CHAD MYERS LIGHTNING FAST IN THUNDERCARS
by Brian Spaid

June 10, 2005 

   How does he do that?

   The overwhelming number of Thundercar drivers at Tri-City Speedway wants to know the answer to that question. Some say he cheats. Others say he’s just too fast. Most seem to accept the fact that he studied his race car setup to perfection.

   All the while, Chad Myers continues to add victory after victory at the half-mile Venango County oval.

   Now in its third season, the Thundercar division has never seen the level of dominance displayed by the five-time winner. Myers, 28, has won every feature in 2005. He has three heat race wins too in his blue, white and silver Chevrolet No. 01. Amazingly, before this season, Myers never before stepped into victory lane.

   “I didn’t expect this by any means,” says Myers, who received rookie of the year honors in 2004. “We worked all winter and researched everything we did to the car. I read publications about dirt track racing and setups. Some of the Pro Stock drivers even helped me by comparing notes with me.”

   With additional assistance from his brother and Pro Stock driver, Scott Myers of Oil City, and his father, Randy Myers of Franklin, he was able to put all the pieces together to make a winning combination.

   “My crew is a vital part too,” adds Myers. “Joe Streczywilk is my crew chief and brother-in-law. He’s always turning wrenches when I can’t be around. He gets the car race ready. We really work well together.”

   Using the same car and engine combination from his rookie season, Myers attributes all of his success to his strong interest in studying books and articles about race setups and applying what he learned on the track.

  “I used to race go karts locally, and that taught me that race car setup is 70% of your success. The motor is the next 20% and the driver is the final 10%. Once you have a setup that works, it makes the car run smooth and fast.”

   Of course, with success comes suspicion. Immediately after he dominated on opening night, Tri-City’s chief tech inspector, Larry Riffe, told Myers that a second win would result in a motor inspection. After a delay caused by other issues, Riffe was finally able to inspect Myers car and engine on May 29 following two feature wins by Myers on the same night.

   “I really wasn’t sure when Larry would check the car,” recalls Myers. “When he did it, we told him to do more than he intended. He checked the engine with three different pumps and we asked him to take off parts that he didn’t intend to check. It all passed and he tagged the engine. There was a huge crowd watching at first, but it grew smaller and they were all quite disappointed.”

   Myers is proud of the fact that he and his crew passed with flying colors.

   “Luckily, I was there in Dad’s winning seasons, and I was prepared for the mistrust of fellow racers and fans when I realized how good the car was. I talked the crew about it too in order to prepare them.”

   There is an old saying that it is lonely at the top, and it rings true for Myers.

   “It will get worse before it gets better. But, you have to understand that it’s the nature of the beast. In racing, its always been that way.  When your fast, everyone’s first instinct is that the motor’s illegal or you’re cheating.”

   Myers, who operates CNC machines at Century Propeller in Seneca, is both honored and flattered that some of his fellow drivers are now coming to him for advice. Even 2005 MACS Late Model champion Robbie Blair of Hydetown talked to Myers one night.

   “There are some guys out there that want to make their program better, and I’ve been pretty free about some of things I’ve learned. But, I’m not going to give them everything. I can’t give it all away when we worked so hard all winter and learned a lot of this on our own. I have to admit that it was really cool when Robbie asked me about the car. To have a driver of his caliber ask me about Thundercar setups made me almost speechless.”

   For now, Myers will enjoy his time at the top. He already set a new record for consecutive race wins. He’ll now set his sights on the division’s seasonal win record of seven feature races set by Don Blake Jr. of Titusville in his 2004 championship season.

  “We’ve talked about our future plans,” notes Myers. “I know that the division was started for new drivers to learn and move up to the Pro Stocks or another class. I don’t want to hang out in Thundercars too long. Financially, I may not be able to step up this year. I may stay one more year to get my finances and sponsors together to make a run at the Pro Stocks in 2007.”

   If he keeps on winning like he is now, it could be a long couple of seasons for the other drivers. Then again, all it takes is a little research and experimenting and the competition will catch him in a flash.

   Sponsors on Myers’ car include Perk Place Café, Endless Summer Tanning and Big Tree Guns & Ammo in Titusville, Sehman Tire Service in Franklin, Wilkinson’s Awards and Ralph’s Garage in Polk, Wyant Auto Sales in Seneca, and The Landing in Cranberry.