When Trevor Fitz won at Northwest Florida Speedway last Tuesday, it was the culmination of a cross-country trek that started in the fall. Last year, he scored four feature victories in Southern California. Just after the IMCA Super Nationals at Boone Speedway in September, he moved to the Hawkeye State and found both a job and a house.
“I needed a change,” Fitz, originally of Camarillo, California, now Marshalltown, Iowa, said. “I wanted an affordable life and better racing.”
Fitz hadn’t raced yet in Iowa before heading to Florida. He brought just his crew member Cody Johnson; mother, Kathy; and golden retriever Sadie. They towed the modified behind Kathy’s motorhome. Fellow modified driver Dylan Thornton helped set up the car. Qualifying for the feature would be a feat, as total of 93 modifieds attempted to make the show.
“I had never been to Florida,” said Fitz. “We got down there earlier, went to an open race [at Southern Raceway in Milton], and finished fourth — against some big, open-motor cars. That was a positive indication that we were in the ballpark. There was some pretty stiff competition at the Clash on the Coast [event at Northwest Florida Speedway]. We finished 10th the first night and won the second night.”
Fitz finished the swing through the Sunshine State with 14th and a 16th at Southern Raceway. That final night his engine went while leading with six laps to go.
Trevor Fitz returned to Iowa as a proven winner, but with no sponsors and a tired backup engine, his 2024 season may be in doubt. He’ll give the engine a try during this weekend’s practice at Marshalltown Speedway.
“I worked and worked just to make the Florida trip happen,” Fitz said. “Now, if we are competitive with the backup engine, we’ll keep on racing. If not, it will take me all the way to the Super Nationals to save up to buy another crate engine.”
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.
