Most Improved Driver Award
![]() |
Will Gerrits piloting the 21 car at Angell Park Speedway. Casey Bollig Photo |
This could go to a host of different drivers. Tyler Brabant in the 99 has had a fantastic second half of the season after dealing with motor issues for much of the early going. He's tallied a pair of top 5's and 6 top tens, and ended the year 11th in points. Adam Miller has had a great season as well. Some struggles with consistency plagued the 24m all season, but the MFM crew did break through and tally that elusive feature win, as well as 6 top 5's and a whopping 13 top 10's, finishing 6th in points. However, my overwhelming pick for this award has to be the 21 of Will Gerrits. "The Flying Dutchman" ended the season 4th in points, tallied his first career feature win in his 4th season, recorded 6 top 5's, and an astounding 19 top 10's, including an impressive 9th in the finale at Plymouth after starting 21st. All this after missing a good chunk of last season after breaking his arm in a crash at Dodge County.
"I thought I had a pretty good season coming back after my injury last year, as I didn’t know how well I would be able to drive the car. But I got my first A-main win in June in the MSA so that was cool. We battled with (Lance) Fassbender for a shot at another one in August, and that was a lot of fun too. I felt like we were one of the most consistent cars out there this year with 19 top 10’s and 6 top 5’s. I made a few mistakes here and there where I probably could’ve improved both those numbers a little bit but overall I’m extremely happy with the season and had fun."
Will added, "I’d like to thank Lloyd (crew chief) for making me fast all year, my Dad, TJ, Pete, Grandpa, Jake, and Tyler for all their help during the season. Also a big thank you to all my sponsors who helped out this year too. NAPA Filters, Theobotic, A. Glewen and Sons Excavating, Axel Real Estate, AmericINN, and Horicon Bank we couldn’t race without them either." Gerrits and the NAPA team are clear on their goals for the 2020 season, "As for 2020 we plan on being with the MSA series again and looking forward to competing for more wins and top 5’s." With two extremely talented drivers in Brabant and Gerrits, the sky's the limit for the two young guns.
"I thought I had a pretty good season coming back after my injury last year, as I didn’t know how well I would be able to drive the car. But I got my first A-main win in June in the MSA so that was cool. We battled with (Lance) Fassbender for a shot at another one in August, and that was a lot of fun too. I felt like we were one of the most consistent cars out there this year with 19 top 10’s and 6 top 5’s. I made a few mistakes here and there where I probably could’ve improved both those numbers a little bit but overall I’m extremely happy with the season and had fun."
Will added, "I’d like to thank Lloyd (crew chief) for making me fast all year, my Dad, TJ, Pete, Grandpa, Jake, and Tyler for all their help during the season. Also a big thank you to all my sponsors who helped out this year too. NAPA Filters, Theobotic, A. Glewen and Sons Excavating, Axel Real Estate, AmericINN, and Horicon Bank we couldn’t race without them either." Gerrits and the NAPA team are clear on their goals for the 2020 season, "As for 2020 we plan on being with the MSA series again and looking forward to competing for more wins and top 5’s." With two extremely talented drivers in Brabant and Gerrits, the sky's the limit for the two young guns.
"Ope! You almost got it!" Award
![]() |
Justin Miller contemplating the night's racing at the Dodge County Fairgrounds. Gasroots Project Photo |
This award goes to the highest finishing driver to NOT win a feature in 2019, and that driver is Justin Miller. Justin tallied championship winning numbers this season. 10 top 5's, 20 top 10's, and finished 3rd in the championship standings. I mean, statistically, it's almost impossible to race that well all year and NOT have a win somewhere along the way.
"I feel our season was very strong and consistent. We battled the pill draw it seemed every week and moved forward a lot in our heat races and the A’s due to bad starting positions." Justin said. "We faced some adversity this year and I am proud of my team for battling through them and having another great year. We came up short with a couple of goals we had set out to do, but that means we set those goals for 2020 again and try and come out firing." Justin added, "I would like to thank my crew of Matt, Brian, Brad and Taylor for the hard work and dedication it takes to compete at a high level, and I'd also like to thank everyone at TNT Motorsports for everything they helped with this year." When asked about his plans for 2020, Justin was very clear. "The plan for 2020 as of now is to compete with the MSA full time." Another season to log more wins, hopefully an A Main win! In all seriousness, congratulations to the entire MFM crew on an awesome 2019.
"I feel our season was very strong and consistent. We battled the pill draw it seemed every week and moved forward a lot in our heat races and the A’s due to bad starting positions." Justin said. "We faced some adversity this year and I am proud of my team for battling through them and having another great year. We came up short with a couple of goals we had set out to do, but that means we set those goals for 2020 again and try and come out firing." Justin added, "I would like to thank my crew of Matt, Brian, Brad and Taylor for the hard work and dedication it takes to compete at a high level, and I'd also like to thank everyone at TNT Motorsports for everything they helped with this year." When asked about his plans for 2020, Justin was very clear. "The plan for 2020 as of now is to compete with the MSA full time." Another season to log more wins, hopefully an A Main win! In all seriousness, congratulations to the entire MFM crew on an awesome 2019.
"Fastest Teenager" Award
![]() |
Jack Vanderboom taking in hot laps at Dodge County. Gasroots Project Photo |
"I gotta say the season went great even after the problems we had, we came back super strong and fought hard for the rookie of the year title. Brandon (Berth) was a great competitor and was a tough one to beat." Jack added, "I would like to thank my dad mom and everyone who supported me, and most importantly Rick Keller and Sharon Keller for all of the help this year and taking the time to come racing with us" Jack mulled his plans for 2020, other than he will be in a car somewhere. Smart lad indeed!
"That Guy Might Be Really Good" Award
![]() |
Travis Arenz with a wingstand after winning his 3rd feature at Angell Park this season. Casey Bollig photo |
Oh my word, Travis Arenz. You didn't HAVE to win 6 features this season to prove your talents to everyone, but you did it anyways. Nobody else came close to that number (MSA Champ Kurt Davis had 3 wins this season). Those astounding 6 wins included a season sweep of Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, WI, winning all three MSA sanctioned events there (including an MSA headlined event that was broadcast LIVE on SpeedShift TV).
Arenz was excited about his 2019 season, but knows there was a championship left on the table, "My 2019 was fantastic minus the few DNF's I had that kinda hurt me in the end for the point standings. 6 wins was not easy by any means. I definitely learned a lot throughout the year." Travis added, "I’d like to thank my entire crew, friends and awesome sponsors that keep this dream alive." "T.A." was cryptic when asked about his 2020 plans, but you can be sure he'll be in a ride somewhere with an incredible 2019 season and loads of experience added to his resume. "Our plans for 2020 are up in the air right now." There's been a lot of speculation around the pits about Arenz stepping into a 410 ride full time with Service 1 and Professional Plating backing, but we'll let rumors stay rumors until we hear something from Travis or his team directly.
Arenz was excited about his 2019 season, but knows there was a championship left on the table, "My 2019 was fantastic minus the few DNF's I had that kinda hurt me in the end for the point standings. 6 wins was not easy by any means. I definitely learned a lot throughout the year." Travis added, "I’d like to thank my entire crew, friends and awesome sponsors that keep this dream alive." "T.A." was cryptic when asked about his 2020 plans, but you can be sure he'll be in a ride somewhere with an incredible 2019 season and loads of experience added to his resume. "Our plans for 2020 are up in the air right now." There's been a lot of speculation around the pits about Arenz stepping into a 410 ride full time with Service 1 and Professional Plating backing, but we'll let rumors stay rumors until we hear something from Travis or his team directly.
"He's from WHERE?" Award
![]() |
Sean Rayhall taking a breather before heat races at Dodge County. Gasroots Project photo |
Sean Rayhall. Buddy. I mean, we know you like to race cool cars and all, but flying every week from GEORGIA? Sheesh. Talk about dedication! For those of you who don't know Sean, he's somewhat of a Sports Car racing guru. He helps run a driving school for prototype and GT drivers along with Trevor Andrusko (who also made his first MSA start this season), he's raced and won at tracks like Road Atlanta, Road America, Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, Circuit de la Sarthe (Le Mans), and many more. He's raced everything from IndyCar to a Prototype Challenge to GT's. He's experienced 98 G's in a PC crash (seriously, there's a YouTube video with over 100K views of Sean being interviewed about it). Needless to say this dude knows about racing in competitive classes on a professional level, and Sean had some high praise for the methanol monsters of the MSA after his first full year of competition.
"It was a huge learning year for sure and the MSA definitely has some of the toughest competition in the Midwest." Sean got into a Sprint Car for the first time while racing the DeltaWing prototype at Road America during an IMSA event a few years back, and Randy Sippel gave him the opportunity to test and race that same weekend at Plymouth through his "Sippel Racin'" Driving School. "I really want to thank the whole Sippel Racin' team, Sig Sauer and the Wisconsin Firearms Training Center for helping me get these races under my belt, and learn as quickly as possible to get ready for next year!" As for 2020, Sean was very clear about his plans, "We're looking to run a total of 40 races next year to really nail it, which will include a full MSA season plus some 410 races with the IRA mixed in."
**Honorable mention: Tyler Nelson, who drives from Upper Michigan weekly to race with us!**
"Turn it around, Turn it-Turn it-Turn it around!" Award
![]() |
Brandon McMullen celebrates after winning the WI SprintCar Championships A Main. RC Custom Design photo |
Alright B-Mac, you've got some explaining to do. How in the world, does a season go from that bad, to almost winning a championship, that quickly? Listen to this folks, prior to August 10th, "The Doctor" had an average finish of 10.7 this season. After that? 2.0. As in, you know, SECOND. He won 2 of the final 3 A Mains, with THREE second places and one 4th mixed in during the final six events. Their first half of the year was plagued by mechanical issues, bad luck wrecks that seemed to happen weekly, and bad pill draws. Even when the 98 team drew a bad number though, they still found themselves with a fast car and up front during an A Main, only to, more often than not, get taken out by a slower lapped car in the dying laps of a feature. It's part of racing, and with how well their seasons have gone in the past few years (3-Peat champions from 2016-2018), they were due for some misfortune, but it was getting to be unfathomable how unlucky the Plymouth based team was. Even so, McMullen still finds himself finishing 2nd in points at Plymouth (the 98 team opted not to compete in MSA travelling shows this season), with 2 extremely important wins and a great end of the year to inspire them heading into 2020.
"Our plan going into this season was to potentially run the full MSA schedule depending on how the year started. Unfortunately, we did not have much luck the first bunch of nights out so that ultimately decided our season schedule for the remainder of the year. We basically ran every night at Plymouth with a race at Seymour after having a DNF at Angell Park in May."
After that run of bad luck, Brandon thanked his team for the late season success, "Our team really came on strong at the end of the year with a couple of feature wins and a bunch of 2nd place finishes. Somehow, we wound up 2nd in PDTR points. We were able to show good speed and hopefully that momentum will carry through the offseason to the start of 2020."
After that run of bad luck, Brandon thanked his team for the late season success, "Our team really came on strong at the end of the year with a couple of feature wins and a bunch of 2nd place finishes. Somehow, we wound up 2nd in PDTR points. We were able to show good speed and hopefully that momentum will carry through the offseason to the start of 2020."
B-Mac mulled the MRE team's plans for next year, "I'm not sure what our plans will be for next year and most likely we will be taking it week by week. Whatever we do decide on, the competition is going to be stout with all of the current drivers from this year, and we're hearing about even more new drivers coming to the MSA next year."
McMullen added, "I really need to thank our pit crew for all of the work they did this year to keep repairing a busted up race car. It was really demoralizing when it was almost always a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and would have been easy to call it a season. The feature win during the County Fair was huge, and I owed it to our team and sponsors for all of their support. I also need to thank our sponsors for allowing us to afford to race." Brandon did list all of his sponsors, but seeing as that list is about 3 pages long, I've linked the MRE Facebook page (as well as the other driver's pages in this piece) at the bottom of the article.
"Best Moment" Award
So many moments to choose from here. Brandon McMullen turning an abysmal first half of the year around to finally log a feature win on Fair Night after being the "bridesmaid" more than once comes to mind. Or Tyler Tischendorf's emotional heat race win, or Will Gerrits and Bill Taylor each winning their first career features this season. For me though, there's one moment that sticks out from all the rest, that I get chills just thinking about now. Adam Miller's emotional first career win. 38 tracks, multiple different series, 6 different states, 12 years and a lot of ups and downs led to that night at Plymouth. Instead of me telling you how it went down, just watch for yourselves.
"I thought my 2019 went well. We achieved most of our goals and I think we've brought our team to the level it needs to be at." Miller did have some reservations though, "We definitely need to be more consistent to be in the championship conversation but its not an impossibility. We are a week to week team so the big picture is noticed but we focus on performing week to week first."
Adam added, "I'd like to thank my crew chief Jordan Adams. He and I have worked tirelessly to get this team in a spot where we can compete, and with his efforts I think we're there. I'd like to thank my sponsors and my family as well." "Ace" teased some exciting possibilities heading into 2020, "As far as 2020 goes, we're planning at this point to focus again on the MSA deal, we may look into some opportunities to get back into a 410 but that will be a matter of things falling into place." Either way, another year of watching that 24m rocket race in any capacity is a win for us fans!
Adam added, "I'd like to thank my crew chief Jordan Adams. He and I have worked tirelessly to get this team in a spot where we can compete, and with his efforts I think we're there. I'd like to thank my sponsors and my family as well." "Ace" teased some exciting possibilities heading into 2020, "As far as 2020 goes, we're planning at this point to focus again on the MSA deal, we may look into some opportunities to get back into a 410 but that will be a matter of things falling into place." Either way, another year of watching that 24m rocket race in any capacity is a win for us fans!
"Going Out in Style" Award
![]() |
Jim Melis wheels the 51m during heat races at Dodge County. Gasroots Project photo |
Jim Melis. 39 years of racing. Modifieds to Sprints. 410 and 360's. Jim ends his career with a 4th place finish in points at PDTR, 2 feature wins, 7 top 5's and 12 top 10's, including a 6th place finish at Plymouth on Championship Night. However, the All-Time numbers are where Jim's utter dominance and consistency in the MSA show through. 62 total victories (Heats, B Mains, and A Mains), 19 Feature wins, and 11th on the All-Time wins list. That's more feature wins than greats like K.J. Skelton, Al Schlafer, Troy Wondra, or Paul Pokorski ever tallied. Jim was always one of my favorite drivers growing up. When I first started attending races back in the late 90's, Plymouth still ran a Super Winged Modified class, and in that class, I had 3 drivers I absolutely hero-worshiped; Tim McMullen, Butchie Hafeman, and Jim Melis. When EWSC moved to Manitowoc, and Sprint Cars came to Plymouth, I still had those same favorites, except now it was Tim's son Brandon wheeling the 98, but Jim was still running (and winning) in his 51m. Every time I see that number, even today, it takes me back to just watching the cars roll into the pits on open trailers back when I was 4 or 5 years old. That number, and Jim himself, hold a special place in my bank of racing memories, if you will, a nostalgia trip that won't happen anymore, at least not with Jim behind the wheel. When Jim won feature number 19 earlier this season after holding off youngster Jack Vanderboom for 25 laps at Plymouth, he stated, "I'm getting way too old for this!" I hate to break it to you Jim, but I think you've still got it! Thanks for all the memories. A truly amazing career, ended with class and style.
Will Gerrits Racing
Miller Family Motorsports
Jack Vanderboom Instagram
Team Two5
Sean Rayhall Racing
McMullen Racing Enterprise
Mayer Automotive Racing
Will Gerrits Racing
Miller Family Motorsports
Jack Vanderboom Instagram
Team Two5
Sean Rayhall Racing
McMullen Racing Enterprise
Mayer Automotive Racing