After first Wheatland win, Domer looks for more USRA Modified success

Chase Domer's unique car number of 227 combines his old youth sports jersey number of 2 with his dad's racing number of 27. (GS Stanek Racing Photography)

Chase Domer's unique car number of 227 combines his old youth sports jersey number of 2 with his dad's racing number of 27. (GS Stanek Racing Photography)


Nearly two weeks have passed since Chase Domer achieved a long-time goal. Winning at Lucas Oil Speedway was, and still is, mighty sweet for the 30-year-old driver from Nevada, Missouri.

"I didn't know if we'd ever get it done, but we finally did," Domer said this week. "It probably is our biggest goal of our racing career, so far, that we've achieved."

Domer, the Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight Driver of the Week, will look to win another one on Saturday when the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes. KOLR 10, KOZL 27 and Ozarks Fox present the action on Ozarks Food Harvest Night at the Races. Fans will be admitted free with four non-perishable food items.

For Domer, the long-sought feature victory continued a strong season that finds him third in Pitts Homes USRA Modified points, 96 behind leader Robbie Reed. He has two second-place finishes and one fourth as well in his MB Customs race car.

"We've had a lot of good runs," Domer said. "We've had a different motor combination this year and the first few weeks, it took us some time to figure that out. We haven't raced as much as we've wanted, with the coronavirus and all. There aren't many places we can get to after work on Fridays and that has kept us home a lot more.

"But at Wheatland, we've been pretty good over there - especially that win."

Making his feature win on July 11 even sweeter was sharing it with his dad. Berry Domer was a long-time Modified racer in the Ozarks and won races at Wheatland Raceway back in the day, prior to it becoming Lucas Oil Speedway.

"He don't miss a race," Chase said of Berry. "He's been behind me from the beginning. We both have full-time jobs and both work our butts off. He dedicates a lot his time to this racing program. And money. And everything else. It takes all of us to keep this going."

Asked how they celebrated the victory, Chase said the duo thought about staying the night in the Lucas Oil Speedway pits and unwinding. But because it was the last class of the night and the pits had mostly cleared out, they decided to head home.

"We celebrated when we got back to the shop, when we could have a few drinks," Chase Domer said with a laugh.

Racing is a family affair for the Domers. Grandpa Kenny Rains bought Chase his first race car about a dozen years ago, a Street Stock. Father-in-law Kerry Schulze is a big part of the motor program.

"Grandpa is a big supporter. He helps out a ton," Domer said. "He grooves every tire on the car. I'm lucky enough to just mount them and he takes care of everything after that.

"My father-in-law pretty much is the sole reason we are able to run A Mods. It costs $5,000 to $6,000 to freshen a motor. He has the knowledge and the tools and is one of the top motor builders in the area in my opinion."

Domer's unique car number - 227 - even has family ties. It combines his dad's racing number of 27 with Chase's uniform number of 2 when he was growing up and playing sports.

"When I started I was No. 27 JR," he said. "A long time ago, Jeremy Payne put the 86 on the 1 just like my 27 is on the 2. I thought that was cool and we've went with it ever since."

Now Domer looks to put the sharp-looking No. 227 in victory lane again.

"Everyone says the first one is the hardest to get," Domer said. "We hope to keep them rolling after this."

Sponsors of Domer's MB team include Schulze Racing Engines, True Commodities, Troop 4 Motorsports, Crosstown Vending and Allen's Automotive.

Gates open at 4 p.m. Saturday with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks is the featured division with a 25-lap, $750-to-win main event. Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds, Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models and Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods also will be in action.

Admission:
(Grandstand FREE with four non-perishable food items)
Adult (16 and over) $12
Senior (62 and over)/Military $9
Youth (ages 6-15) $5
Kids (5 & under) FREE
Family Pass $30
Pit Pass $30

Drivers can pick up free tickets this week: Also this week, all drivers in attendance will be receiving free general admission tickets that they can distribute for the Rempfer Memorial Season Championship Night on Aug. 22.

Suite tickets available: Spectators once again have the option of "Beat the Heat, Get a Suite" as 20 individual suite tickets are available. The $24 per ticket offer also is in effect for races on Aug. 1, 8, 15 and 22. On Aug. 8 for the USMTS Slick Mist Show-Me Shootout, individual suite tickets are $40.

Kids to the pits pre-race: The Frogs Signs Junior Fan Club Kids Pit Tour also continues as eight lucky kids will get to tour the pits with flagman Mike Striegel to get an up-close look at the cars and drivers. The tour will be from 5:15-6 p.m. and then the kids will get to attend the drivers' meeting before going back to the grandstands. Youngsters ages 5-12 can sign up from 4-5 p.m. on the midway, next to the gift shop trailer on the south end of the midway.

For ticket questions or information for any event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or email her at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.