In the weeks that followed, Schlenk and the new car went on to find even more success in the national DIRTcar ranks, setting fast time at Cochran Motor Speedway, starting on the front row in the Arizona Sport Shirts Gateway Dirt Nationals finale and even leading some laps in the race before internal mechanical failures sidelined him before the finish.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, he and the rest of the DIRTcar Late Model community have found limited places to race, which means they’ve had to get creative in finding tracks to race on. Schlenk’s been all over the map in the last few weeks, scoring wins in super late model action at Merritt Speedway, Clarksville Speedway and Oakshade Raceway.
“Everything’s so up in the air right now, at this point, we’re just trying to find a place to race,” Schlenk said. “Right now, we’re just trying to find some decent races that are close to home to try and make a little bit of cash.”
Domination might only have a small following right now, compared to that of the long-standing, tried-and-true makes like Rocket, Longhorn and Capital. But Schlenk’s been keeping busy at the shop since the government-mandated lockdowns began in March, selling Domination cars to seven different drivers around the Upper Midwest region. Cody Bauer even took his to Merritt Speedway victory lane last weekend.
“There’s a lot of local weekend warriors out there that I’m trying to cater to,” Schlenk said. “I’m trying to keep the cost down on these race cars and give the local guy something that they can feel comfortable, no matter what their driving style is, to jump in it and feel comfortable and not have to completely re-learn how to drive. I think we’ve succeeded so far.”
Schlenk said he’s always been a big proponent of the swing-arm suspension he ran for several years in his Rayburn cars. It took approximately four years for him to perfect his chassis and suspension design for the Domination build, but the work he put in was all worth it in the end.
“It was a lot to take on, but I’m glad we did it. I don’t feel like I was quite prepared, but we made it work,” Schlenk said. “It took a little longer than anticipated, but we’re up and rolling now. I’ve got a little bit of money in the bank, we’ve finally got our heads above water, so I think from here on out it’s going to be smooth sailing.”
Looking ahead, his schedule might be uncertain, but at least he’s racing a little bit for now. Schlenk takes part in Eldora Speedway’s Dirt Late Model Stream Invitationalfor the DIRTcar Late Models this weekend, and has never come into the facility with more confidence than he has right now.
“The cars are working good. This is the best I’ve ever ran in my life. I feel we’ve got a car that I can go anywhere in the country with at this point and be competitive. That’s kinda what I’ve been missing over the last couple years,” Schlenk said.