Auto racers don’t necessarily have to load up on feature wins to get to the top of the points standings.
Tom Wagner is proof of that.
The 35-year-old Legends driver from Mercer hasn’t won a single feature race in six dates at Mandan’s Dacotah Speedway this season. However, he is the leading point-getter in his class with 553 tallies. He holds a six-point lead over second-place Nathan Speten of Wilton, and a 12-point advantage over Troy Speten, also of Wilton.
Wagner said consistency is the main reason why he owns the No. 1 spot at Mandan. He finished in the top five in all six features. His best finish is second place, which he posted on June 19. He came in third three times, and fifth twice.
“I have one feature win to my name in four years, and that came at Minot,” Wagner said. “But I’m in first place (at Mandan), so I must be doing something right. In racing, consistency is the key. I have a good car, and I’ve placed in the top five in all of my races. All of those points add up.”
Wagner is in his fourth season racing Legends cars and he’s hoping to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish at Mandan. He also wound up fifth in the Legends National Semi-Pro Dirt Class standings.
“I had a good year last year. It was my best, so far,” said Wagner, who was named the Mandan track’s Sportsman of the Year in 2008. “I’ve improved every year, and that’s what I want to do. To be in first place this far into the summer is exciting. Staying in first is going to be awfully tough because of all the good drivers there are in this class. But I’ll keep giving it all I got. We’ll see how things turn out in the end.”
Wagner said he enjoys the camaradarie of the Legends drivers more than the competition.
The end of the season at Dacotah Speedway is about two months away, but Wagner is looking ahead to October, when he’ll drive in the Sprintacular at the Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio.
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