Profile On: Dylan Peterson!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Dylan Peterson, #25 360 Sprint Car
by Joanne Cram
Dylan Peterson comes from a long line of race family members and extended family members, so it’s no wonder that he’s behind the wheel of his family’s #25. The 23 year old from Hartford, South Dakota, has decided to run for Rookie of the Year at Knoxville Raceway this season, making the 4 1/2 hour drive each week.
Dylan’s dad, Vance, began racing in the Midwest during the early 80’s at Huset’s, Knoxville, and other area tracks. After nearly two decades of racing, Vance decided it was time to give the kids a chance at the racing addiction. He sold the sprint car and came home with three karts for 8 year old Dylan, and his two older brother’s Daryl (12) and Joe (17). The three boys and Vance raced all over the Midwest for five seasons- claiming numerous wins and good times. Vance also helped get Clint Garner get going in sprint car racing. When Dylan was 14, he started coming down to Knoxville weekly to help Clint, whose family is close friends of the Peterson’s.
By the time Dylan was 17, he was more involved in football and wrestling- both of which were consuming more and more of his time. Those were sports he played all through childhood and was committed to. He decided it was time to hang up the racing gloves and make football and wrestling his first priority through high school. Hartford, South Dakota is well known for its highly successful football program and Dylan wanted to be part of his home town tradition. He earned the title of All State Running Back, contributing to that tradition. Dylan raced occasionally while in high school, but put his football career first, not wanting to injure himself while racing.
After high school, Dylan decided to not pursue college football, which freed him up to take advantage of a rare opportunity to race a sprint car and still focus on college at the University of South Dakota. Dylan drove a wingless car around South Dakota and North West Iowa. He was able to juggle both college and racing, earning 2 points championships with the HRA (Heartland Racing Association), and winning numerous races.
In 2010, he moved into a winged 360 sprint car, racing at Hartford’s I-90 Speedway and Huset’s. He was running 2nd in points at I-90 until he skipped a race to run his first ever 360 Nationals where he made the A-Main on his qualifying night.
2011 presented itself with a chance to run a 410 at Huset’s, where he was named Rookie of the Year and earned 7th in overall points. He continued to race the 360 at as many races as he could fit in, most were regional and national ASCS shows. When he reflects back on his schedule, Dylan says he was racing three nights a week, with an occasional ASCS show thrown in during the week.
The next two seasons of 2012 and 2013 found Dylan racing the same schedule. He won a 360 feature in 2012 and had a lot of top five finishes throughout both seasons.
This season, Dylan decided to shake it up and run the 360 for points at Knoxville each Saturday night, as well as continuing to run the 410 at Huset’s for points. Dylan says it’s been a lot of fun and he’s very happy that he’s stuck with the competition and had some great runs. It’s always been a dream to race for points at Knoxville, with such rich tradition and history, it’s always been the place to aim to race at. Before this season, he’d only raced a handful of times at Knoxville. The biggest challenge and difference for Dylan coming to Knoxville has been the speed at this half mile compared to others he’s raced at. He says it’s taught him a lot about keeping his momentum up and keeping his tires under him. After reviewing the race footage each week, Dylan says it’s very obvious how one mistake can cost him an entire straightaway.
The schedule of racing two cars this season has also been a challenge. The team gets together Tuesday night to do maintenance on the car and get started on prep for the weekend. By Friday the cars are ready, and the team leaves by 10 am Saturday morning. After the Knoxville show on Saturday, they trek the 4 1/2 hours home to get a little bit of sleep and go do it all again in the 410 on Sunday night at Huset’s. In between all of this racing, Dylan recently finished his business degree at USD and is now a truck salesman at Sioux Falls Kenworth.
When asked about the motivation to race this crazy schedule, Dylan says it’s a great way to bring his whole family together. He comes from a big family, with his two older brothers and their wives; Jennifer and Megan, his sister Jamie and her husband Kyle, along with six nieces and nephews, who all cheer him on and help him out. His mom, Bev, is also very supportive and is the “CEO” of the family’s racing activities. Dylan’s fiancé, Brekan (who also grew up in the racing world) goes racing with Dylan every weekend and is an important part of Dylan’s team. She records all of Dylan’s races and is working on a career in design and media, hoping to make detailed introductory and highlight videos for racers and tracks. Dylan’s brother, Joe, is a CAD engineer and actually designs and builds Dylan’s sprint car bodies and some other parts from scratch.
Dylan’s goals for this season include winning the Rookie of the Year title and getting a top 5 points finish. In the future he’d like to win the Knoxville 360 championship and win a lot of races.
All of his racing wouldn’t be successful or possible if not for all of the support he gets from his family, crew, and sponsors. Dylan says he’s very fortunate to have people and sponsors behind him. His crew includes his dad (and car owner), Vance; brothers Joe and Daryl; Adam Tripp, Rod Henderson, and Brekan Roths. Sponsors include Sioux Falls Truck & Trailer, Nortec Seeds, BR Speed, Bargain Barn Tire Center, Poncy Electric, Precision Dry Wall, Rowdy Hogs BBQ, Dakota Cub Aircraft, Glanzer Trucking, Knochenmus Farms, and Howe Plumbing and Heating.
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