Big Diamond Speedway
Strunk to get taste of WoO Late Model racing
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model SeriesEastern Pennsylvania modified star Jeff Strunk has always wanted to test his considerable skills behind the wheel of a Super Late Model. He’ll get his chance at full-fender action on a very big stage — and at one of his hometracks — when the World of Outlaws Late Model Series makes a much-anticipated first-ever visit to Big Diamond Raceway on June 25.
Strunk, a 39-year-old from Mohnton, Pa., who is one of the most accomplished 358-modified drivers in the Northeast, will drive a Lazer Chassis car fielded by veteran dirt Late Model driver and car builder Jim Bernheisel.
“I’m real excited to give it a shot,” said Strunk, who drives well-known Keystone State car owner Glenn Hyneman’s familiar No. 126 modifieds on a regular basis. “I’m just glad for the opportunity to try Late Model racing at a track I know pretty well. There’s a lot of guys around here that can drive a race car, so I’m thankful that Jim feels like I can do a good job.”
A four-time and defending 358-modified track champion at Big Diamond, Strunk made his one-and-only career dirt Late Model start in a 2002 event at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., where Limited Late Models are a support class to the headlining small-block modifieds. He came back from an early spin and fought through power-steering trouble to finish a respectable eighth.
Though Strunk talked about doing some dirt Late Model racing a few years ago with his former car owner Chad Sinon, a deal never materialized. He’s anxious to finally jump in a full-blown dirt Late Model and get a feel for the division — one in which an ever-growing number of Northeast modified drivers are making a mark, including 2006 WoO champion Tim McCreadie and 2007 Rookie of the Year Tim Fuller, two stars from Watertown, N.Y., who have the Big Diamond special on their schedules.
“In motorsports, the more versatile you are, the more of a chance you have to do this for a living,” said Strunk, a full-time professional driver for much of his career. “Late Model racing is huge all over the country and it’s definitely something I’d like to pursue if I got a chance, so I’m looking forward to getting in a car and racing against the best competition.”
Strunk, who will likely run a test session with Bernheisel at Big Diamond to get comfortable in the car before the midweek event, has realistic goals for his WoO debut. “I just want to get in the show,” Strunk said of the $7,000-to-win Coal Country 40. “Just running 40 laps with those guys will be great for me. Hopefully I can show some people I can do it.”
Bernheisel is confident about Strunk’s ability to wheel a Dirt Late Model around the 3/8-mile Big Diamond oval.
“I’ve known Jeff for a long time and he’s always said he’d love to drive a Late Model,” said Bernheisel, who will buckle Strunk in the No. 119 that his son, Bryan, has been campaigning this season. “He got to talking with my son Brandon (Bernheisel’s chief mechanic) about this Big Diamond race back in January at the Motorsports show (in Atlantic City, N.J.), and we decided to put a deal together with him. He’s a great driver, so I’m excited to see what he can do in a Late Model.
“Having him in a Late Model will also hopefully draw in more modified fans for the show,” he added. “I feel like Modified fans haven’t always given Late Models a chance, but I know that if they come to Big Diamond and check out (the WoO event) they’re gonna be impressed.”
Bernheisel is also anxious to hit the Big Diamond clay himself. He’s only entering selected events this season so he can focus on business and his son Bryan’s burgeoning driving career, but Diamond’s show is one he can’t miss.
Not only is Big Diamond a short drive from his shop, it’s also a track that he raced at often early in his career.
“I used to race at Big Diamond back in the Chevelle and Nova days,” smiled Bernheisel, who competed in the track’s old Limited Late Model division (before the track was enlarged slightly in the mid-‘90s). “The first time I ran there was 1979. I ran there a little the next year and was a regular in 1981 and 1982.”
Bernheisel never won a Big Diamond, however, so he’d love to change that with an upset of the WoO big boys.
“I finished second there like eight times in 1982,” said Bernheisel. “I thought I’d have plenty more chances to win there, but then they dropped the Late Models so I’ve only been back for a few specials since then. Back in the late ‘90s I was leading a special there when I broke on the white-flag lap. That one was tough to take.”
