather kept Valley Speedway largely out of action for the balance of the season. Regardless, team owner Trevor Howard was pleased that Luke was able to get over 100 practice laps in behind the wheel of their newly acquired 410ci nonwing sprint car throughout October, a division that they plan to venture into extensively in 2018.
Ultimately, the 2017 season was one to build on for the coming years, as the young Howard earned 17 top-ten finishes in 22 feature starts, while failing to finish just two of those events. Though missing two point races over the course of the year, his otherwise stout results at Valley resulted in a second-place showing in the both the track and Allstar point standings. The two victories are a solid foundation for the upcoming 2018 campaign in which Howard will undertake a healthy mix of micro sprint, midget, and sprint car action, with goals including working toward more Allstar wins, as well as qualifying for at least one POWRi National main event when the series comes to western Missouri.
In the offseason, Howard has preliminary plans to make his return to the famed Tulsa Shootout for the first time since January 2015, with possible entries in the A-Class and stock nonwing divisions, as well as in the Ecotec midget division. Official plans will be announced when final decisions are made.
Luke Howard Racing would like to thank Canyon Stone, Cash Kid Digital Studios, Nathan Benson Motorsports, DDI Fabrication, AdvanTec Dyno Services, Schure Built Suspension, and Sandberg Farms, as well as Richard and Riley Kreisel and Rick Smith for their continued support.
Luke Howard Racing is currently seeking potential marketing partners for the 2018 season, up to and including a primary sponsor. Those interested in a partnership should direct inquiries to Luke Howard Racing team owner Trevor Howard or to Redbeard Promotions for additional information.
2017 Stats
26 races, 22 features, 2 wins, 6 podiums, 8 top-fives, 17 top-tens, 2 DNFs
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions
