After a summer of racing, the track championship in the Midwest Modified division came down to one final lap at Brown County Speedway Saturday night.

Taylor Schmidt led fellow Bath driver Connor Blumhardt by just three points going into the feature race, and while neither ended up winning the event, the duo had a fitting battle to the checkered flag before Schmidt finished one position ahead of Blumhardt to secure the track title.

“It came down to the last corner,” Schmidt said. “The white flag (lap) he ran me all the way up to the top, up to the cushion, and then I darted below him entering into one on the last lap, and then just passed him down the back straightaway and got it done.”

It was the first track championship for the 23-year-old Schmidt.

“It definitely puts a highlight on the season, that’s for sure,” he said.

Schmidt said he spends hours each week working on the car in addition to his regular job.

“It really is rewarding for how much time and effort I put into this deal,” Schmidt said.

None of the other track championships were nearly as tight. In fact, Chris Serr of Aberdeen had such a big lead in the Street Stock division, he had the title wrapped up before the night began.

“It actually means a lot, because we haven’t won a race yet, this year,” Serr said of the championship. “We’ve just been very, very consistent and that’s what it took. It does mean a lot. I won one a long, long time ago, and you try every year.”

Serr has been racing for 29 years. When asked what keeps bringing him back to the track each season, he responded, “It’s an addiction, like any addiction. Once you’re locked in, it’s really hard to quit.”

Mike Stearns won his first feature of the season at BCS Saturday night to put the finishing touches on his Modified title.

“Track championships are a lot of consistency,” Stearns said, “and it just kind of shows that you come prepared and you finish races and do what you have to do.”

Stearns, who has been racing since 2005, enjoys multiple aspects of the sport.

“I suppose it’s the adrenaline, and the competition obviously is a huge part of it,” Stearns said. “You always want to win. You always want to get better, You don’t always have to win to be better, but you’re always going forward.”

Jeremy North of Huron has enjoyed his summer at the local track. He secured the track championship in the Super Stock division, his second career title in 20 years of racing.

“It’s really been a good year for us,” North said. “We’ve had our ups and downs at other tracks, but we seem to keep everything together at this track anyway.”

While North was pleased to be in contention for a track championship, he said it also adds a little more pressure to the races.

“It gets the nerves going, let me tell you,” North said.

Chad Becker of Aberdeen won the track championship in the Late Model division. One of the top drivers nationally each year, Becker said it’s always nice to win a title on your home track.

“We’ve won a lot of track championships,” Becker said. “I haven’t got one in Aberdeen for a couple of years because it seems like I always miss a night or two going to big specials somewhere, but this year we hit every night in Aberdeen.”

Becker said that track titles are meaningful because of what it takes to win them.

“You have to work on your car, you have to be consistent, you have to be fast every night,” Becker said. “It’s a lot of work that goes into it.”

Feature winners on the evening included Stearns, Becker, Kyle Anderson of Jamestown, N.D. in Street Stock, Trevor Nelson of Warner in Super Stock, and Dawson Zabel of Selby in Midwest Modified.

To see complete complete results, click on the following link:

https://www.myracepass.com/events/472617/races

Racing concludes for the season with the Big Buck Nationals Thursday through Saturday.