Tonight, the undefeated Chris Carlson will attempt to extend his winning streak to seven consecutive victories in the modified class at Wilmot Raceway in Wisconsin. He frequents victory lane by using an unconventional strategy.
“We won three races with a [Chevrolet Performance] 604 crate engine and three with our Sevcik Motorsports open engine,” said Carlson, 50, of Caledonia, Wisconsin. “We change engines in the car for the anticipated track conditions. On a normal night, the track is heavy and hammer-down, so we use the open engine. On a night when the IRA Sprint Car Series or the late models are there, it becomes dry-slick, so we turn to the crate.”
Carlson has raced since 1995, when he grabbed rookie of the year honors at Hales Corner Speedway in Wisconsin, which closed in 2003. Since then, he’s raced dirt late models, dirt modifieds, and even dabbled for a bit on pavement.
“I’ve never liked racing for championships,” Carlson said. “I couldn’t stand the pressure. I like to go out there week to week, trying to win.”
Despite his focus on earning wins, Carlson has a few championships under his belt. He won the modified crown at Wilmot in 2011, 2013, and 2014. This year, he’s off to a great start to capturing a fourth championship. However, Carlson’s competition has him in their sights — as well as everyone else at Wilmot.
“We’ve been getting badgered on the Internet — I find it amusing,” said Carlson. “It bothers others on the team, but, frankly, I don’t care what people say.”
The unphased Chris Carlson looks forward to aiming for his seventh consecutive win tonight.
“We’ll just keep doing our thing,” Carlson said. “I’ve had the same setup forever — we did all that experimenting years ago. We may make an eighth of an inch adjustment. I can feel what it does because everything else hasn’t changed.”
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.
