The News Page Features Newspaper Articles Featuring Carl and Press Releases from Carl's Feature Wins

BOWSER CHARGES FROM 10TH TO WIN SPRINT THRILLER ON LAST LAP AT MERCER

Sat, Sep 12, 2009 -- "Western PA Sprint Championship" Written by: Mike Leone

Mercer Raceway Park was able to complete the 21st edition of the “Western PA Sprint Championship” that dates back to 1966 on Saturday night. And oh what a night of thrilling, exciting racing the large crowd witnessed with down to the wire finishes. Scoring big victories and celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Carl Bowser-Luxaire Heating & Cooling 410 Sprint Cars, Ron Cartwright, Jr.-Big-Block Modifieds, David Scott-4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series, & Jamey Lee-M&D Paving Mini Stocks.

Carl Bowser drove the best race of his life to put his name in the record books as a winner of the prestigious “Western PA Sprint Championship”. Bowser charged from the 10th starting spot and snatched the win away from 18-year-old Pete Miller III in turn four on the last lap and held off a hard charging 12th starting Ed Lynch, Jr. for the biggest win of his career. The 30-lap thrilling win was Bowser’s second in the past three events at Mercer.

“That was some good racing,” expressed the Sarver, Pa. driver after the $2,000 win. “Pete was a doing a heck of a job and Ed was in there too. I could catch him (Miller) around the top, but I couldn’t get him so I tried the bottom. I was hoping to trick him to going to the bottom so I could get around him on the top. The last few laps he was cutting me off, I was cutting him off. That’s just how it goes.”

Miller started from the pole, but it was fourth starting Scott Bonnell getting an excellent start driving around Bob Felmlee, Johnny Beaber, and Miller to lead the opening lap. Felmlee moved into third past Beaber on lap three and Bowser followed one lap later.

Bonnell had opened up a huge lead when he caught traffic on lap seven. Miller began closing in on Bonnell on lap 11, while Bowser moved past Felmlee for third. Miller was on Bonnell on lap 13 and ducked to the inside of the leader in turns one and two on lap 14 for the lead.

Lynch continued his run to the front as he drove by Felmlee on the backstretch for fourth on lap 17. Bowser and Lynch would use the lapped car of Bob Howard to get around Bonnell for second and third on laps 18 and 20 respectively. Bowser began to run down Miller right before the red was display for Gale Ruth, Jr., who got on his side, with 21 laps in the record books. He was okay, but done for the night.

When racing resumed, Miller got a great restart as he pulled away from Bowser. It took Bowser some green flag laps to begin to close again on Miller and that he did. Bowser was all over the leader on lap 26 and 27, while Lynch began to close in setting up a three-car shootout for the win. Bowser ducked low on lap 28 and pulled even as the two raced side-by-side to the finish. Miller continued to have the slight advantage. Bowser was right on Miller’s push bumper down the backstretch and put the classic slide job on Miller in turns three and four with Lynch right behind. Miller gassed it too hard trying to come back and slammed the turn four wall. Bowser crossed first with Lynch right on his tail. Bonnell was able to come back and nip the limping Miller at the finish. All three of Bowser’s wins at Mercer have now come in higher paying specials in the Terry Bowser Excavating/Ithaca Gun Company/Nationwide Insurance-sponsored #10. Bowser also has two other career wins at Lernerville Speedway including one this season giving him five now on the circuit for his career.

Lynch made his first start of the season and it was his best Mercer finish since winning the event in 2007. Bonnell’s third was his best Mercer finish since a win on May 10, 2008. It was a disappointing end for Miller who saw the checkered flag in sight, only to finish fourth- still good enough for a career best finish in his rookie “410” season. Felmlee was fifth in his second start of the season.

Jack Sodeman, Jr. came from 13th to place sixth. Johnny Beaber, a winner of the 1978 and 1982 editions of the event sanctioned by the World of Outlaws and All Stars respectively, held on for a seventh place finish to lock up fourth in the points. Track champion Rod George could only muster an eighth matching his worst finish of the season. Arnie Kent was ninth after starting 16th and Broc Martin rounded out the top 10. Heat winners over the 26-car field were Lynch, Holben, and Miller.

Luxaire Heating & Cooling Western PA Sprint Car Championship (30 laps, $2,000 to-win): 1. CARL BOWSER (10) 2. Ed Lynch, Jr. (2L) 3. Scott Bonnell (3B) 4. Pete Miller III (3) 5. Bob Felmlee (6) 6. Jack Sodeman, Jr. (23Jr) 7. Johnny Beaber (7B) 8. Rod George (4) 9. Arnie Kent (18) 10. Broc Martin (83M) 11. Bob Howard (49) 12. Craig Folmar (81) 13. Lindsay Enscoe (96) 14. Jeff Taylor (17T) 15. Jack Helget (71c) 16. Jeremy Cook (5L) 17. Dan Kuriger (08) 18. Gale Ruth, Sr. (1R) 19. Brent Matus (33) 20. Gale Ruth, Jr. (5x) 21. Brandon Spithaler (Burkey 57) 22. Brandon Matus (3J) 23. Charlie Holben (Dionise 15) 24. Nate Stein (93) 25. Mike Lutz (Chappel 8)-DNS 26. Tony Beaber (3T)-DNS.

BOWSER DESTROYS 30-CAR SPRINT FIELD FOR SEASON’S FIRST

Sat, Aug 22, 2009 -- "Bill Emig Memorial" Written by: Mike Leone

Mercer, PA…It was a big night of racing Saturday night at Mercer Raceway Park for the twice rained out Bill Emig Memorial and rescheduled “Racing for a Cure,” which raised several thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society. A large crowd and 119 cars filled the pit area. Scoring big victories and celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Del Rougeux, Jr.-“Bill Emig Memorial” Big-Block Modifieds, Carl Bowser-Luxaire Heating & Cooling 410 Sprint Cars, Joe Martin-4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Late Models, Andy Buckley-GM 602 Stocks, Mark Marcucci-Big Daddy’s Speed Center Mod Lites, and Pete Blazczak-“Leland Haylett Memorial” Mini Stocks & Jamey Lee-M&D Paving Mini Stocks.

Last year, Carl Bowser captured his career first Mercer win on the Bill Emig Memorial Night beating a 30-car field. Saturday night, Bowser backed up that win doing it again collecting another $1,500 payday over another 30-car field after a dominating performance in the 25-lap Luxaire Heating & Cooling 410 Sprint Car feature!

“The new clay made the top so much better in (turns) one and two as you could really get around up there against the wall,” described the Sarver, Pa. winner. “All the crew guys did a really good job- I could put it anywhere I wanted really. You don’t want to climb out of a car when they are that good. The extra money helps pay the bills.”

Bowser rocketed into the lead at the start with Jason Dolick, Broc Martin, Jack Sodeman, Jr., and Gale Ruth, Jr. in hot pursuit. The event got off to an ugly start when “410” rookie driver Chris Best took a nasty flip in turn three bringing out the first caution in a Sprint Car feature since June 13. He was okay.

When racing resumed on lap two, the next 18 laps spun off non-stop. Bowser had a straightaway lead when he caught traffic on lap six. Fifth and sixth starting Ruth and Scott Bonnell overtook Sodeman for fourth and fifth on lap six. Ruth looked strong as he caught Martin and made a great move diving to the inside in turns three and four in lapped traffic and taking the third position away.

Ruth then ran down Dolick on lap 15 and the two raced side-by-side on l6 with Dolick holding on. An intense battle from fourth on back was taking place with Martin trying to hold off Sodeman, Bonnell, and Felmlee. Ruth drove hard and dove under Dolick for second to finally make the pass stick only to have it negated by a caution for a spin by Johnny Beaber with 19 laps completed.

Bowser drove off in the event’s final six non-stop laps for a commanding victory by 6.23 seconds in his Terry Bowser Excavating/Ithaca Gun Company/Nationwide Insurance-sponsored #10 to become the seventh different winner of the season. Bowser also has a victory at Lernerville Speedway this season and one in 2006 giving him four for his career on the circuit.

Fresh off his third place effort at Lakeville Speedway on Friday night, Dolick was able to hold off Ruth for second to record his career best effort at Mercer in his 56th start, but only second of the season. Ruth’s third was his best of the season. A wild series of closing laps saw positions shuffle from fourth on back. Bonnell had passed Sodeman for fifth on lap 20, but got high on the ensuing lap. Sodeman was able to get back by and had edged ahead of Martin for fourth on lap 22, but the two made contact in turns one and two on lap 23 allowing Bob Felmlee and Rod George to fly by. Felmlee took fourth over point leader George in his first start of the season. Completing the top 10 were Andy McKisson, Bonnell, Sodeman, Russ Sansosti, and 21st starting Rob Eyler. Heat winners were Dolick, George, and Felmlee; while Ohio invader Troy Vaccaro won the B main in his first ever visit.

Luxaire Heating & Cooling 410 Sprint Cars (25 laps, $1,500 to-win): 1. CARL BOWSER (10) 2. Jason Dolick (D12) 3. Gale Ruth, Jr. (5x) 4. Bob Felmlee (6) 5. Rod George (43) 6. Andy McKisson (0) 7. Scott Bonnell (3B) 8. Jack Sodeman, Jr. (23Jr) 9. Russ Sansosti (23s) 10. Rob Eyler (5a) 11. Broc Martin (83m) 12. Nate Stein (93) 13. Dan Kuriger (08) 14. Chris Shuttleworth (11) 15. Troy Vaccaro (7T) 16. Jeremy Cook (5L) 17. Jack Helget (Taylor 71c) 18. Gale Ruth, Sr. (1R) 19. Johnny Beaber (Taylor 7B) 20. Eric Williams (7) 21. Charlie Holben (42G) 22. Tony Beaber (3T) 23. Jeff Taylor (17T) 24. Chris Best (66) DNQ: Brent Matus (33), Brandon Matus (3J), Robert VanTassel (69x), Butch Beasley (1), John McCracken, Jr. (79), Arnie Kent (18).

Two Perfects Tens, 777 Jackpot, and Lipinski Three-peats!

Sarver, PA (May 22, 2009) A hot, steamy afternoon, that felt more like the Fourth of July than Memorial Day weekend, paved the way to a perfect early summer evening. Speaking of perfect, both Gary Lyle in the #10 Late Model and Carl Bowser in the #10 Sprint scored emotional, crowd-pleasing victories. Kevin Bolland’s #777 hit the jackpot with a dominant performance in the Modifieds, while “The Polish Prince” Bob Lipinski drove the Mean Green Machine to Sheetz Victory Lane for the third straight week! During the course of the Fire/EMS/Police Night, lightbarsforsale.com raffled off a light bar with all proceeds being donated to the Fallen Heroes Fund in Pittsburgh. Thanks to the generosity of these brave men and women, over $200 was donated!...

...Sarver’s own Carl Bowser took a long trip over the winter to race on the other side of the world and he cashed in all of his frequent flier miles last night with a dominant performance in his family owned #10 sprinter. At the drop of the green flag of the Commercial Truck & Trailer DIRTcar Sprint feature, Bowser slipped back a few spots from his outside pole starting position as Bob Felmlee (#6F of Seneca) blasted into the lead. Felmlee’s run of bad luck continued as he had trouble clearing lapped traffic on the back straightaway and took a violent flip before coming to rest on the back straightaway. Bowser inherited the lead as he had clawed his way back to second by lap five. Bowser was riding the top cushion at both ends of the track and was visibly faster than everyone else who was running mostly around the bottom or middle of the multi-groove racing surface. Scott Priester (#11 of Rimersburg) tried to pass Bowser with a slide job in turns one & two, but bobbled just enough in turn two to allow Bowser to blast around him on the topside and down the back straightaway. Bowser approached lapped traffic on circuit 14, but cleared them with ease, allowing him to stretch his lead to almost a full straightaway by lap 18. Dan Shetler (#7K of Windber) rolled to a stop on the front straightaway instead of pulling into the infield, allowing the field to nose up to Bowser’s tail with four laps to go. Mike Lutz (#8 of Mercer) appeared to have engine issues on the lap 22 restart and rolled into the pits while running third. Last week’s feature winner Rod George (#4 of Kittanning) made a late run at Bowser, but could not catch the Kangaroo Kid as he powered his way to his first win at Lernerville Speedway since August 18, 2006. A jubilant “Carl’s Crew” came to Sheetz Victory Lane to help celebrate the win with Bowser and his family.

Rod George extended his points lead with his fourth straight top two finish of the season. Scott Priester had another strong run to finish third, while Kevin Schaeffer (#9 of Kittanning) recorded his fifth straight top five finish of the season by crossing the stripe fourth. Brent Matus (#33 of Wampum) scored his best finish of the 2009 season in fifth. The CTT Top Ten rounded out with Ohio youngster Cole Duncan, Charlie Holben, Jack Sodeman Jr., Danny Holtgraver and Dan Shetler. Heat races were won by Sodeman, Shetler and Felmlee.

Career 1st for Bowser at Mercer as 30 sprints on hand

Fri, Sep 5, 2008 -- "Open Wheel Shootout" By: Mike Leone

It took two tries and appeared may have to take a third for the “Open Wheel Shootout” to be completed as steady rain fell 10 miles to the west and north of Mercer Raceway Park, but only a brief shower and some sprinkles fell Friday night. Celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Lonny Riggs-Tire Express Modified Bill Emig Memorial, Carl Bowser-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, Andy Paden-Limited Sprints, Jay Groves-Micro Sprints, Garrett Krummert-Big Daddy’s Speed Center Mod Lites, and Stephen Laslo-M&D Paving Mini Stocks. The event, which was rained out during the heat races on July 26, was presented by FireDEX of Butler and it was also Anderson Bros. Tool Corp. Night...

...The 2008 season hasn’t been a memorable one for Carl Bowser. The former Micro Sprint graduate has suffered through his worst season since he started 410 Sprint Car racing with only one top five showing at Lernerville Speedway. Making just his third start of the season at Mercer, Bowser came out top of the 25-lap non-stop, $1,500 to-win Luxaire Heating & Cooling thriller holding off the staunch challenges of Andy McKisson and Mike Lutz for his first career Mercer win.

“I was waiting for most of the race for someone to get me,” said the Sarver, Pa. driver whose only other win came at Lernerville on August 18, 2006. “I think I hit everything on the front straightaway and I went the whole way down the backstretch off the track like three or four times. I figured the only way I could do this is if it went non-stop. Usually at Lernerville when the others start getting tired the last five laps I’m at my best and get into nice, fast runs. I saw Andy (McKisson) coming off turn four and figured I was either going to hit the wall or win it- so that’s what we went for.”

Bowser raced out to the early lead with Eric Williams and Jeremy Cook in tow. McKisson, who started sixth, advanced to fourth on lap five before Bowser started getting into lapped traffic on lap six. On lap seven, Bowser caught the cushion wrong in turn four and came off sideways allowing Williams to close. McKisson meanwhile drove under Cook for third on lap nine and quickly closed on Williams.

McKisson, who has had a stellar season since not even starting the year until July 25, worked his way under and past Williams for second on lap 11 and caught Bowser one lap later. Lutz followed McKisson to third. McKisson was all over Bowser trying to find a way by in lapped traffic on laps 13 and 14. Lutz then closed on the two on lap 15 making it a three-car race for the win the rest of the way.

Bowser ran high and McKisson low with Lutz right behind lap after lap. Bowser opened up a decent lead on lap 20, but McKisson closed right back in on lap 21 in lapped traffic. Lutz and McKisson then ran side-by-side for second on lap 22 and it was briefly three-wide for the lead in turns three and four. On lap 23, Lutz momentarily got by McKisson for second, but McKisson was able to get back by in traffic. On a breathtaking final lap, the trio battled hard through lapped traffic somehow not touching as they could have been covered in a blanket. Coming out of turn four for the checkered, McKisson got alongside of Bowser, but Bowser had enough momentum off the top to squeeze by without hitting the wall to win in his Reeseman Autobody/Shellhammer-Atwood Nationwide-sponsored #10. The event went non-stop 6:34.23.

McKisson was second for the second time this season over Lutz in the Troy Preston #1P. Charlie Holben got a good run in the Martha Dionise #15 coming from seventh to finish fourth over Rod George. Danny Holtgraver was sixth. Ed Lynch, Jr. came back from a heat race flip to transfer through the B main and finish seventh in the feature after starting 21st. Williams dropped to eighth over Arnie Kent and Jimmy Hawley. Winning the heats over the season-high 30-car field were Ralph Spithaler, Jr., George, and Williams. Paul Kish won the B main.

Bowser, Lux, Weller and Lambert win at Lernerville on August 18

The movie "Lemony Snickets, A Series of Unfortunate Events," had a good ending but somewhat describes the positive and negative forces working at Lernerville Speedway, Friday evening. Three Budweiser Championships were clinched at the track and only the Sprint title is up for grabs next week, on the last "Fabulous Four" point's night.

Nineteen-year old Carl Bowser savored a career first win in the 25-lap Commercial Truck & Trailer Sprints and Matt Lux's 26-lap Friedman's Supermarkets/Bi-Lo Foods Late Models victory was his first ever at the Sarver oval. Lynn Geisler's solid second place finish secured a fifth Late Model crown for the #1 Cochran crew. Geisler won the others in 1989, '92-'94. Jim Weller Jr ended a 13 month dry-spell at the track by capturing the 25-lap Ferrante Motor Cars Modified main but Kevin Bolland, watching most of the race from the pits, became the 2006 "King" of the Modifieds. Bolland's other title was in 2002. Butch Lambert used a last lap pass to score a thrilling fourth victory in the 15-lap Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks and wrap up his second consecutive Budweiser title. Lambert also won the championship in 2002. It was PIA Night at the speedway.

The 2005 Lernerville "Rookie of the Year Carl Bowser lived up to his nick name, "the "Boggsville Bullet," as he both outgunned the competition in the Commercial Truck and Trailer Sprints and averted some near mishaps. "I feel like the weight is off my shoulders," said Bowser. "I have been close so many times, leading a race both this year and last and something would happen." Bowser came from tenth to take the lead on lap 13 after leader Dan Holtgraver spun his #D4 on the back straight. Bowser, running second, sidestepped this incident and later on lap 21, while leading, avoided another when his father, Terry's sprint gyrated in front of him in turn four. Bowser in his Terry Bowser Excavating/Reesman Auto Body #10 drove a flawless race to win the first feature of his career. "I knew when I saw Ed Lynch and Kevin Schaeffer in a first lap accident that I might have a chance tonight," said Bowser. Lynch Jr and Schaeffer are both vying for the Sprint Budweiser Point Championship and had strange endeavors occur. In his bid for a fifth championship, Lynch came into the evening twelve points behind Schaeffer and had a near disaster in the heat race. Smoke and fire spewed from Lynch's 2L midway through the prelim; however, as he kept moving the fire was extinguished. The crew decided to change the engine between the heat and feature. The intensity was heightened in the feature when Schaeffer, who is looking for his first title, and Lynch started side-by-side, 11th and 12th. When the green flag waved, the Lynch and Schaeffer's Sprints came together but the drivers managed to recover. Terry Bowser drove up the back of Lynch's car damaging the wing. Lynch remained on the track, but Schaeffer went to the pits with a flat tire and returned on the same lap. Two laps later on a yellow flagged event for Scott Priester, Lynch went to the pits with a flat tire and also returned. Schaeffer darted through the field and claimed the second spot in front of Brent Matus, Gary Rankin, and Todd Bauer. Matus did not weigh at the scales and was moved to last place. Lynch was fifth and is now 18 points behind Schaeffer coming into the last night of points next week. Priester was sixth, Charlie Holben seventh, Dan Holtgraver, eighth, Dan Kuriger, ninth and Davey Jones tenth. Jones and Lynch Jr won the heat races.

Like Father, Like Son:Bowser Edition

(By: Eric J. Westendorf) -- Father-Son combinations have been a long-standing tradition in all forms of racing, as the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This has been especially true at Lernerville Speedway. From the Wearings and Lynchs, to Dick & Craig Rankin and Lou & Dave/Dale Blaney, sons have been following in their fathers' footsteps, or more appropriately tire tracks for years to come. So in that respect, what Terry (Father) and Carl (Son) Bowser do is not all that out of the ordinary. What makes the Bowser Father-Son combination is that they started racing at about the same time.

Most Father-Son combos occur when the son of a driver comes of age and follows his father's passion. But the Bowsers had planned all along to race together. "We both love to race and we will race together as long as we can," said Terry.

Terry (#59) started racing in 2004 in a full-size 410 sprint car under the tutelage of longtime local favorite Ralph Spithaler, Jr. Before racing himself, Terry sponsored and helped work on Ralph's familiar #56 sprinter. "Ralph was a very good way for us to get our feet wet around sprint cars," stated Ruth Bowser (wife of Terry, mother of Carl). "Getting to work on the car and help at the track taught us a lot. We really got a well-rounded view of racing in general."

Carl (#10) cut his racing teeth, like many sprint car drivers do, in Micro Sprints at the age of 16. By 2005 and while only a Senior at Freeport High School, Carl was piloting a full-size 410 Sprint Car around Lernerville's famed 4/10 of a mile oval. He won his first Lernerville Feature during the 2006 season, on August 16. Not many drivers can brag that they won a feature at the Action Track during their second season over the likes of Ed Lynch, Jr., Kevin Schaeffer, and Rod George. According to Carl, "Winning my first feature race will always be on of my greatest memories."

Carl's goals for 2007 are to win more races and to be a threat to win every night. It will be difficult to improve upon his 2006 3rd place final standing in the Budweiser Points at Lernerville Speedway. But consistency and more wins will certainly keep him in the Top 3. Carl's long-term goal is to "Race professionally as a paid driver." Unfortunately, in Western Pennsylvania, there aren't very many opportunities to do so. Carl would love to graduate into the All Stars Circuit of Champions or the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, but if that never materializes, he would be honored to follow the career path of Ed Lynch, Jr. and race in Western PA and be a fixture for years to come.

One major difference you can see between father and son is in their perspective. As would any driver who has yet to pull into Victory Lane, Terry's goal for 2007 is to win his first A-main feature event. However, when asked of his greatest memory, Terry stated, "Winning a B-main was great. But I must say it is all the friends we have made both on and off the track.  We race with guys who would give you their last spare part so we could race.  It is really a wonderful group of people." But don't be fooled that Terry is content with winning a B-main. Terry will continue to race as long as he feels like he is competitive and is having fun racing alongside his son, and would like nothing more than to win an A-main feature event and be in Victory Lane as a driver, not just an owner!

Running a 2-car team can pose potential problems and roadblocks. What happens when times gets tight or parts get short? Who gets first dibs? Things can get hairy fast on a Friday night. But not for the Bowsers, "We share everything - the trailer, shop and pit crew," stated Ruth Bowser, "We share pit crews but we have different crew chiefs.  Carl's crew chief is Mike Shick. Terry's crew chief is Pup Nystrom." For Bowser Motorsports it's all about family and friends. Terry and Ruth will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. Carl is the oldest son, younger son Zane is a senior at Freeport High School, and daughter Michaela is the youngest at 11 years old. They all love racing and are exciting about their role on the race teams.

The Bowser Father-Son relationship goes beyond the racetrack. Terry is the owner/operator of Terry Bowser Excavating. Terry has wanted to operate heavy equipment since he was a kid.  He started his business in 1987, the year Carl was born and now Carl works along side his dad in the company. Of their relationship, wife Ruth stated, "Terry feels very blessed because he truly loves his job." She added, "These guys work and play in the dirt!"

Terry would especially like to thank his wife Ruth because, "this year is our 25th wedding anniversary and it falls on a race night. And yes, we will be at the race track!" He and Carl also wanted to thank their pit crews and all of their great sponsors - Terry Bowser Excavating, Reesman Auto Body, Shellhammer Atwood Nationwide Agency, Mike Shick Motor Designs, and General Handyman Construction.

Come see Terry and Carl Bowser compete every Friday Night at the Lernerville Speedway in the Commercial Truck & Trailer Sprint car division.

Wooing the WoO

By Thomas Zuck Friday, May 25, 2007

Highlights: Was the 2005 Lernerville Rookie of the Year after he finished seventh in points with two heat wins and three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. Last year Bowser was third in points with one victory, Aug. 18, and seven top-five and nine-top-10 finishes.

Even if it isn't fair, the ultimate measuring stick for a Sprint Car driver is how you do when the World of Outlaws come to town. It doesn't matter if you are Lernerville's all-time leading Sprint Car driver Ed Lynch Jr. or relative newcomer Carl Bowser.

In 64 World of Outlaws races at Lernerville only two have been won by drivers not on the tour. The first was Fred Rahmer in May 1998 and the second was Lynch in 2002. And that is what the 20-year old Bowser, now in his third season at the wheel, has to deal with. "I don't know how to compare it for people," Bowser said of racing against the WoO. "Maybe if it was another sport it would be walking out on to the field with the Steelers; getting to play pro ball. It could be the same thing as the jocks versus average joes show because these guys do this for a living, for a pay check, and we are out here stumbling around."

Against the WoO last season, Bowser made it to the B-Main but he missed a transfer spot to the main event by two positions. This season the results were similar. Bowser qualified 35th out of 46 cars with a time of 13.464 seconds. Jason Meyers set fastest time with a 12.959. It may not seem like a big difference but it is, and qualifying is tough for drivers who don't have to do it on a weekly basis. "For us it's just not knowing how to set the car up for qualifying," Bowser said. "These guys do it every night and know just what to do. I think in qualifying it is always heavy and they know just how much to loosen the car so you are not too loose. That's why they are on the World of Outlaws tour and we are still working on our cars trying to get them just right." Bowser finished eighth in his heat, which put him back in the same position as last year: the C-Main, once he managed to transfer with a second-place finish. In the B-Main he finished 13th and his night was over.

"I want to learn as much as we can in a night like this," Bowser said before qualifying for the WoO show. "Making the race would be great, if we could do that, everything else is just extra. If you do well on a night like this I think you can take a lot from it. Maybe not in just what you did to the car but with momentum."

"I can remember my first World of Outlaws and when I was getting pushed out for qualifying I was so nervous I was shaking," Bowser said. "Last year for the second Outlaws show everything was a little bit more routine. But when you are parked next to a 53-foot trailer with every bell and whistle on the car it can be pretty intimidating."

Bowser and the rest of Lernerville, and local Sprint Car drivers, will get another shot at the WoO on July 17 for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race. Or they can head to Sharon Speedway on June 1 where the WoO will open its Midwest swing. So while Bowser did not get into the feature race against the World of Outlaws he is still confident in what he can accomplish this season. "I think I am a lot better than I was two years ago," Bowser said. "I think I can read the track better. And really I think I was too cautious when I started. I am pretty confident this year. Last year I wanted one thing and the crew chief wanted another thing. So that really didn't work. This year I have more confidence in myself and the car."

Equipment in racing is paramount. You could have A.J. Foyt behind the wheel and if the car is not up to snuff it won't matter. A big part of Bowser's development as a driver comes from the fact that his father, Terry, also a Sprint Car driver, has made sure the racing equipment has been top-shelf. "We have some good stuff," Bowser said. "Dad owns it all and he makes sure we have good equipment. I don't have a 900-horsepower motor and we may be down about 50 horsepower to these guys but I would rather have one good thing rather than three or four not-so-good things.

"Once a week, Dad and I sit in the garage and I ask him how he thinks he is running," Bowser said. "It is strange but I try to explain to him some different lines. This year his car has been better and he has a better motor finally, because he always wanted to make sure I had good equipment. I just try to help him. When I try to explain things it is pretty funny because sometimes his views are completely different from mine."

Bowser has a new crew chief this season and he attributes his slow start this season to that situation.

"We got one win here and that came late last year," Bowser said. "This year we got off to a slow start because my crew chief Mike (Shick) was in school and he just got back last Friday. So far it has just been me and Dad getting things ready and it's not progressed as quickly as I would have liked.

"It has not been like me and Mike working together," Bowser said. "It's different than just trying to feel it and then make adjustments by myself. Now we can both look at it and see what we think needs done. Mike wasn't crew chief last year but he was on the crew and he used to work with Charlie Holben."

Bowser is not afraid to ask other more experienced drivers like Rod George and Lynch for advice if he is searching for answers.

"I have learned a lot from the experienced guys," Bowser said. "We park next to Rod and sometimes I will go over and ask him or his crew chief something. I will tell them what I am thinking of doing and I ask them if they think it's the right thing. Both Ed and Rod are headed in the right direction and they don't want to see anyone go out there and do badly."

Even though Bowser does not feel he has had a good start to the season, he is still fifth in points and he has been in the top-10 in all six features. His top finish was this past week when he finished second behind George.

We finished third in points last year and I would certainly like to stay at least in the top-three," Bowser said. "I would like to get more wins. I got that one last year and I think we are capable of winning five races this year. So far we have just been at Lernerville but now that my crew chief is back I think we will try to run two nights per week, mostly Sharon (Speedway) and a few times at Mercer (Raceway Park)."