FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Something was missing from the headlines following last year’s Rumble in Fort Wayne presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales.
John Ivy did not appear in any summary reports as a feature event winner as he had for so many years prior. The Fremont, Ohio veteran wants to change that when this year’s event rolls around December 30-31 inside of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
With track championships in multiple divisions at Attica Raceway Park and Fremont Speedway as well as countless go-kart wins, Ivy took that experience into the Rumble and capitalized on it. After splitting Rumble time between the go-karts and the 600cc midgets, winged and non-winged, he focused more on the 600’s in recent years.
“I always used the outdoor season to better my indoor season and vice-versa,” said Ivy. “There is always something about the Rumble. Even though it is on concrete, it can drive a lot like the dirt tracks I race on during the summer. So, I would take the experience I gained from the dirt, applied it to the Rumble and then used the Rumble to keep my reflexes sharp for the summer.”
From 2017-2019, Ivy captured nine of the 12 600cc midget main events contested on the indoor one-sixth-mile concrete oval. That changed last year when he was shut out of victory lane. There was no event in 2020 due to the pandemic. Cap Henry and Tyler Shullick, in the winged division, as well as Justin Harper and Tyler Gunn in the non-winged division catapulted into the limelight and headlines as feature winners.
“I know that the fans enjoyed seeing some new faces in victory lane, and I was happy for those guys, but that has fired me up to do better this year, so watch out,” concluded the seasoned veteran who will be doing double duty in the LiUNA non-winged 600’s and North Baltimore Custom Cuts winged 600’s.
Joining the 600’s each day of the Rumble in full racing programs will be the midgets, eight classes of go-karts and six classes of Baker Racing Engines quarter midgets.