Yes, Deece Schwartz won his fourth DIRTcar pro modified national championship. Indeed, he won $10,000 at the Brownstown Bullring. Yet, Deece’s biggest loss stands out as his most memorable moment of 2025–and he’s exceptionally proud of it.
Deece finished runner-up to not just anyone that night. It was his little brother, Drew, who finished second in national points to Deece.
“That loss was most special to me,” Deece, of Ashmore, Illinois, said. “For him to beat me, and for me to see what a driver he is becoming — that’s what made me the happiest all year.”
Deece missed Drew’s first pro modified win at Kankakee County Speedway. Deece tested his modified and pro modified at Charleston Speedway that day.
The next week, the two brothers raced side by side for half of the 20-lap feature at Coles County Speedway.
“Drew threw it in on the high side and took off from me — I was running the bottom,” Deece said. “He just gave the top a shot and took off — he made it hard for me to catch him by the end of the race.”
Competition has always driven the Schwartz family.
“My dad always wanted to beat my grandpa,” Deece said. “I wanted to beat both my dad and my grandpa. Now Drew wants to beat me and I want to beat him. Beating me was a confidence booster for Drew. I saw it become a stepping stone.”
Drew became Deece’s chief competition for the DIRTcar pro modified national title. Drew led the points for most of the season. He was a model of consistency, racking up 20 top-fives in 20 features. Deece started catching Drew at the end of the season, with a few big wins propelling him to his fourth national title.
“When Drew started racing in 2022, we made a really good bond,” Deece said. “Either one of us is happy for the other in winning or doing well. We have no grudges — just the competitive spirit in wanting to beat each other.”
Next year, Deece Schwartz will run once again run select modified shows and pro modified races. Drew hopes to beat his brother for the championship in 2026.
“I would not be upset if Drew beat me for the championship next season,” Deece said. “I would only be happy.”
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.
