Central Pennsylvania car-owner Michael Barshinger has been pleased with the speed his team has had this season with Kerry Madsen behind the wheel.
Now, he might have to wait a while to continue seeing that speed and what it can do once it touches the racing surface.
According to Barshinger, the team and Madsen have decided to part ways effective immediately. The split had nothing to do with the performance of the pairing, and the two sides will remain friends.
“I think he really struggled being in here and not being at home,” Barshinger said. “We were standing in the trailer last week, and he said we were awesome, the car was awesome. He worked at the shop, but I think he was bored during the week.
“Kerry told me, ‘I ran the Outlaws, but I was only away a week and a half at a time. I’m away three weeks at a time, and I’m struggling with that.’ I understand that, and we wish Kerry all the best.”
Madsen is scheduled to run the Tony Stewart No. 14 during this weekend’s #LetsRaceTwo program at Eldora Speedway. From there, he will head back to his home base in Knoxville, IA.
As for Barshinger, his phone will likely be ringing off the hook. That’s the way it is in Sprint Car racing when there is a team with an open seat.
“My car is sitting here ready to go, so if I had the right person, I would put him in it,” Barshinger said. “That’s where I’m at right now. If the right thing would come along, I could race this weekend.
“I’m taking calls, so we will see what happens here. We’ve got cars ready to go, and we were gearing up for the Outlaws coming in here and getting everything to that point.”
A year ago, Barshinger and Lucas Wolfe struggled and failed to crack Victory Lane. The team ran 74 races and had eight top-five finishes before deciding to part ways at the end of the 2020 campaign.
Madsen came on board this season and seemed to find some early speed. He won in his 15th start with the team at Bridgeport Speedway and finished his 25-race stretch with two top-five finishes and 13 top-10 runs.
“We switched to Russ Mitten’s RPM Chassis, and we were just learning those,” Barshinger, 66, said. “They are different cars than the normal Triple X cars, and we were just getting that dialed in to go pretty good.
“Our motor program is about as good as you are going to get out there. So, we have a fast racecar right now. Kerry even said, ‘You are going to have somebody jump in that thing, and they are going to be fast right off the bat.’”
Barshinger indicated that his team is ready to go and could be at the track this week, but the more realistic goal is to be ready by the time the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series arrives at Lincoln Speedway next week.
But there is no firm timetable. Barshinger isn’t going to be impulsive and will wait for the right driver for his situation.
“It would be nice to have something by the time the World of Outlaws come in here,” Barshinger said. “If the right thing would happen, we would even race this weekend, but the goal right now is to start back up Wednesday.
“I had a number of guys call me before we hired Kerry, and I expect one or two of those guys to call again. If we could keep it local, I would like to, but it’s just got to be the right person.”