Dominique Menzia is currently one point out of the top three in Super Stock points at Brown County Speedway. The fifth-year driver will look to move up during the season championships tonight.
It all started in 2020 when Menzia got the opportunity to get a Super Stock car at an affordable price.
“I’ve been a fan (of racing) my whole life. I’ve been going to the races for as long as I can remember. My dad would always take me. I have some buddies that were into racing, and I got an opportunity and I just took it,” Menzia said. “One of my buddies was switching classes so he gave me a deal of getting into it and everything. So, I just took the opportunity.”
And Menzia is still racing that same car that he bought back in 2020.
“It’s actually the same current. It’s affordable. I’ve had it sent in to them to kind of check it and update a couple small things,” Menzia said. “But other than that, it’s the same car, same engine since day one.”
With racing being such an expensive sport, Menzia and his team look to be as fiscally responsible as possible.
“I’m a really low-budget team. I know people think race cars are expensive, which they very well can be and they’re not cheap necessarily, either,” Menzia said. “I gotta thank my wife for that. She really supports me in this and without her, it wouldn’t be possible. Without my sponsors, it definitely wouldn’t be possible. Gotta thank them for sure otherwise I would not be doing this at all.”
Menzia has been racing Super Stock ever since he started and hasn’t competed in any other divisions. The thought has crossed his mind, but he has business to handle in the Super Stocks first.
“I like Supers. The idea comes up every now and again to switching classes,” Menzia said. “But I still feel like I have a lot to learn in this class. I’m making progress and I just don’t want to quite give up on it yet.”
And the progress has really shown in this season as he finds himself sitting in fourth, just one point out of third.
“It’s going pretty good, actually. It’s the best I’ve done in points so far. The season started out a lot better and it’s kind of going downhill but it could be a lot worse,” Menzia said. “I’m pretty happy with how it started and hoping for a strong finish in points.”
Part of the reason that Menzia has been finding success at the Brown County Speedway is due to his approach to the race. He finds that the middle ground between being aggressive and staying in his own lane helps him do well.
“I would say I’m in between. I don’t go out there to make friends necessarily, but I don’t go out there to make enemies either. I try to be respectful,” Menzia said. “I wanna drive against other people how I expect them to drive against me, but at the same time you are trying to win a race and not follow the leader.”
With the season winding down, Menzia has one word that he is dialed in on to finish out the season strong.
“Focus I’d say is the one for sure. Can’t let the jitters get you, I guess,” Menzia said. “Especially towards the end of the season and specials and doubleheaders. A little more work to it.”
Season championships are still up for grabs in multiple divisions tonight. Chad Becker leads fellow Aberdeen racer Kent Arment by eight points in Late Model, Todd Stark of Watertown owns a nine-point lead over Dawson Zabel of Selby in Midwest Modified, and Mark Abeln of Groton has a nine-point lead over Huron’s Austin Arbogast in Super Stock.
In other divisions, Mike Stearns of Aberdeen has a 19-point lead in Modified, and Huron’s Jayden Bogh has a 74-point cushion in Street Stock.
