A.J. Kreager has garnered attention with strong runs in the Midwest Truck Series and pavement late model events around Wisconsin. She said her performance stems, in part, from her diverse racing background.
Kreager started at age three in grass drag racing with snowmobiles. She then progressed to racing snowmobiles on snow ovals. Later on, Kreager moved to micro sprints, Bandoleros, and go-karts.
“I’ve raced on so many tracks that I can adapt to new tracks quickly,” said Kreager, 16, of Wausau, Wisconsin. “The key for a driver to be successful is the ability to read a track as soon as possible after arriving. You can make your setups faster, and you will do better as the night goes on.”
Her racing journey on pavement has taken Kreager to many tracks in Wisconsin. Last month, she won the Midwest Truck Series show at 1/3-mile Golden Sands Speedway in Wisconsin Rapids. Kreager has raced at tracks ranging from the ¼-mile State Park Speedway in Wausau, to the ½-mile Marshfield Motor Speedway to The Milwaukee Mile.
“We believe hard works pays off,” Kreager said. “Sponsors see that and it has helped us fund our racing. We were able to bring our snowmobile sponsors along to pavement racing and add new sponsors who are sticking with us for the journey.”
The Kreagers found LS engine specialist Tucker Miller in their hometown. He signed on as crew chief and spotter for the fledgling team. The rest of the crew consists of Kreager, her parents, grandparents, and friends, who all help to prepare her cars at her home.
As the junior at high school looks beyond graduation, she seeks to work in her family’s business, DuWayne Kreager Insurance Center. A.J. Kreager said it will benefit both the business and her racing.
“I have confidence in talking to people,” said Kreager. “I will be reaching out to potential customers through racing across the state that our business serves. Our customer base will also yield sponsors for our race team.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
