Back on the throttle

• Jeff Decker

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Jeff Decker, an IMCA Modifieds race car driver from Dickinson, stands next to his car in his garage Friday afternoon. After two years away from the Southwest Speedway, Decker plans to return in a full-time capacity tonight when track’s season begins tonight.

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Jeff Decker needed a break from racing.

There just wasn’t enough time, energy or funds for the veteran driver from Dickinson to do what he wanted to with his IMCA Modifieds car.

“I just needed a break from it,” Decker said. “It gets to be like a second job sometimes. You get off work and you work on the car all night.”

In his last “full” season of racing the summer of 2008, Decker won the Southwest Speedway’s Modifieds title.

The next summer, he encountered car problems from day one and only entered a few races.

“Things weren’t going well for me,” he said. “I was struggling with both financially and the car, too. It was just time to get away and catch up on some things.”

Decker sat out most of 2009 season but returned last year for the Dakota Classic Modified Tour and a handful of out-of-town races. His only race at the Southwest Speedway was during the tour.

Tonight Decker returns to the Southwest Speedway with the intentions of racing a full season for the first time since 2008. He raced Friday night at the Dacotah Speedway in Mandan.

“I definitely feel good,” Decker said. “I’m pumped for this year with the new car.”

Things are different this time around, too.

Decker has the time and the energy to put into his car, is making a better living and Industrial Electric, the company he works for, has come through as his lead sponsor.

“My employer has really stepped up and is helping me out a lot this year with it,” Decker said. “It’s making it a little easier for me to be out there, cost-wise.”

Decker said the cost of fuel and general car upkeep has been a tough pill for drivers to swallow in recent years.

One barrel of methanol fuel for a dirt-track race car costs $180. Tires, he said, usually last three nights of racing — at best. Factor in maintenance and travel costs and racing can become a pricy endeavor, especially if a driver hopes to stay competitive and win money.

“It’s hard to put a price on it really,” he said, adding he has never added up every dollar he spends racing in the summer.

However, Decker said many drivers — especially those who race in a pricy class like Modifieds — likely need to make a comfortable living to be able to afford staying competitive in the class.

“You do. Or else have a good sponsor,” Decker said. “You have to have help. I don’t think anybody could afford to do it without sponsors.”

Ken Decker, Jeff’s father and a spokesman for the Southwest Speedway, said he’s excited to see his son back on the track and added he’s one of several new faces the Modifieds class should see this season.

“I think it’s going to be really excited with a lot of Modifieds,” Ken Decker said. “Hopefully everything goes smoothly.”

Tags: auto racing, southwest speedway, jeff decker, sports