LCS 8/28/09 and GCS 8/29/09

The 28th was the Season Championship race at the Lafayette County Speedway and it proved to be pretty anti-climactic. I came into the night leading the points and 7 points ahead of second place. In the heat race I lost 2 points to the 2nd place driver leaving me just 5 points ahead going into the feature. Then the storms start brewing in the distance, and we only got 2 lap in of the feature before it was stopped from all the rain. The track decided to just award us our pay based on the points standings, so I picked up a nice pay check and wrapped up the second track championship of the year. Every member of the Stagman Racing team worked really hard towards this, and I mentioned that this was our goal at the start of the year and we managed to succeed. Then the next night we went into my home town tracks fair race with no pressure on us. I think the lack of pressure might have caused me to get a little too comfortable though. I was up front at the start of the feature but got tangled with a driver in front and got sent to the back for causing the caution, and on the way back through the pack I got collected in another wreck that pushed the fan into the radiator and broke the frame. We've already starting tearing the car down, and we're hoping for even bigger and better things next year here at Stagman Racing. Thanks to everyone for all of your support and we'll see you out there next year!

Grant County Speedway 8/15/09

Tonight was the season championship night at the Grant County Speedway and I came in to it 3 points behind Brandon Wilson. It has been a great year racing with Brandon, we have a lot of respect for each other on the track, and that makes racing that much more fun. In order to win the championship I had to gain 4 points on Brandon because he would win a tie-breaker with more feature wins. In the heat race I jumped out to the lead quick and never looked back, and Brandon finished 3rd which meant I gained 2 points on him and we went into the feature with only 1 point separating us. The feature lined up according to points with Brandon starting on the pole and me outside of him. In the introductions I went and shook his hand and said "May the best man win." Brandon and I ran 1 and 2 most of the race until a late restart. On the backstretch after the restart Brandon's car started cutting out, which let me get by him, but I knew I had to beat him by 2 spots to win the championship, but I couldn't be worrying about that now. I just kept pushing and managed to win the race, and during the victory lane interview the announce informed me that not only had I won the feature, but also the track championship. I was ecstatic, but the main thing is to keep focused because we are still leading the points at the other track we race at. This takes a little pressure off us though, and hopefully we can bring home 2 track championships this year.

Lafayette County Speedway 8/14/09

I think I made racing history last night with the first ever tie in a race. I started the feature in 8th, and worked my way up to about 4th by the midway point of the race. The car was missing just like it had been the week before. The 2nd and 3rd place cars got together giving one a flat which would bring out the caution. So on the restart I was lined up outside of the 2nd row with the leader out front and I got a good jump and beat the other driver back to the line to get the white flag, but I bobbled a bit in turns 1 and 2 which let him get back around me, then in turns 3 and 4 I got a good run and got alongside of him but I couldn't complete the pass. But another racer spun on that lap and they threw the caution before we got to the finishline. So going by the rules when a caution comes out they go back to the lap before which I lead, so they awarded me the win, but I had no idea I just figured Travis won because he had beat me to the line on that last lap. So we talked it over in victory lane and I said "Why don't we just take the top two payouts and split them and call it a tie?" Travis agreed and the officials talked it over and decided it was a good idea. The announcer said this was the first time in his 35 years of watching racing that he has ever seen a tie. So it was a good night because I got my first win at the Lafayette County Speedway, and also my first ever tie.

Grant County Speedway 8/8/09

We came into the race 5 points behind the championship leader with only 2 races left this year, so I knew I needed to make some ground up and things were looking promising. In the heat race I finished 3rd earning the last possible point, while the points leader finished behind me so I closed the gap to 4 going into tonights feature. In the feature I jumped out to the lead, and was having a good little battle with the #80 of Rick Runde when the panhard bar broke free from the rearend, it kept running though, and I managed to stay in the lead for another lap, then coming out of turn 4 the driveshaft finally put too much strain on the transmission and it let go which left the car with no forward drive. Unfortunately the points leader #43 Brandon Wilson was following close behind me and wasn't expecting me to have problems, and when the car broke he was forced to try and dodge me and ended up hitting a tire and breaking a spindle. When all was said and done I was scored one position ahead of Brandon, which closes the points lead down to 3 going into the final race next week. Here is the link to the video on youtube:
Heat Race- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azJ7wMHH6_A
Feature Race- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irxvz7g7Dt8

Grant County Speedway 8/1/09

Tonights feature was the best race I have had in my B-mod career to date. The feature saw me and Brandon Wilson running nose to tail the entire race. There were a few times coming off the turn I though I was going to hook his bumper I was that close to him. With two laps to go I dove inside of him in turn 1 and we raced side by side down the backstretch together, but he got the lead back, so for the last lap I just followed him through turns 1 and 2 to try and gain some ground then I made my move coming in to turn 3. I dove underneath him, and tried to slide up a little to get him to either get off the gas or just second guess his next move which would give me enough momentum to beat him to the line. I was just ahead of him, but we were both fighting for position and our front tires touched causing his car to jump a head up the track. I was worried he was going for the wall, but I heard him get back on the gas, so I did the same and we had a drag race coming out of turn 4 to the checkered flag. It was a photo finish, and Brandon just edged me out at the line, but he ran a perfect race and deserved the win. I was more than happy with a 2nd place finish that night, the car still had the miss in it from the night before, so once we get that fixed we should be pretty tough to beat.

Lafayette County Speedway 7/31/09

In the heat race tonight the car just didn't want to do what I wanted it to do, and I could only work my way up to third. The feature was pretty eventful. I started 10th and had worked my way up to about 5th, and the carb was plugging up causing the car to run really rough. On lap 4 a large piece of mud knocked my window net down, and another car spun causing a caution, so I pulled into the pits to tell my dad the car was running rough, and to have him put the window net back up. So we went back out there, and I had to start from the back because I had pitted, so on the restart I was in 11th, and I worked my way back up to 6th before the next caution. On the restart, some cars got tangled up again which moved me a little further. For the last restart I found myself in 3rd place with 2 strong racers in front of me. They got into a little tangle coming out of turn 2, but the 2nd place driver took off from their little run in, so I found myself in 2nd, but couldn't close the gap to the leader. So I finished a solid 2nd place after a pretty hectic race. The videos should be uploaded so youtube soon, we tried a little different view this time.

Grant County Speedway 7/26/09

The night before we got a bunch of hail and rain, so we weren't sure we were even going to race today, but they managed to get the track in shape. I went out for hot laps and the car seemed to be running good, but when we went to go out for our heat race the car wouldn't go into gear. So my dad crawled under the car and started adjusting the clutch trying to figure out what the problem was but even after the adjustments it still wouldn't engage. So for the feature we had to push the car back and I just started it in gear to get it going and we just planned on running a lap or two to get some points. After I started it in gear the car started shifting fine, so I realized we might have a chance. I had to start last because I didn't make it out for my heat race, but I managed to make it up to 3rd, and at the end of the race when I pulled in to scale the clutch was pretty well done for. Were pretty sure it's just the throwout bearing, but once we tear it apart later today we will know. Thanks for stopping by.

Grant County Speedway 7/11/09

We hadn't raced in two weeks, so what better to do than throw a bunch of new setups changes at the car? Well it turned out that what we tried worked, and I won both my heat and feature races. I kept this blog short because I finally got my camera, so here are the heat and feature videos from that night.

Heat- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7H3Cc4kfQw
Feature- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aMyEu30kDQ

Grant County Speedway 6/27/09

Yesterday looked to be a good day for the Stagman Racing team, but a little bit of bad luck took a good finish away from us. In the heat race I lead the first few laps until a new driver got inside of me in turn 1 and took the lead, but I held on to 2nd place and got two valuable points towards the point race. In the feature I started outside of the front row, and jumped to the lead in the first turn, but some cars got tangled up behind me so a caution took away the lead that I would have had. On the next restart I bobbled in turn 4 and the same guy that passed me in the heat race got under me on the frontstretch and took the lead again. I was chasing him down for a few laps until going into turn 1 the spark plug wire fell off of cylinder number 4 which cut my power down considerably, and then of course we had a caution which bunched the field back up. On the restart I got punted in turn 2 by another driver, and I got a bad call by the officials which sent me to the back rather than the guy who caused the caution. I managed to get back to 4th running on 7 cylinders which kept me close to the points leader with there only being 4 points in between us. After I got home that night I also put in my order for a Go Pro Hero camera, so hopefully next week I will have a video of the feature race so everyone can get a little bit better idea of what it is I do.

Lafayette County Speedway 6/26/09

We got the frost plug issue sorted out from last week and also found and fixed some other problems that could have arisen last night. When we took the transmission and clutch off to get to the frost plug we found out that two of the clutch discs were cracked and one had broken, which could have let go in the next race. In the heat race a couple of cars got into each other in front of me, and one ended up looping it in front of me, and i ended up running into him and making a mess out of the front end, but the car was good enough to keep out on the track, and I made my way to the front to win my heat race. In the feature I started in second and stayed there until after the last restart when in turn 1 I tried to make a move on the leader and got on the gas a little early which sent me spinning around, brought out the caution, and sent me to the back of the pack. Luckily a lot of the cars had already dropped out of the race, so I was in 8th with two laps to go. On the 2nd to last lap I made a move coming out of turn 4 that I managed to pass 3 cars in one turn, and I'm still not sure how I did it. I ended up finishing in 4th, and kept myself in the points race and hopefully moved into the lead.

Grant County Speedway 6/21/09

I had been looking forward to last nights race once we knew that we had the good motor in the car. When we got to the track the engine builder came over and checked the timing on the motor to make sure it was spot on before we went out. He gave me some advice for what to look for with this new motor before pushing it. In hot laps I went out and the oil pressure was staying pretty steady, so I started to slowly get on the gas more and more, and on the last lap of the hot laps I could see my dad giving me the slow down signal. When I stopped the car in the pits I could see a bit of steam coming off the car, and another racer told me he saw a bunch of water shoot out on the frontstretch. The engine builders came over and figured out that it was a frost plug had shot out on the back of the motor by the clutch. It was a total freak happening, but luckily another driver in a different class let me borrow his car. The car I raced came from a slower open wheel class, so I had a fun time just trying to wheel that car around the track. The best part is that I pulled off a 4th place finish, which will keep me in the points until next week when I will get my good motor back again. I'll be purchasing a Go Pro Hero camera here soon, so hopefully I will soon have some video of me racing for you guys to watch. Thanks for reading.

Grant County Speedway 6/14/09

Last night was night number two on the borrowed IMCA motor, and the plans were just to keep the car in one piece and earn some points. The track took a long time to work in, but when we finally got it together it looked to be a heavy track, good for the big power motors, bad for me. In the heat I managed a third place finish which earned me a valuable point towards my total. In the feature I had to really change my driving style as I was used to the torquey 383 that we had in the car before, and now I had a torque-less 355, but a motor none the less. I managed to hang on for a third in the feature as well, so I should hopefully still be in the points race at both tracks for next week. The engine builder told us that the motor should be ready for next weeks races, which means the rest of the field better watch out.

Lafayette County Speedway 6/12/09

If you follow the blog at all, you'll know that last week we ran into some motor problems. We got the engine down to the builders shop and when they took the oilpan off it was pretty apparent that the crank had broke, as a piece of it was just hanging, still attached to the rod. So for this weekend we had hoped to get our backup motor built to put in, but the engine builder ran into some problems, so we instead borrowed an old IMCA motor from fellow racer Steve Merriam. For those that don't know IMCA is a sanctioning body that puts claim rules on the engines in an attempt to keep cost and power down. So we went into the race a little under powered, but we were just hoping to get some points. The race was a battle of attrition with wrecks almost every lap that retired cars from the race. When all was said and done I had made my way to a very respectable 4th place with this motor. That finish should keep me in the points race for the time being, and we should hopefully have our bigger motor back for next week.

Blown Motor Speedway 6/05/09

We started out the night in good fashion by picking up yet another heat race win, I started 5th and made my way up to 2nd, then the leaders air cleaner broke off which caused him to pull off and put me in the lead. In the feature I was starting 10th which meant i had a lot of work ahead of me to get to the front. As with almost every feature race we had had this year this one was filled with cautions, but I slowly made my way up to 3rd. We finally got a green flag stretch in and I got to stretch the cars legs a little bit. I came out of turn 2 and had a good run down the backstretch, then the motor let go coming in to the turn and that was the end of my night, and I ended up finishing 8th. We are tearing it down right now, but it looks like either a rod or the crank let go. There was no water in the radiator so the block is junk. My brother Zach was building us a motor identical to this one, but it isn't quite finished yet, so the pressure will be on to see if we can get this motor back in for next Friday. Luckily we have the week off at the Grant County Speedway, so hopefully we can get the motor in and I can hold on to my points lead there.

Grant County Speedway 5/30/09

The tracked started out pretty dry today, but for our heat race they put a little water down which made it a little tackier. I picked up the heat race win after a couple of other guys had problems. In the feature the bottom of the track got really slick, but it proved to be the faster groove, although my car couldn't get any traction down there so I was left to rim-ride around the top of the track and try to keep some momentum going. I ended up catching the leader, but we were pretty even and I couldn't get a good enough run out of the turns to get around him. Next week Grant County Speedway has the week off, so we plan to go down to the Dubuque Fairgrounds and run on Sunday night.

Lafayette County Speedway 5/29/09

We were pretty apprehensive going into this weekend because of the front end problems we had last week. We had to hope that we had all of the steering geometry set-up just as it had been before I snapped the spindle in two so the car would still handle as well as it has this year. In the heat race I worked my way up to the front from 5th, and ended up winning which made us feel that we had done a pretty good job. In the heat race the track was already taking some rubber which meant for the feature it was going to be very slick. In the feature I started 7th, and the race was again riddled with cautions, but I kept my nose clean and when the 6th caution came out which ends the race I was in 3rd place, so to make my way up 4 positions with very few green flag laps on a slick track, we consider that a win. The track photographer has been working hard this year, so click here to see all the pictures he has taken of me on the track, and it might help you to get a better idea of what dirt racing is all about.

Lafayette County Speedway 5/23/2009

I started my heat race in 4th place, and there was a wreck in the first turn which I kind of became a part of, but the car was fine so I stayed on. On the restart I jumped to the lead and pulled away from the field to pick up the heat win and 3 points. In the feature I started 5th, and by the 3rd lap I was up to the lead, but as soon as I got the lead a caution came out. They couldn't get the line up right, so we made probably ten laps just driving around which slicked the track up quite a bit. On the restart I pulled out a healthy lead through turns 1 and 2, then coming in to turn 3 I hit a slick spot and the car went around on me before I knew what was happening. Luckily I didn't hit the wall but I found myself in the back. From there on I tried to make my way up but the track was awfully slick, so I tried to run the low line in turns 3 and 4 and I expected the car to slide, but when I set up for the turn the car hooked and I ended up clipping one of the tires on the inside of the track, and breaking the tie rod and spindle which ended my night. Luckily my main competitor broke a rear end gear early on in the race so I still beat him, but I ended up finishing 8th. We've already started replacing the spindle and a new tie rod is on it's way. Thanks for stopping by.

Grant County Speedway 5/16/09

Well tonight was the most hectic night of racing yet. My sisters wedding reception happened to be going on the same time as the races so as soon as they were over I would have to drive 45 mins to get to it before 11. I started the feature dead last because of the invert from the previous weeks finishing order. On lap two, I clipped another racer coming out of turn 4 which sent me around and the guy behind me had nowhere to go and ended up hitting me square in the frame just before the drivers door. I went to the pits thinking my night was over, but everyone gave me the thumbs up that the car was fine so I headed back out. What ensued was caution after caution before they finally threw the yellow and checkered at the same time. Thankfully I had made my way up to 2nd from the people spinning, but the guy who started on pole lucked out and didn't have to deal with any of the accidents. So this years feature finishes so far are a 1st, and two 2nds. Not too shabby.

Lafayette County Speedway 5/15/09

Yesterday was the second race at Lafayette for the year, and almost everyone didn't think it was going to take place. We had two big cells coming towards the track on the radar all day, but you still have to go to the track just in case. During the heat races you could see the cells splitting and they both managed to miss the track and we didn't get so much as a sprinkle. For the feature there was a little rough spot in 1 and 2 which forced a lot of the cars to run high, so I decided to use the fresh track under that rough spot to get to the front. The race was filled with cautions which made it hard to get a rhythm but the final green flag stretch was 3 laps long. I was in 3rd on the restart and managed to pass the 2nd place car coming off of turn 2, which left me with 2 laps to catch the leader. I closed up a little the first lap, then the next lap on got to his bumper coming off of turn 2. Coming in to turn 3 he left the door open so I went for and stuck my nose in. We were almost side by side through the turn but he got a little better run off of turn 4 and beat me to the line. So i started 3rd and moved up to 2nd with a shot at the leader who started P1. Tonight will be a hectic night because it is also my sisters wedding reception, so as soon as my race is over I have to throw on dress attire and drive an hour to the reception. Hopefully we keep these good finishes rolling.

Grant County Speedway Season Opener 5/09/09

Well the good luck stayed with us overnight, and I as able to get my first feature win with the car. In the heat race the car was struggling a bit, but it ran a lot better in the feature. Another competitor was running away with the race but had motor problems so I was able to make it to the front from my 5th place starting position. The next race will be this coming Friday at the Lafayette County Speedway, hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate.

Lafayette County Speedway Season Opener 5/8/09

Tonight was the season opener at the Lafayette County Speedway, and we got to about halfway through the show before mother nature opened the skys and rained on us, but not before I could chalk up my first heat race win of the season. The car seemed to run good, so were hoping to keep the good luck rolling tomorrow night for the season opener at my home track, the Grant County Speedway.

Test and Tune May 2nd

We were hoping to go racing last night, but the weather had other plans, so I first racing of the 09' season would be at the Test and Tune and the Grant County Speedway. The plan was to go out there and just feel the car out, but as soon as I got on the track the adrenaline started rushing. Unfortunately there aren't any on track pictures, but we should hopefully get some next week. These pictures of the car being unloaded will have to do.






We were hoping to go racing last night, but the weather had other plans, so I first racing of the 09' season would be at the Test and Tune and the Grant County Speedway. The plan was to go out there and just feel the car out, but as soon as I got on the track the adrenaline started rushing. Unfortunately there aren't any on track pictures, but we should hopefully get some next week. These pictures of the car being unloaded will have to do.

Car is done and ready to race!

Car is done and ready to race!

Test and Tune on the 25th

Last night we got the car scaled and all set up to our liking. The new wheels also arrived and are now on the car. The first test and tune of the year is next Saturday at the Lafayette County Speedway in Darlington. We have a few little things to try to see how they work and we might end up using them throughout the year.

Technical Specs of the racecar

I guess for many that don't follow dirt racing you might be kind of lost as to what these cars really are. I run a 2002 GRT Modified, which is basically a tube chassis built off of a Chevelle front stub. The motor is top secret as it is in all sorts of racing, but it makes in the neighborhood of 450 hp. We run a Saginaw 3-speed, or a Muncie 4-speed and then it goes back to a Coleman rearend. The car rides on Bilstein shocks and Afco springs, and puts the power down through American racer G60 tires. If you have any other questions about the car or anything that has to do with dirt racing feel free to comment on here and I'll try to help ya out.

Here are the graphics for the this years car. The first picture is the drivers side body panels along with the hood. The sponsors there are Eastman Cartwright Lumber Company, Obies 24 Hour Towing and Service Center and J&J Enterprises. The second picture is the passengers side panels. Sponsors on that side are Olson Refrigeration and The Bagley Hotel. One body panel is missing because it's already on the car and that is the rear filler panel, with Lancaster BP on it. We hope to add many more sponsors names to this car as we perform well throughout the season.

Graphics done and on body

Last night I went and picked up the finished body panels from a fellow racer who was doing our stickers for this season. We also finished up the decking and got the fuel cell back in and fuel lines hooked up. I should have some new pictures up later this week when I make it home from college. Thanks for stopping by.

Chassis Color Change

If you have a keen eye, you'll notice that in the other picture of the modified the chassis is a sky blue color. This was the original color of the car, and not exactly my favorite, so for this year we opted to respray the chassis. I have a theory that painting a car black makes it faster, but we'll have to wait until this year to see, all I know for know is that it sure looks a lot sharper.

Pictures cont.

My first year driving the Modified. Running High, Wide and Handsome!




Fernando Alonso's World Championship Formula 1 Car



Hopefully one day I can be up there with Alsonso and Piquet.

Past Pictures cont.

This is one of the Peugeot Le Mans cars that I saw in France. I actually got yelled at for touching it. I was just curious.

The first real attempt at racing, our 1996 Dodge Neon ACR.

My last 4 cylinder. We bought this car as just a shell and put it all back together and I ended up winning the track championship.

This was the original 96 Neon after it's facelift for the 2005 racing season.

Me standing next to my sweet ride.

Past Pictures

Until I am able to get a new digital camera to take some pictures of the car in it's disassembled state I figured I would show you some pictures of my past race cars, and a couple of me standing next to a few expensive race cars in France.

First Racing Blog

Hey there everybody, my name is Matt Stagman. I race an Open-wheel modified in Southwest Wisconsin, and Northern Iowa at a variety of dirt oval racetracks. I've been racing since I was 14, and have 7 feature wins with 1 track championship title. With the first race of this season still just under 2 months away, I plan to give you guys a little glimpse of what it takes to prepare your car for the coming race season. I should have some pictures up soon. Thanks for stopping by.