OSCAAR HOT RODS & MODS

2022 Champions Steve Book And Andy Kamrath

ANDY KAMRATH – OSCAAR MODIFIED

Andy Kamrath recorded eight wins and a runner-up finish in 11 OSCAAR Modified races – but that stat line doesn’t tell the full story of his championship season. After three straight wins to start the year, a wreck at Delaware Speedway left Kamrath with two broken toes and a heavily damaged car.

With another race scheduled for the next day, a pair of crew members came to the rescue, driving almost all night to drop off that car and pick up a loaner. Kamrath battled through the adversity to finish sixth in that race. The task then switched to repairing the wrecked car, with less than three weeks to go before the next event, at his home track of Sunset Speedway. Finding time to work in the shop, including doing a proper maintenance program, was a challenge for Kamrath all season.

“I work a full-time job, I’ve got a business to run with 200 employees and I don’t pay anybody to work on my car,” he said. “So just finding that time between the work-life balance...that was probably one of the bigger challenges.”

Despite the task at hand, Kamrath knew that he had no excuses after the efforts of his crew members on that Delaware weekend. With a rebuilt car ready to be unloaded at the next event, he returned to victory lane, putting his season back in the right direction.

The dominant close to the year gave Kamrath his first OSCAAR Modifieds championship, in his second full season. It’s also his first title anywhere in racing.

Turner STEVE BOOK – OSCAAR HOT RODS SERIES

Steve Book capped off a consistent season with his second consecutive Qwick Wick OSCAAR Hot Rods championship. Book had a win and seven top-five finishes in 12 races. While his worst result of the season was a finish of 22nd in race three, at Sunset Speedway, it was the hard work of his crew that was key to his success, allowing him to limit those bad results.

“When we got collected in the spin with Rob Bromley (at Delaware Speedway) it broke some stuff on my car, brakes and power steering,” said Book. “(The crew) got me back out on the lead lap, because of that caution, and we gained a bunch of positions back and I think that was a key.”

Book’s lone win came in the only standalone Hot Rods event, in mid-August at Brighton Speedway. His success on that track has been surprising, as he doesn’t consider himself a dirt racer.

“I’ve got a lot of luck at Brighton. We’ve been there four times since I’ve been running the series and I have three feature wins there,” he said. “I think the fact the track is slick and we don’t have an abundance of power, it actually helps at that particular track.”

Another highlight of that race was his father Ralph driving a race car for the first time in over 20 years; he finished ninth in a second car prepared by Steve. The two had raced against each other before, but the return of Steve’s “racing hero” made his championship season all the more special.

Book also pointed out the level of competition in the 2022 OSCAAR Hot Rods season, which had eight different winners. He plans to defend his title and is putting a new body on his Studebaker for the 2023 season.

“It felt pretty good, it’s something we’ve been wanting for 23 years,” he said. “Being able to get that done, it’s definitely a big relief.”

Kamrath is unsure of his 2023 plans but expects them to include racing locally at Sunset. IT

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