Trick or treat? — Tonight most of us will hear those famous words as our houses are visited by numerous children celebrating Halloween. When the 2011 season began, most people would have said that Jason Meyers and the Elite Racing team were getting a trick. After all, it did take until July for the team to notch their first win of the season. Then again, the past month it has been all treats with the run of 5 consecutive victories and the team having a run of 14 top-5 finishes that has been going since Skagit Speedway at the beginning of September. Before the true “treats” begin, it is time to celebrate the holiday. This leaves us with the question, what Halloween costume would Jason Meyers choose if he was going to dress up and take his two girls tick-or-treating?
Superman – Meyers has been faster than a speeding bullet this season. He has set 11 quick times this season and is tied with Sammy Swindell for having the most in the series. He set quick time at Thunderbowl Raceway, River Cities Speedway, Brockville-Ontario Speedway, Beaver Dam Raceway, Lebanon Valley Speedway, Bloomington Speedway, Castrol Raceway (2), Clay County Fair Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, and Fremont Speedway.
Rock star – This season Meyers has created some records. He set 3 new track speed records in qualifying at Brockville-Ontario Speedway in Canada Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Canada, and Clay County Fairgrounds in Iowa.
Hippie – Like a flower child in the 60’s looking for harmony, Meyers has been very consistent this season. He leads the series when it comes to finishing at the front of the pack with 40 top-5 finishes and 54 top-10 finishes.
Olympic Runner – Meyer is a master at running the dash. This season he has led the series in dash wins with 8. That also means that Meyers has started from the pole 8 times this season.
Tortoise – Sometimes it is all about just finishing the race and not how fast you are. Meyers and his Elite Racing team have the least number of DNFs of any World of Outlaw team this season.
A Streaker – Meyers became the first driver in over 10 years of World of Outlaws racing to win 5 races in a row when he won at Lernerville Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway (2), Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, and Fremont Speedway. The last driver to dominate so many races in a row was Mark Kinser in 2001, but those were just A- Features (preliminary nights were excluded). Sammy Swindell also won 5 in a row (features and preliminary nights) in 1997.
Outlaw – This season Meyers stole the right of going to victory lane and plenty of prize money from the PA Posse. After recording his first win there during Summer Nationals and taking home $20,000, Meyers returned and won both nights of the National Open and collected over $50,000 in the process.
A Muse – Like there are 9 muses in Greek Mythology, Meyers has 9 wins this season at the following tracks: Cedar Lake Speedway, Autodrome Drummond, Castrol Raceway, Lernerville Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway (3), Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, and Fremont Speedway.
St. Louis Cardinal – Like the St. Louis Cardinals in game 6 of the World Series, Meyers has had a come from behind season this year. He may have not won his first race until July, but he made up for all that lost time in the last month as he has recorded 5 victories has not finished outside of the top-10 since Skagit Speedway at the beginning of September.
Up Next
Next week it is time to take on the final event of the season – World Finals. The Elite Racing team will be traveling to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Speedway and all they have to do is show up to clinch the 2011 championship. Last year Meyers swept the two events to win the title. The Californian has 4 victories and in his last 15 appearances at the track, he has only finished outside of the top-10 once. He also has not finished outside the top-10 at the track since May of 2007.
“Last year, I could not wait for the World Finals to be over because the championship was so close,” explained Meyers. “This year I cannot wait to get to Charlotte. I would have signed in as soon as Talladega was over if I could. That is all we have to do, so maybe I will try to sign up early for this race. This whole team has worked so hard to get us where we are. To be so close to winning the title back-to-back is really special. I did not think we could top last year, but I think we have done it.”
