NEW GLARUS - It's not the thrill of speed, but the pursuit of competition and being first that drives him to the track.
New Glarus native, Sun Prairie resident, and 2007 ASA Late Model Northern Division Rookie of the Year, Jesse Saunders, raced on his home track recently at the Madison International Speedway in Oregon for the ASA Late Model Series North, Mayor of Madison 100 race.
"Being on your home track in front of family and friends makes you more excited and makes you dig a little deeper," said Saunders. "We're midway through a successful season and we'll get a second wind from all of the support from local fans, friends, and family."
"For me the most exciting thing about the race is the competition, the pursuit of being better than everyone else," said Saunders. "That's what gets my attention."
Saunders is capturing other peoples' attention as well. With four races completed this year, he is second in points, trailing the leader, Eddie Hoffman from Wheaton, Illinois, by just two points. He's finished in the top five for three races, in the top 10 for one race, and had one qualifying fast time. Saunders is hoping to take the leader position in points after Friday.
Unlike many fellow drivers, Saunders is not sponsored. That means instead of possibly a "quarter of a million dollar budget, I work with my yearly salary and donations from supporters, friends, and family," explained Saunders.
"It's added pressure especially with fuel prices affecting everything because we have to run good every time we go to a race because we might not be able to afford to go to the next one," said Saunders. "We just hope for the best and to a certain extent, our team has beaten the money teams so far."
Saunders' team members include: Joe Lacy from Belleville, who is the car chief responsible for overseeing the rest of the crew; William Saunders from Sun Prairie, who is dad, tire specialist, retired plumber and formerly New Glarus' Fire Captain; Butch DeMars from Roscoe, Illinois, who is the assistant tire specialist; Matt Noyce, who is mechanic and data keeper, and his father Ken Noyce, who is the spotter, both from Oregon; Dave Anderson, who is New Glarus' Fire Chief and who transports the race car and equipment to and from each race; and Aaron "Flash" Phillips, from Sycamore, Illinois, who is "always on the go" and crew chief.
Saunders explained that he has attended short track races around Wisconsin since he was three years old. In 1994, the Saunders family formed JWS Racing and purchased their first go-kart-Saunders was on the track!
After his ninth birthday, Saunders emerged as a driver on the local go-kart circuit. He made waves when he took his first feature win in his ninth start and capped off his inaugural season by winning 11 more races and setting one fast time.
In 1997, Saunders went to the next level by joining the World Karting Association, Midwest Series. Saunders exhibited superior skills by winning four of the five scheduled series events on the way to his first career championship. This successful season continued in the US820 Mini-Series in which Saunders collected four wins and four top three finishes in the eight-race schedule.
While in middle school, Saunders set two records in the US820 Series and picked up his second championship. He raced for a national touring kart team and used the available resources to rank ninth in the nation.
In 2001, Saunders traded a helmet for wrenches, working in a pit crew and mechanic position to learn more about stock cars at Madison International Speedway.
"After a year of gathering knowledge and experience, I took the next step and raced my first year in a full-bodied stock car," Saunders said.
In April of 2002, Saunders made his late model debut at the Jefferson Speedway. During his rookie season in the late model division, Saunders collected four wins including the UAW Local 95 feature event. At age 16, he became the youngest driver to ever score a feature win at the track.
Saunders moved up again for the 2003 season into the super late model division at the Madison International Speedway. He made 15 starts in his rookie season with 13 top 15 finishes and despite missing five weeks of racing, he still captured the Rookie of the Year title.
Saunders also got the opportunity to crew chief for Kurt Busch in both legs of the Miller Nationals.
"Before turning 18, I experienced several aspects of racing including driver, crew chief, and fabricator," said Saunders.
After graduating in 2004 from New Glarus High School, Saunders switched gears once again to run the first season of the ASA Late Model Division at Madison International Speedway. He finished ninth in the point standings and qualified in the top ten for the Miller Lite Classic.
Saunders and his team continued competing in the series in 2005, finishing fifth in points. The JWS Race Team also made six starts in the ASA Late Model Touring Series. Saunders won two of the three GM Performance Parts Shootouts he competed in and ended the season with a fifth place finish in his first start at the Rockford Speedway.
Saunders' 2006 season in the ASA Late Model division at Madison International Speedway consisted of some highs and a lot of lows. Saunders set fast time twice, had one top five, and five top ten finishes. Then with four races to go, while in a tight championship point battle with Bobby Wilberg and Travis Sauter, Saunders was involved in an accident that forced him to miss the rest of the season and finish ninth in the point standings.
Along with his on-track experience, Saunders has been employed at Pathfinder Chassis, first in Janesville and now in Sun Prairie, for the last five years with the position of shop foreman for the last year and a half.
Saunders' 2008 schedule continues today at Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, Illinois.
New Glarus native, Sun Prairie resident, and 2007 ASA Late Model Northern Division Rookie of the Year, Jesse Saunders, raced on his home track recently at the Madison International Speedway in Oregon for the ASA Late Model Series North, Mayor of Madison 100 race.
"Being on your home track in front of family and friends makes you more excited and makes you dig a little deeper," said Saunders. "We're midway through a successful season and we'll get a second wind from all of the support from local fans, friends, and family."
"For me the most exciting thing about the race is the competition, the pursuit of being better than everyone else," said Saunders. "That's what gets my attention."
Saunders is capturing other peoples' attention as well. With four races completed this year, he is second in points, trailing the leader, Eddie Hoffman from Wheaton, Illinois, by just two points. He's finished in the top five for three races, in the top 10 for one race, and had one qualifying fast time. Saunders is hoping to take the leader position in points after Friday.
Unlike many fellow drivers, Saunders is not sponsored. That means instead of possibly a "quarter of a million dollar budget, I work with my yearly salary and donations from supporters, friends, and family," explained Saunders.
"It's added pressure especially with fuel prices affecting everything because we have to run good every time we go to a race because we might not be able to afford to go to the next one," said Saunders. "We just hope for the best and to a certain extent, our team has beaten the money teams so far."
Saunders' team members include: Joe Lacy from Belleville, who is the car chief responsible for overseeing the rest of the crew; William Saunders from Sun Prairie, who is dad, tire specialist, retired plumber and formerly New Glarus' Fire Captain; Butch DeMars from Roscoe, Illinois, who is the assistant tire specialist; Matt Noyce, who is mechanic and data keeper, and his father Ken Noyce, who is the spotter, both from Oregon; Dave Anderson, who is New Glarus' Fire Chief and who transports the race car and equipment to and from each race; and Aaron "Flash" Phillips, from Sycamore, Illinois, who is "always on the go" and crew chief.
Saunders explained that he has attended short track races around Wisconsin since he was three years old. In 1994, the Saunders family formed JWS Racing and purchased their first go-kart-Saunders was on the track!
After his ninth birthday, Saunders emerged as a driver on the local go-kart circuit. He made waves when he took his first feature win in his ninth start and capped off his inaugural season by winning 11 more races and setting one fast time.
In 1997, Saunders went to the next level by joining the World Karting Association, Midwest Series. Saunders exhibited superior skills by winning four of the five scheduled series events on the way to his first career championship. This successful season continued in the US820 Mini-Series in which Saunders collected four wins and four top three finishes in the eight-race schedule.
While in middle school, Saunders set two records in the US820 Series and picked up his second championship. He raced for a national touring kart team and used the available resources to rank ninth in the nation.
In 2001, Saunders traded a helmet for wrenches, working in a pit crew and mechanic position to learn more about stock cars at Madison International Speedway.
"After a year of gathering knowledge and experience, I took the next step and raced my first year in a full-bodied stock car," Saunders said.
In April of 2002, Saunders made his late model debut at the Jefferson Speedway. During his rookie season in the late model division, Saunders collected four wins including the UAW Local 95 feature event. At age 16, he became the youngest driver to ever score a feature win at the track.
Saunders moved up again for the 2003 season into the super late model division at the Madison International Speedway. He made 15 starts in his rookie season with 13 top 15 finishes and despite missing five weeks of racing, he still captured the Rookie of the Year title.
Saunders also got the opportunity to crew chief for Kurt Busch in both legs of the Miller Nationals.
"Before turning 18, I experienced several aspects of racing including driver, crew chief, and fabricator," said Saunders.
After graduating in 2004 from New Glarus High School, Saunders switched gears once again to run the first season of the ASA Late Model Division at Madison International Speedway. He finished ninth in the point standings and qualified in the top ten for the Miller Lite Classic.
Saunders and his team continued competing in the series in 2005, finishing fifth in points. The JWS Race Team also made six starts in the ASA Late Model Touring Series. Saunders won two of the three GM Performance Parts Shootouts he competed in and ended the season with a fifth place finish in his first start at the Rockford Speedway.
Saunders' 2006 season in the ASA Late Model division at Madison International Speedway consisted of some highs and a lot of lows. Saunders set fast time twice, had one top five, and five top ten finishes. Then with four races to go, while in a tight championship point battle with Bobby Wilberg and Travis Sauter, Saunders was involved in an accident that forced him to miss the rest of the season and finish ninth in the point standings.
Along with his on-track experience, Saunders has been employed at Pathfinder Chassis, first in Janesville and now in Sun Prairie, for the last five years with the position of shop foreman for the last year and a half.
Saunders' 2008 schedule continues today at Rockford Speedway in Loves Park, Illinois.
