Considering he only raced a few times at Lucas Oil Speedway prior to last season and was entering a brand-new class of cars, Robert White looks back on 2021 as a terrific season.

White finished second to David Hendrix in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Medieval USRA Stock Car division and had one feature victory among nine top-five finishes.

Not that it was all rosy for the Lebanon driver. There were bumps along the way.

“We had some bad luck, losing a motor and some things went wrong,” White said. “But overall, it was pretty good not knowing what to expect with the new class.

“Winning a feature there, it meant a lot. I didn’t know if I’d ever get a win there or not so it was pretty special.”

With a newly purchased car and a new motor, White is eager to see what happens as the new Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series begins in a couple of months. And it’ll be twice the fun as son Bryan White also plans to compete weekly in 2022.

“And my other son Jakob will be there helping us in the pits,” Robert White said. “So we’ll be a busy racing family this year.”

Robert White sold his race car in the offseason and purchased a Victory Chassis from Iowa driver Myles Michehl. The car already knows its way to victory lane at Wheatland after Michehl drove it to a feature win in the Friday night portion of last fall’s Summit USRA Nationals.

“It only has about 60 shows on it,” White said of the car. “We’re getting it all ready and putting the motor and stuff in it and just getting it ready for the season. Michehl won with it at the Nationals, so we know it’s a good car. We know it can win.”

White’s own Summit USRA Nationals experience was mixed. He had feature finishes of sixth and seventh to earn his way into the final-night main event, without having to go through a B-Main. But a faulty brake caliper doomed him to 19th place.

“The whole experience of the USRA Nationals was awesome, something pretty cool to be a part of,” White said. “We’re looking forward to being a part of it again.”

And looking forward to seeing the USRA Stock Car division grow during weekly shows this season. White said he learned how competitive - and fast - the division was the first time around.

“It’s a fun class, but it’s nerve-wracking because everybody is right there on top of each other,” he said. “You don’t see very many guys get away from everybody. That makes it fun for the fans and for us, too, as drivers.

“When you win there, you know you earned it. I’m hearing there are a bunch of new cars being built and the competition is going to be even tougher.”

White said he would love to win more races and compete for a championship, but is keeping his goals simple.

“Just have fun,” he said. “We’re there to have fun and not take things too serious. Having my sons there is going to be fun and that's what we're focused on.”

Season openers: Lucas Oil Speedway has an open Test and Tune set for April 9 and another for April 16. The 9th annual Pitts Homes MLRA Spring Nationals are set for April 22-23. The Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series Spring Opener opener is set for April 30.

For ticket information for any future event at Lucas Oil Speedway, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com.