The driver who was once apprehensive to run near the front is now leading the pack in points in the Legends division at Brown County Speedway this summer.

Aberdeen’s TJ Pfeiffer has been the top driver so far during the inaugural season of Legends at the local track.

Only 18, Pfeiffer has been driving a Legends car for the past five years. He recalled his first ever race at Lisbon, N.D.

“It was one heckuva experience,” Pfeiffer said. “It was an eye-opening experience.”

At the time Pfeiffer wanted nothing to do with being near the front of the competition.

“I started last, because I was nervous racing with all the people who have done it a lot longer than me,” Pfeiffer said. “Honestly, I didn’t know how well I’d drive.”

While Pfeiffer gained on the field throughout the race, he was content to drop back on each yellow flag and eventually end in the last position.

“I finished dead last,” he said, “but that wasn’t the highlight of that race.”

It was what happened following the race that made a lasting impression.

“A lot of people there in North Dakota came and talked to me, noticed that I was younger and that it was my new race, and gave me a lot of pointers, on how to drive and conduct myself when I was behind a steering wheel,” Pfeiffer said.

One piece of advice, offered by a then 72-year-old competitor, stuck out in particular.

“He said any time you feel like you’re out of control, you’re not. You’re just beginning to feel what it’s like to be going the normal pace,” Pfeiffer recalled.

It was a bit unnerving at the time, but soon Pfeiffer threw caution to the wind and started to really race.

“It scared me quite a bit and I pushed my limits quite a bit, and spun out a lot,” Pfeiffer said, “but his words stayed true.”

While Pfeiffer has overcome those fears, he admits to still feeling anxious before a race.

“They arise from time to time when I’m sitting in staging,” he said. “I’ll be sitting in there shaking like a leaf, and then the second I get rolling onto the track it all dissipates.”

Pfeiffer has found a way to be aggressive and clean at the same time, and earlier this season picked up his first feature victory.

“It was a thriller,” he said. “I was absolutely ecstatic.”

That feature win only bolstered his confidence and whet his appetite for more.

“I know I’ve definitely been pushing myself harder due to that one win that I’ve got this season to try and get more,” Pfeiffer said.

The recent graduate of Aberdeen Central grew up watching Chris Serr at BCS in his younger days, times when he used to compete in go-karts just east of the track. He was hoping he would someday be a part of the racing program, but before this season, the track never offered a Legends class.

“I never thought I’d be able to do it in a Legend,” Pfeiffer said, “but I always thought one day I’d have a car so I could make laps around the track.”

The Legends are by far the smallest cars in size compared to all of the other classes. That fact alone means that they have more room to run on the oval.

“It’s definitely really nice. Let’s say the A mods are out there,” Pfeiffer said. “They might have a one groove track or a one and a half groove track. Us Legends, that’s 2-3 grooves for us.”

While the Legends cars don’t get into wrecks very often, when they do it can be major, according to Pfeiffer.

“When we do get together and crash, it is very violent. Very violent,” Pfeiffer said. “It’s almost equivalent to like a Sprint Car so to say, just without the speed so much.”

Pfeiffer can speak from experience on the matter.

He said he had fears about getting injured in his car at one time, before walking away unscathed after a wreck.

“I did before I got in that crash,” Pfeiffer said. “And then I got done with that crash afterwards, and I realized no harm was done to me during that crash, and I went up about 20 feet and did eight rolls.”

Pfeiffer said he would encourage more young people to give racing a try.

“I’d like to see the newer younger generation getting into racing,” he said, “because until they try it, nobody knows if they actually like it or not.”

With the success that Pfeiffer is experiencing this summer in the Legends, it stands to reason he sometimes wonders what it would be like to move up a class or two.

“It’s definitely crossed my mind more than once,” Pfeiffer said.

There is one major obstacle, though, standing in his way.

“Now that I’m 18, I’ll be taking the over the financial (part) of it,” Pfeiffer said, “so I watch my pennies and dimes.”

However, just like Pfeiffer overcame his initial doubts about competing near the front, it only stands to reason he will eventually be circling the local oval in a different class in the future.

“There’s definitely going to be a point in time where I’ll be moving up,” he said, “and seeing what other classes I like to drive.”