3/10/2022
Lucas Oil MLRA
Dustin Bolster Joins MLRA Field of Sunoco Rookie Contenders
Wheatland, Missouri (March 10th, 2022) – When the Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) hits the track next month at the 81 Speedway for their season opener, it’s very likely that the driver with the most on track experience at the Park City, Kansas facility will be a rookie of the year candidate. Dustin Bolster this week became the fifth driver to sign on to compete for the MLRA’s 2022 Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year program.
The 24 year old Bolster joins a group of talented drivers from five different states which includes Trevor Gundaker, Daniel Hilsabeck, Dylan Hoover, and Arizona driver Steve Stultz. The 2022 class will be vying for a share of $4,000 in prize money and six drums of Sunoco Race Fuel, to go along with a new set of Fox Racing Shocks that will go home with the series top rookie at seasons end.
Bolster hails from Belle Plaine, KS, which is a short drive of just over 30 miles from the season opener at the 81 Speedway. It’s a track he knows well and the place where he got his start in racing, winning the 2013 Hornet Division championship before moving into the Late Model ranks. “It’s a good place for us to start off the season,” Bolster commented of the April 8th & 9th season opener. “We should have more laps there than most of the guys that are going to run the series, so hopefully we can get a good head start on the points deal there and maybe even pick up a win to start the season off.”
In recent years he has focused his attention on racing locally at nearby Kansas and Oklahoma dirt tracks, primarily competing at the Caney Valley Speedway where Bolster took his # B1 to back-to-back track championships in 2020 and 2021.
“When we first started out in late models we struggled running probably mid pack or so, but the past couple of years picking up wins and the two championships has definitely been a confidence booster for our racing program for sure. It’s not going to be any walk in the park running with these guys we know that. Hopefully the experience we have picked up from the past couple of years will transfer over and we will be able to pick up some decent podium finishes with these guys.”
The upcoming season will mark Bolster’s 2nd run at a Rookie of the Year title, after accomplishing that feat in 2017 with the NCRA Late Model Series. Much of his experience following the NCRA came with crate motors supplying the horsepower, but now a Scott Bailey power plant will be in place to go along with a pair of Black Diamond Chassis when the 2022 season gets underway.
“We ran crates for 3 or 4 years from 16’ to 19’, but since then we have been running the open stuff and now we’re finally venturing out to the bigger horsepower racing that the MLRA guys run. Last year we ran at the Salina Highbanks (Pyror Creek, OK) with the series just to see where we were at. We learned we had the car and equipment to handle and run with them, but we definitely didn’t have near enough horsepower, so we have stepped that up this year to hopefully be able to keep up.”
An aircraft fuel & hydraulic technician by day, Bolster noted that one of the team’s biggest targets for the year will be getting to compete on the big stage at the Lucas Oil Speedway. “We have been wanting to go there (Lucas Oil Speedway) for a couple of years and this year it looks like we will get three or four races in there. We have never really ran anything like the Show Me, so that is probably our ultimate dream race that we would like to make it into and be able to compete in.”
Along with his father, former late model racer and now car owner Brian Bolster, the duo from Kansas appear poised to hit the road in 2022. “Dad and I kind of do this deal together. We have each accumulated vacation from work to be able to take off and do this. We don’t have the toter and stacker like a lot of guys do, we’re in a dually truck and an enclosed trailer so we have one car to race with. We will definitely have to strategically plan our nights and not tear anything up for the weekend, otherwise we might be making an overnight trip back home to pick up another car to finish off the weekend.”
While much of what lies ahead in 2022 may come new to Bolster, from the traveling and time trial qualifying format, to almost every venue on the series schedule, he is confident in their ability to compete with the top series in the Midwest. “We have enjoyed our success locally for the past couple of years and we are just looking at stepping up our program, racing with some of the top guys, and of course for some bigger money. Hopefully in time we can step out a little further if we can have some success with the MLRA,” concluded Bolster.
Dustin Bolster Racing Partners: Extreme Race Fuel & Oil, Auto Medic, Sandilian Iron and Metal, Advanced Performance Engineering, Precision Performance Suspension, Swift Springs, Ken Hooch Shelter Insurance, First Fab.
Article Credit: Billy Rock
Submitted By: Billy Rock
