A Dedicated Team produces a Second Championship for Mike Leaty
By Dan Hall

To win a championship requires a lot of hard work, skill, and perseverance. In 2006, Mike Leaty found out just how difficult a NASCAR Modified championship is to obtain. To defend the championship, Mike was going to have to count on his crew and their skills to be successful. Mike explained, “In 2006, we had high expectations for the team. This was my first year with Branich Motorsports and I wanted to win the championship for owners Fred and Lisa Kaempffe. Last year started out great by winning the first feature of the year at Spencer. We continued having success for the next several weeks with top three finishes. We never relinquished the point lead the entire season.” The 2007 season did not have quite the same beginning as the previous one. Mike continued, “I knew we would have our work cut out for us this year. The competition was going to come back with upgrades to their equipment and they would definitely be shooting to take the crown from us. We were hoping to start out where we left off last year but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.” The first race of the 2007 found #25 racer struggling to a fifth place finish. The second race of the season Mike finished in eighth, which turned out to be his worst finish of the year. Mike explains, “I jumped out and took the lead of the race from Patsy Catalano with about ten laps to go. I felt confident that I could win this race.” The confidence was short lived. Mike and Patsy were entering turn one when they got together with two lapped competitors. Mike explained, “We came into turn one with several cars to pass. As I was coming out of turn two, one of the two cars made contact with my car and the result was a crash.” This resulted in a poor finish for the team and put them way behind just two weeks into the season. The first two weeks of 2007 were nothing like the previous year. Mike commented, “We were behind the eight ball and thoughts of a second championship began to diminish. Our team even considered not returning to Spencer on a weekly basis and concentrate on our Race of Champions Tour efforts. After a lot of thought we decided to persevere on.” The #25 team rolled up their sleeves determined to regain the success from the previous year. The persistence paid off with consistent finishes in the top five and two wins. Mike said, “It was an uphill battle through the season. We didn’t get the points lead until two thirds of the season was over but our consistency paid off in the end.”

Mike will be the first one to tell you that the 2007 championship was the result of a dedicated team. Mike said, “My team is the best. They never gave up on me or the championship. These guys made it possible to defend the championship. We were able to run every lap of every race for the second straight year because my cars were well maintained and fast.” Throughout the season, the team’s perseverance was steadfast. Mike remembers, “The highlight of the season for me is something many people probably won’t even remember. It was the second one hundred lap race of the season. This race was a double points event and was a crucial part of the big picture. My car was not handling well early in the race and I was running back in tenth place. Tim McMullen and Buck Catalano were the guys I was racing in the points and they were both ahead of me. When everyone finally came into pit, my guys went to work on the car. They made a great pit stop and got me out into third place. We gained seven positions on that one stop. That was the defining moment of the championship because we were going to lose ground and wound up gaining a lot.” The adjustments made by Mike’s team not only gained him positions but also got the handling back. The #25 went on to finish third in the race while his competitors were outside the top five.

The importance of teamwork is a key factor in auto racing. Crew members are seldom the focus of attention. In this regard, Mike said, “My team deserves a lot of the credit for this (2007) championship. Their attention to detail and hard work is second to none.” Mike is very proud of his team and their accomplishments. The Leaty Racing team consists of Jan Leaty (Crew Chief-when not racing), Nick O’Neil, Jerry Lancaster, Harry Donovan, Joey “The Sarge” Zajonczkoski, Jan “Pops” Leaty, Steve Leaty, Scott Bleskoski, Erich Kaempffe, Brandon Kaempffe, and Jack Wasson.

Mike is very grateful for all the people who have supported his racing. Mike said, “I have a ton of people to thank. Our race team is one big family. We spend all of our free time together and I wouldn’t want it any other way.” Primary Sponsors for the team are Pace Electronics and Heluva Good Foods. A big thank you also goes to the primary sponsor of the #25 MPL Motorsports team, Rochester Steel Treating. Mike said, “Gene and Brian Miller are the owners of Rochester Steel Treating. They are first class people who love racing. I would not be able to field my team without their support. They are also very good friends of mine.” The #25 has some other sponsors that contribute to the success of the team. They are Lyons National Bank, Wayne Regional Orthopaedics, Mr. Auto Parts/Parts Plus, Van’s Collision, Capizzo’s, and a bunch of product support sponsors including Sunoco Race Fuels, Wilwood Brakes, and Bob Bruneau Engine Research.

Mike Leaty is a very skillful driver. He has put together back to back NASCAR Modified championships. The combination of his driving ability and the skills of his team are the ingredients of a dynasty. No doubt that the hard work, knowledge, and dedication of the team overcame the challenges of 2007. Mike and the #25 Branich Motorsports team never lost their focus. A focus that resulted in the 2007 Spencer Speedway NASCAR Modified championship.

Saturday was qualifying and practice day. In the past we have run well at Lancaster despite our limited experience at the track. Practice was no exception as we were consistently one of the faster cars on the track. Our heats rolled off late into the night and the track was very slick. We did however manage a 2nd place finish and a chance at the feature re-draw on Sunday.

Sunday was raceday. The only time we would see the track would be late in the afternoon for our 100 lap feature event. The top 12 re- drew for the feature and we picked the number five slot. It was the perfect spot to sit back and save some tires in the beginning of the race. At the drop of the green flag we settled in to run fourth. This was the perfect scenario for saving tires. The first caution didn't come out until lap 41 and we had moved up to the third position at this point. A lot of the cars running behind us pitted at this first caution period. When we went back green there was a big pile up that collected most of those cars on fresh rubber. We decided this would be a good time to take on our new right rear tire. After the pit stop we were running in the 11th position. It was time to try and make a charge to the front and were able to do so. With about 25 to go we had made it back up to the 3rd position and were slowly closing in on the leaders. Unfortunately, we would not see another caution to tighten up the pack and we would have to settle for third on this day. The car was fast all weekend but we just missed our set-up slightly at the end. All in all it was a great weekend for the team and sponsors.

In the heat race we did what we had to do and finished in the 2nd position. They do award points for the heats and the 2nd place finish gave us a little more room for error. Our magic number was now 4th or better. It just so happens that this is where we started the 30 lap main event. Things for the first 5 laps or so got a little edgy and we dropped back to 5th place. After a quick caution the next restart we made our move. When the green flag came out we went all the way up to 3rd and then made an inside move for 2nd a couple laps later. Tim McMullen was now the leader and he was fast. We settled into 2nd and decided that would be good enough to accomplish what we wanted for the night. We crossed the line finishing 2nd in the race but we won the big trophy for the end of the year. It was Leaty Racing and Branich Motorsports second straight Spencer Speedway track championship.

The entire Leaty racing team wants to thank all the fans that have supported us throughout the 2007 season. We also have some of the best sponsors in the sport with Pace Electronics, Rochester Steel Treating, Heluva Good Foods, Lyons National Bank, Mr. Auto/Parts Plus, Northeast Companies, and Wayne Regional Orthopaedics to thank. Not many teams have a list like that and this is a big part of why we are at where we are today.

There was a slightly different qualifying procedure for this race with time trials being run instead of heat races. As long as we got into the top 12 in time trials we would not have to run a heat race. Although it was only our second attempt at time trialing, we did time in 10th fastest with an 18.146 second lap. This locked us into the starting field. When the race finally got under way we had a really fast car. We immediately moved into the top five early in the race until the caution came out on lap 44 and we pitted. Our night took a turn for the worst when a lug nut got jammed in the air gun while changing the right rear tire and we lost a lot of ground in the pits. We came in the pits 2nd and came out in last. This was a tough break but we persevered on. There was only one more caution period but we managed to make it back up to 7th at the end of 125 laps. We might have had a better car than that but it was a decent run all things considered. We will do some fine tuning and bring the same car back even faster for the Race of Champions in a few weeks.

Eighteen modifieds showed up for the 100 lap event. The track decided that they were going to handicap the heat race start which hurt us because of our good finishes lately. Usually at most tracks for a special event there is a draw bucket that determines the heat race starting order but not this race. They were redrawing the top 4 from each heat for the feature and we would only be able to make it to the 5th finishing position, missing by a nose at the line. This gave our Pace Electronics/Heluva Good Foods/Lyons National Bank ride the 9th starting position for the main event. In these longer races it really does not matter where you are running early on as long as you are on the lead lap. Well the first 60 laps went by with no yellow and we were not able to move up much from the beginning. Admittedly, we were not trying very hard either until the leader was closing in to lap us. Fortunately while running 8th and the next to last car on the lead lap the first and only caution period of the race came out. This is when we brought our Troyer modified onto pit road and to the attention of the Branich Motorsports team for a new right rear tire. Our pit stop experience paid off moving us from 8th to 4th without having to pass a car. The race now only had about 35 laps left. On the restart we would be held up a few laps before moving into the top 3. At this point the two leaders had checked out and we were never able to really show those two that we might have something for them. We will take the 3rd place finish and prepare our car for next week. We now have a 29 point lead with 4 races remaining in the season.