Schrader eager to hit the dirt in area stop

Spend a week on Ken Schrader's schedule and you wouldn't need a hobby either.

If he's not racing on the Winston Cup circuit, he's in his Craftsman Truck series ride. Or Winston West. Or ARCA. Or the Southwest Tour.

Or today on a dirt track in Scott County.

"I've got no use for golf, no use for the lake," said Schrader, the multitasking racer who will compete today at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark in both late model and modified stock cars. "This is my hobby. This is what I enjoy doing."

It helps that he's been good at it.

Schrader, a Fenton, Mo., native, graduated from a championship run in USAC sprints in 1983 to a Winston Cup rookie of the year award by 1985. He's won hundreds of races on dirt and paved tracks alike in the years since, including four events in Winston Cup.

But one place where he hasn't won -- and hasn't even seen -- is ATPR's 3/8-mile, high-banked oval track, where's he's expected to be among a field of nearly 30 racers in both the United Midwestern Promoters late model and modified classes. Late model drivers will compete for $1,500 to win, and modifieds will race for a $1,000 top prize. Both classes will offer valuable season points toward the national UMP points fund.

"We know enough people who have run at short tracks, usually we can talk to them and get ideas for setups," Schrader said. "What it comes down to is that they're all still circles, and I've been doing it forever, it seems like. They all have something unique about them that makes them memorable."

Schrader will race cars today owned by Ken Schrader Racing and based near his Concord, N.C., home. The ATPR stop is one of more than 30 dirt-track events planned this season, and that doesn't include 38 Winston Cup races and events on other series. After racing today Schrader will compete Thursday at a dirt track in Iowa on his way to Winston Cup practice Friday at Michigan International Speedway. He'll also help fellow St. Louis racer Mike Wallace, who will race this weekend in a Craftsman Truck series entry Schrader owns.

In between is his commitment to the BAM Racing team on the Winston Cup circuit, where Schrader is trying to overcome the season's frustrating first half. Schrader has one top-10 finish in 20 Winston Cup starts this season, and he failed to qualify for the past two events at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen.

Schrader, 48, is 37th in the Winston Cup standings and 26th in the Craftsman Truck series. He admits his career is in the "winding-up stages," but won't say when he plans to put his 19-year-old Winston Cup career behind.

"I've been doing it so long," he said. "Everything's shifted so much to sponsors wanting long-term deals with younger kids, wanting to have that same person for a while. I can understand that.

"For me, it's getting close."

It's a decision Schrader said would leave more time for dirt racing and working at I-55 Raceway, a dirt oval track near Pevely that Schrader and friend Ray Marler purchased last year. Schrader said he plans to compete on his home track four or five times this year.

"I'd definitely be going to more dirt races, that's for sure," Schrader said. "I want to do that now as much as I can, and it seems like we do more and more of them already. There are so many good memories I have from dirt tracks, and there are so many good people I've met there."

Among the racers he's met over the years is Billy James of Sikeston, who holds the ATPR record for most career wins with 33. James won those events in a street stock from 1993 to '97, but he'll return today to compete with Schrader in the late model class.

"A lot of local guys who don't travel a lot wouldn't get a chance to race a guy like Kenny," said James, the late model season points leader at Malden (Mo.) Speedway. "He's a role model. You look over at his trailer and there are always 50 or 60 people hanging around. To be able to race against him is pretty neat."

As for today's event, ATPR promoter Jerry Wolsey said an autograph session is planned for Schrader near the grandstands at the track. NASCAR racer Kenny Wallace, who was scheduled to sign autographs, canceled his appearance because of commitments to his Winston Cup sponsor.

jhall@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 174