8/5/2025
Eric Blumer
Blumer Keeps Momentum Going At Eagle River Speedway in BMARA
It hadn't been the season Eric Blumer had hoped for. In his third full season with the AFS Badger Midget Series, four DNF's were not in the plans. He had not seriously considered going to Eagle River Speedway, the next race on the Badger schedule. Not all of his crew was available and there was no place to stay. The ride home after the rainout the previous year was miserable. That drive was in daylight, there's no way they were going to do it at night.
Enter Kent Orfan. Kent and Eric's dad have known each other since junior high and about a month before the race, Kent offered the team a place to stay. He was patient enough to let Blumer wait until the last minute to decide. After a positive Beaver Dam/Angell Park Speedway three-day weekend, Orfan did say, "You should keep the momentum going." In the end that's exactly what Blumer did.
The Eagle River weekend actually started the night before when Blumer traveled to Madison International Speedway for a rare effort on the pavement. Here, driving his employer's Legends Direct INEX Legend car he qualified fourth in the Midwest Legends Asphalt Series event. His heat was non-descript. In the feature he started 8th out of 14 and finished 4th. "I started to figure it out with about four laps left," noted Blumer. His front bumper was at the door of the third-place car when the checkers flew.
In the midget it was just Blumer and his crew chief Justin Hoium. If Justin couldn't go, Blumer probably would not have made the trip. He qualified 7th. He had a bad heat, just didn't go anywhere, which left him starting 11th in the feature of 15 cars.
At the drop of the green he passed about four cars on the opening lap or two. He then had a couple of spirited battles through the 25 lap race and nipped Miles Doherty at the line to take home 6th place and the Spankins Motorsports Bob Tattersall Hard Charger Award for passing five cars.
After the races the EBR team was the last midget team to leave the pits. They couldn't outlast Ralph Pulver and the Vintage guys. They then went to Kent's place for some nightcaps and bench racing. In the morning the host made a great breakfast. They saw an eagle in a tree in the yard and just enjoyed the clean Northwoods air.
They were pleased to have "The Brains of the Operation" Todd Reuter with us as he was doing some cool video work for the BMARA.
We'll see if we can keep the momentum going this week at Angell Park Speedway on Sunday, August 10!
Thanks to all of our sponsors including but not limited to Legends Direct; Club LaMark; Matt’s Pizza of Tulsa, OK and the Dave Batterman Family; McCallum Electric; The Hill Tavern; Owen Leatherberry USN; Chances Pub; Hypersports; Storage & Handling Systems, Inc; BRS; Advanced Building Supply; Jim and Mary Schulenburg; Northern Air Systems, Inc; Fanaktive; Ryder Geist Racing; Fowler Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC; Bradley Farms; Olson Vacuum Cleaner Sales and Service, Inc.; Ahern; (second cousin) Kenzie Dunn; BDG; Spankins Motorsports; Grandpa Blumer; Mom and Dad.
And a special thanks to Kent Orfan for all of the hospitality!
Photos and article by Dad
Submitted By: William Blumer
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