Tyler Wolff spent 2023 chasing the USMTS circuit. This year, he returned to racing closer to home, which resulted in a USRA national modified championship.
“It hurt not being with my family last season,” Wolff, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, said. “This year we are close as close can be … my wife, Kinlee, and my sons, Kasen, 9, and Korbin, 6, are with me. They love helping with the car. Having Kinlee and the boys there took a load off of me mentally on race nights.”
Wolff often traveled with his family, and his crew chief Josh Skelton was there helping turn wrenches wherever he went. In total, he won 40 USRA-sanctioned races.
While he didn’t follow the USMTS schedule, he did race in selected events. Two of his biggest wins came in USMTS competition in Kansas: the Ed Gressel Memorial at 81 Speedway and the Grant Junghans memorial in Lakeside Speedway. Wolff also won the Larry Phillips Memorial at Monett Motor Speedway in Missouri. The race honors the five-time champion in what’s now called the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. A former NASCAR Division I champion himself, Wolff understands the prestige of the race.
“Larry was one of the most famous drivers from this area,” said Wolff. “When I raced in NASCAR, I saw his name everywhere. Everyone talked about what a great racer Larry was — that’s why winning his memorial was so important to me.”
Back to family, the biggest sponsor for Tyler Wolff is ARMI Contractors, which his father, Brett, owns.
“My dad is a hard guy to please,” Wolff said. “In past seasons we were quick in the spring and struggled in the summer when the tracks dried out. He said, ‘Summer is coming, I hope you can figure something out.’ We did, and we put the whole puzzle together to win the championship.”
The three biggest races Wolff won all occurred during the summer.
“Dad called and congratulated us when we won,” said Wolff. “When we won the championship, he was there at the shop the next morning, when we pulled in. He was waiting for us and all excited about what we accomplished.”
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.
