They call late model driver Michael Kloos the “Trenton Tornado.” However, he probably never thought he would live up to that name as quite literally as he did on April 15. It was then that high winds lifted his truck and hauler as he made his way home from Highland Speedway in Illinois.
Kloos said he lives only 15 miles away from Highland Speedway in Trenton, Illinois. When the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings, the track cancelled its program mid-show. So, Kloos loaded up for the quick trip home.
He, along with his father, Rick; crewmember Tyler Whitaker; and Whitaker’s fiancée, Jenny, packed into Kloos’ Ram 3500 dually pickup. They pulled a 34′ Millennium trailer with their late model inside.
With two miles to go, disaster struck on a two-lane highway.
“We were doing only 40 mph [and] suddenly the truck and trailer lifted four or five feet off of the pavement,” Kloos said. “It was something like I never felt before — and I’ve been driving a late model for 17 years. [I] have been airborne twice while racing, but this took the cake over flipping a late model.”
After the truck and trailer lifted into the air, it landed on the driver’s side.
“We slid down the road and into a ditch,” said Kloos, a five-time track champion. “Luckily, only Tyler was injured [and] he had minor cuts.”
His truck, hauler and late model didn’t fare as well.
“My truck is totaled — we’re waiting on the insurance company to inspect the trailer,” Kloos said. “My race car was dented up from shocks, parts, and tires hitting it. It stayed strapped in — so there is only body damage.”
Michael Kloos borrowed a truck and trailer to race this past weekend at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Missouri. He finished fifth in his first race back since the brush with the tornado.
“When word got out of our incident, we received numerous calls — offers of trucks and trailers, and help,” said Kloos. “I am so thankful for the racing community’s concern and help.
“The race car is fine. Insurance will cover the truck and, hopefully, the trailer. Hopefully, I won’t have to experience this ever again.”
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.
