SHAWN DOMHOFF HOPES TO DETHRONE KING BRENT IN TRI-CITY E MODS
by Brian Spaid

May 14, 2004 

   Maybe, just maybe, the juggernaut will be broken this season.

   Since 2000, Clymer, NY, veteran Brent Rhebergen has cleaned the clocks of the E Mod drivers at Tri-City Speedway. With 33 feature wins and two track titles in that span, Rhebergen made his mark in Tri-City’s history books.

   Last week, Rhebergen did not make the season opener at the Venango County half-mile oval because he traveled to Batesville Speedway in Arkansas for the inaugural ALLTEL 100 IMCA Modified race, which paid $100,000 to the winner.

   So, with the top man out of town, the rest of the field had a chance to grab an early lead in the point chase.

   In the end, Shawn Domhoff of Harmony took full advantage of the situation. He swept to a heat race win and feature victory in his yellow Cyclone chassis No. 13 E Mod.

   Domhoff, 33, is no stranger to Tri-City. He started racing there in 2000 when the E Mods made their first appearance on the weekly Sunday night card. He scored his first win at Tri-City that season. Then, he waited nearly four years to get his second last Sunday.

   “I’m real happy with our progress this season,” said Domhoff, who works as the shop foreman at Domhoff Racing Engines in Harmony. “We got this new Cyclone chassis last season, and we’re really getting to learn how to use the new car and make adjustments.”

   One week earlier, Domhoff scored his first career win at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial. Before the last two weeks, other than his 2000 win at Tri-City, Domhoff only carded two other wins in his career. Those came at Challenger Raceway and Hickory Speedway, both of which no longer race on a weekly basis.

   “We definitely feel like we’ve got a real shot at winning a lot of races this season.”

   Originally, Domhoff’s racing career was not supposed to be in E Mods. In 1996, he started racing 360 Sprints at Hickory. Twenty laps into his first oval track adventure, he locked wheels with former Tri-City champion Jimmy Hawley and flipped wildly.

   “I trashed that car, and we realized right there that we could not afford to race sprint cars,” said Domhoff. “I got into the E Mods because they were affordable and offered good competition. They have smaller tires, which keeps the racing close. We spent about $10,000 to $15,000. It all costs money, it just depends on how much you want to spend.”

   Domhoff was raised with a drag racing background. His father, Doug, competed in straight lines for many years. The family business even builds racing engines for drag racers, tractor pullers and oval track aces. Yet, Domhoff decided to venture away from drag racing.

   “Drag racing is not much fun anymore. They ruined it with all the electronics and bracket racing. It used to be you could get in a number of runs on the drag strip when you went. Now, you’re there all day long and you might get two to three runs. Those eight to nine second runs just don’t last long enough for me.”

   With Tri-City the only area Sunday night track hosting E Mods, Domhoff travels a long way to race. The reason is simply the speed.

   “Tri-City and Pittsburgh are both long and fast tracks. I love the speed. I’d like to run more quarter mile tracks though because they make you a better driver. On the small tracks, there is less room and time to react.”

   Domhoff believes he has a chance to dethrone Rhebergen as the king of the E Mods at Tri-City.

   “We’re hoping to find out how good we are against him this year,” smiled Domhoff. “Our car actually could have been a little better last Sunday night. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season. I’d actually like to travel to a few special races in the Midwest. It just depends on money and time.”

   With two wins under his belt this early in the season, Domhoff may be a sure bet to dethrone Rhebergen.

   Sponsors on Domhoff’s car include Domhoff’s Racing Engines and Domhoff’s Signs and Custom Graphics of Harmony, Cyclone Chassis of Versailles, Indiana, Turbo Start Batteries of New Castle, and Base Racing Fuel of Calhoun, Georgia.

   RAZORBACK ADVENTURE

   So, where were all the E Mods last week at Tri-City? Only 11 cars came out for the season opener, which was an all-time low. Although the economy and gas prices are a factor, so was the $100,000-to-win race in Arkansas.

   Like Rhebergen, several area drivers traveled to Batesville for the biggest IMCA Modified race in history. Mike Samuelson, Mike Potosky, Dave Hess Jr., and 2003 York Traithlon E Mod Series champion Randy Hall all went west. Potosky actually returned home in time to finish second at Tri-City.

   Rhebergen proved that his local E Mod efforts are for real. In a lengthy format run over four days, May 5-8, over 400 drivers attempted to qualify for the event. Rhebergen won a heat race each of the first three nights, but failed to qualify for the ALLTEL 100. Each night’s feature locked the top seven finishers in Saturday’s big race. Rhebergen’s best effort was a tenth on May 6.

   In the end, World of Outlaws Late Model star Scott Bloomquist invaded and walked away with the top prize.