2021 RACE RESULTS
The green flag dropped on Steven's 2021 season on 1-23-21 at 4-17 Speedway. He was back in Mike Belusar's #30.
Steven got close: late in the race he had caught Rob Kohler and was trying to pass for the lead. The two leaders came up on two lapped cars who were running side-by-side, so Steven jumped outside of Rob. Naturally Rob moved up two lanes, so they ended up going in the corner 4 wide with Steven on the outside.
He got in the oil dry and marbles, lost some time, and could not make it up before the end.
The Belusar cars finished 1 & 2!
2-27-21 4-17 Speedway
Another near miss. Steven caught the leader and was working him over with a few laps to go.
Then the right front tire started coming apart! It held air to the finish, but he lost a chance to win.
Steven got the heat race win in a photo finish.
The Belusar cars finished 1 & 2, AGAIN.
3-27-21 4-17 Speedway
Another near miss.....again.
Steven took the lead after a few laps, and set sail with Rob Kohler in pursuit. Somewhere after half way, they encountered lapped traffic. One of the lapped cars zigged while Steven zagged, and Rob got by and went on to win.
5-29-21 4-17 Speedway
Another near miss.....again and again.
Steven had a furious battle with Jimmy Wilkins for the win. Jimmy was leading and Steven was the aggressor. In fact, there was contact with just a few laps to go and Jimmy spun. The track put him back in front, but on the final lap Steven jumped to the outside and came up short by just a few feet. Great racing!
5-1-21 Auburndale Speedway
We took the Legend car out for only its second race. Steven drove it in December, but it has been sitting since then.
Overall, our night was terrible. The engine ran very well in the first practice session, but only for a few laps, then a strong miss set in. We worked non-stop, changing parts and guessing at what the problem was for hours. Then we missed the heat race, and started in the back of the B main. He was going great! I know Steven was going to win the B main, but once again, the engine fell off after a hand-full of laps.
So we were done for the night and headed for the shop.
6-26-21 4-17 Speedway
Heat and feature win! Steven drove the 30 under two checkered flags tonight.
We had seven cars tonight, but even with that car count the race was pretty wild! The track was rained on twice during practice so it was pretty slick. Steven settled down in third after a few laps, and worked his way up. Jimmy Wilkins raced hard to a close second place.
Steven was joined in victory circle by 4-17 superfan Mykayla, and sprintcar driving buddy Ryan Adema.
Here was a proud dad moment!
Here are the team cars prepared by Mike Belusar and Rob Kohler.
Jerry Paquin was on hand with his 55 year old car that is powered by a Mercury marine engine. In fact, the engine was salvaged from a sunken yacht! Steven tried Jerry's car on for size.
All the way from Charleston, SC! Kenyon Zitzka made his first start in his new TQ. This was the #26 that Canadian driver Luc Munsie brought to the Showtime series last year.
Summer rains washed out much of practice, so Steven took Ryan Adema for a ride in my Mazda to help "dry the track"!
8-28-21 Citrus County Speedway
I moved back to Florida and we are racing again. On this hot summer day, we took Steven's Legend car to Citrus. This was his first time driving on this track and he loved it.
The first practice went well, and he was fast in the second session. THEN the throttle hung wide open going into turn #1. Using quick reactions, and practiced preparation, Steven killed the engine and stopped the car no more than 3 inches from the concrete wall.
Two rain showers delayed the start of the races, so the track cancelled the heats and went straight into the features. Then our night got worse....
We had a fuel line problem on the pace lap of the feature and did not take the green. Damn! He was looking good and enjoying the track. Next time...
Auburndale Speedway
9-4-21
It was good 'n hot at Auburndale today, but we were determined to have a better showing with Steven's Legend car. He ran several practice sessions with no major incidents, but qualified 4 tenths off the fastest car.
For the first time in 4 outings, our #92 started the feature! In turn one, on lap one, Steven stopped to avoid an accident. Naturally the car behind him did not stop in time and mangled our rear bumper. After a few laps of actual feature racing, Steven was trying to pass another car when they got together and damaged the steering.
So we were out, but at least our engine and braking problems were addressed. The learning curve continues and we are off to the next event.
We had friends on hand today who helped out a great deal. Sprint car driver Ryan Adema, and "Timesplitter" Jeff hung in there with us tonight.
4-17 Speedway, 9-25-21
Back in the saddle! After a three year delay, I finally climbed back in a racecar. It was the Sawyer-Barnum #7 TQ that has just moved into my shop. It is "on loan" from the owners......as long as I race it!
My practice session went ok. This car picks up the left front tire; sometimes it picks it WAY UP and the left rear too. This took some getting used to.
I had a hard time shifting this car, and ended up running the heat race in the wrong gear! The feature wasn't much better. I was not comfortable with the handling, and I knew it wasn't my night, so I just rode it out and finished.
Steven WON the feature after a late-race, open-track pass of the leader. This was his TQ win #7.
Jimmy Wilkins was out sick tonight and missed a race, so we had the usual victory celebration, but without him.
Hialeah in the house! Mark Shoedinger stopped by to say hi.
4-17 Speedway
10-16-21
Steven made his FIRST career sprint car start tonight! He climbed in and took off. Steven stayed clean all night and finished 6'th in the feature.
Meet "Crusty". This was Scotty Adema's third team car and was Steven's ride for the evening. While driving Crusty, Scotty won in Southern Sprintcar not long ago, but lately he installed a 602 crate engine and runs it in the 602 class at 4-17. This engine makes around 400 Hp., so it has about half the power as the other competitors. However, the car ran perfectly and handles well, so Steven kept his foot in it all night and had a blast!
Two young sprint car drivers: Ryan Adema is a forth generation racer, and Steven is a third generation!
At the drivers' meeting with his buddy Johnny Gilbertson.
Ryan and Steven have a great friendship.
The guy who gave Steven his first open wheel ride, Stuart Chamberlin his wife Janet were on hand for support.
I had the privilege of pushing my son out for his first meet 'n greet, and the feature that followed.
This is one proud dad.
It was a hell of a night for Adema Racing. Scotty finished third in the feature.
Ryan ran second in his heat, and fifth in the feature. Both were career highs for Ryan.
Steven ran sixth, and all 3 cars came home in one piece.
Our sincere thanks to Jerry, Scotty and Ryan for kicking off a young drivers sprint car career!
4-17 Speedway
10-30-21
It was TQ night at 4-17! Rex was faster in the #7, but is still off the leaders pace. Steven ran strong of course. He was in second place, but had felt the steering box deteriorating for quite a while. The car was getting worse and worse, and a broken or frozen steering would not end well, so Steven parked the #30 with about 10 to go.
Ryan, Steven and Mykayla hung out during the meet and greet.
It was Halloween, so the team prepped for the trick or treaters!
Stu and Janet are always up for a good race!
Citrus County Speedway
11-13-21
We took the Legend car to Citrus and finally finished the races. It was the first time we had no major problems, although we did have one year old tires. I am sure that slowed us down. Anyway, Steven finished 17'th in a 28 car race.
4-17 Speedway
12-4-21
Steven had his second night in sprint car racing, once again driving the Adema #87 named "Crusty".
All three cars on the Adema team skipped practice tonight, so Steven went to the heat race with no sprint car laps for the last 6 weeks. Crusty has a 602 crate engine, so it has less than half the power of the other cars in the class. But no excuses....Steven kept it wound up and fast in the corners and was able to stay competitive. At the end of the night, he ended up 11'th out of 16.
BIG news coming for 2022!
I have purchased a new sprint car, and we will be returning to the Southern Sprint Car Shootout series full time. Steven will be the driver! We are planning on running every event.
This year saw Steven win 2 TQ features, he made his first 2 sprint car starts, and had a few nights in his own Legend car. Rex also made 2 TQ starts late in the year. Not a bad year for the team when you consider that Rex moved 3 times and lived in Alabama, South Carolina and finally came back home to Florida. 2022 will be much more stable, and we will make a concentrated, professional effort to run hard in Southern Sprint Car. The Legend is for sale, and the TQ is going home to its owner. Pictures of the new sprint are on the way!
