Jeromy Thorstenson is no stranger to auto racing at Brown County Speedway, however the veteran Aberdeen driver is experiencing something entirely new this summer.

After years spent circling the local oval starting in 1996, Thorstenson is racing in two new divisions this season.

Thorstenson was a 10-time track champion in the Street Stock division years ago and also ran for a few seasons in the Super Stock division.

After an extended break from the action, Thorstenson returned to racing last year in the Street Stock division, and this season he decided to compete in the Midwest Modified and Late Model divisions.

“This year I thought I wanted to change it up,” Thorstenson said. “I figured I needed a new Street Stock to be competitive, and the price of those things have gotten out of control.”

When Thorstenson raced in Street Stock division before, his brother helped to build the cars to help keep the costs down, but that is no longer an option. Thorstenson discovered that a Late Model might be a better option.

“You can buy a nice used Late Model cheaper than a brand new Street Stock anymore,” Thorstenson said.

He found a Late Model car at an affordable price and purchased it, but what about that Midwest Mod car he is driving?

“I traded my Street Stock for that thing,” Thorstenson said.

Thorstenson, who just turned 50, said the Midwest Mod is comparable to a Street Stock, but the Late Model is in a class of its own.

“About my third night I kind of maybe got the hang of this thing a little bit and I was starting to go a little bit faster,” Thorstenson said of his Late Model. “And the word that came to my mind was spicy. This car is spicy, because you get in just the right spot on the track coming around the corner and then it really goes fast. It’s fun.”

Thorstenson, who estimates that Late Models travel about 100 miles per hour, said the car is built to handle speed.

“The Late Model handles so well, that you don’t feel the speed. The car matches the horsepower very well, but what it seems like is the track is smaller, because you get around it so much quicker,” Thorstenson said. “I think I like the Late Model the best. I wish I would have started when I was 30, not 50.”

Thorstenson, who was out of racing for close to eight years because of a growing family, has gotten back into the sport because of his family.

“My kids kind of wanted to get back into it a little bit,” Thorstenson said.

He said his wife and daughters enjoy going to the track and helping with his cars, doing everything from setting air pressure to helping change tires.

“My goodness you need to see those girls doing that,” Thorstenson said. “Those kids absolutely love it.”

While Thorstenson still enjoys competing on the track, he said times are different now than when he won 10 track titles in the Street Stock, including eight of them at BCS.

“When I had the Street Stock and if I got second or third place I’d get harassed: ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘What was the problem?’ ‘Did you forget to show up?’ I’m like geez,” Thorstenson said. “With this, there’s no expectation on this at all. None. I pass a few cars, I’m having some fun, and I try not to wreck stuff.”

Thorstenson, who has won nearly 100 career features during his time behind the wheel, said there is no pressure on him now that he is competing in two new divisions.

“It’s just different. I’ve done everything I’ve already wanted to do in a race car,” Thorstenson said. “I’ve won a whole bunch of races, and I won my championships.”

And while Thorstenson is enjoying his time competing in the Late Model division, it’s not like he felt an extreme desire to do it.

“The Late Model is nice, it’s cool, it’s neat. It’s something that I always wanted to try, but it wasn’t my dream to have a Late Model,” Thorstenson said. “It was my dream to be a race car driver and go out there and win some races, and have some fun. So my bucket list has already been kicked in to racing.”

Thorstenson said he has checked all the boxes he wanted to in the sport, and now it’s just a matter of going out and having fun.

He isn’t quite sure how long he’ll keep racing, but wants to stick with it for at least a little while longer.

“I’d like to give it at least one more year for sure,” Thorstenson said.

When informed he needs to come back next year so he could compete in the Modified division to complete the racing cycle and say that he drove in all five divisions, Thorstenson responded, “Stranger things have happened, that’s for sure.”