Defending champion McVetta feels right at home at Hy-Miler

Mike McVetta has been to Sandusky Speedway plenty of times, even when he was in diapers. He's never shown up as the Hy-Miler Nationals defending champion, though. Until this weekend. McVetta, who lives in Medina, Ohio, won last year's Saturday night Hy-Miler feature to claim his fourth career International SuperModified Association victory. It was easily his biggest win. "Biggest one of my career. In supermodified racing, the Hy-Miler is in the triple crown with the Oswego (N.Y.) Classic and the Star Classic (in Epping, N.H.)," said McVetta. "Being from Ohio, it's the most important one to me. "I grew up going to Sandusky Speedway. I looked up to all those guys. Coming back the victor was surreal. I was probably a baby in the grandstands at Sandusky. My parents have followed supermodifieds since I was born." McVetta, a native of Grafton, Ohio, in Lorain County, took the checkered flag in a rain-shortened race last year. Seventy-three of 100 laps were completed. He was joined in victory lane by his family, including his wife, Gina, and children Stella and Patrick. His son will turn 5 this fall and start racing quarter midgets. That's four years earlier than McVetta got his start in racing. "It's a family thing," he said. "They're my biggest fans." McVetta dinged the front end of his No. 22 supermodified a couple weeks ago at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. The contact occurred in the Friday night race and he finished 11th. He bounced back to finish fourth in the Saturday night ISMA feature. Repairs to the front suspension were completed in time for his arrival in Sandusky on Friday. "We kinda Band-Aided it together to get through the weekend," he said. "We're still putting the final touches on her. We gotta go 100 laps, so it's gotta be right to make it." The Fast 40 will hit the paved half-mile oval on Friday night, followed by Saturday night's 100-lap feature. The Hy-Miler Nationals' main event pays $6,000 to the winner. McVetta's engine was built by Gary Griffith, who owns Griff's Engines on First Street in Sandusky. "We're not a big team. There's two cars but only one engine," McVetta said. "If the engine goes that would put the rubber stamp on the end of the season." McVetta's best finish this year was a runner-up showing in the 50-lap ISMA season opener at Oswego. Points leader Trent Stephens won the race. Stephens' car is owned by Steve Stout of Castalia. McVetta, 37, graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in mechanical engineering and began working as a test engineer for NASA. He now works as the manager of the inspace propulsion facility at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The lab's 25 chambers can simulate thermal and vacuum conditions in space. He said the facility's chambers range in size from a tabletop to 25 feet by 70 feet. McVetta has used his engineering skills to build race cars. He used to race 305 sprints in a series that competed in Sandusky, but rules changes forced a change. "It was perfectly legal until it won a bunch of races," he said of his sprint car, which was called into question by series officials. Instead of moving up to the popular 410 sprints series, he chose supermodifieds, unusual-looking cars with the engine situated on the left side of the car. "Me being an engineer, the supermodifieds fit," he said. McVetta is in his 10th year racing supermodifieds. The series based in the Northeast is experiencing problems securing tires, an issue that has plagued many racers this summer. "It's caught us as well. We're not allowed to run a new front left this weekend," McVetta said. "They're in short supply." The front left tire on supermodifieds is the same as the right front tire on sprint cars. McVetta said the left front tire is the least important on a supermod, so he hopes to still have a strong showing in Sandusky. "It's my home track. It produces some of the best racing in the area," he said. "There's something about the banking that makes it real racey. "We hope to paint the grandstand red with McVetta Racing t-shirts." --- Hy-Miler Nationals Friday Fast 40 — ISMA Supermodifieds in 40-lap feature. Ohio Wheelman Series also races. Racing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday Hy-Miler finale — 100-lap ISMA feature. Also: Zone Safety Modifieds and Renegade Stock Series. Racing at 7.