2018 Mid-West Pro Mod Champ Jonas Aleshire may have to park it for 2019
/Jonas Aleshire might be the 2018 Mid-West Pro Mod Series Champion, but it looks like defending that championship may not be likely in 2019 due to a lack of marketing partners.
CDRC winners at Dallas season finale
We see this every season and it still amazes me that some of the best representatives in our sport struggle with the ability to compete the next season, while those that toe the line and do not put out the performance have no issues with funding their subpar teams. This time, it hits close to home, as one of my personal friends Jonas Aleshire is going into the off season struggling to figure out what the 2019 will bring him. A chassis fabricator, a friend, a great ambassador of the sport, and a family man, or just some of the descriptions I have heard people use to describe Jonas over the last few years. In 2018 he added World Champion to that list.
Jonas, who was the runner-up to Mid-West founder Keith Haney last season in Pro Mod, made the strides to put that #1 on for the 2019 season. Jonas and the team at Chris Duncan Race Cars, and Chris Duncan on the keyboard, started the season off in a catastrophic manner when they badly hurt their screw blown hemi in Texas. For a team like the CDRC team, an engine failure like that is one that could devastate the team for the entire 2018 season. Instead, the team did everything that they could to be ready for the next race, knowing that such a bad showing could not only break the bank but essentially kill their chance at a championship run. On one hand the opposite happened. Jonas and Chris banned the team together and continued to move forward. Moving forward meant that they ended up winning two races this season, along with coming from third place at the beginning of the weekend, to World Champion at the end of the weekend.
CDRC Team wins in Tulsa
Championships never guarantee you any marketing partners in the future, but it should certainly help. Jonas has been on a roll the last two seasons and there isn’t much he can’t do behind the wheel of a car. Unfortunately, tough decisions have to be made, and it appears that the 2019 will see the championship Vette sitting in a corner collecting dust as of right now. CDRC is a small shop in the middle of Illinois that doesn’t have the name recognition of a Haas, Bickel, RJ, etc. It certainly doesn’t mean that their builds aren’t as good, it means that they go about their duties in a “speak softly and carry a big stick” fashion. While other teams are out there willing to spend $50k a race in an attempt to win, the CDRC entire budget for the season isn’t what some spend on a single race. They are well known for doing everything they can will a tighter budget than I have ever seen at that level of racing.
Jonas making sure the younger generation gets to have fun
When you walk over to the CDRC pits, there is no one that isn’t welcome. The team welcomes in their fans, spends time to talk about the car, and even put kids in the car to show them all about a pro mod. They are one of the most media friendly teams in the pits as well. I saw that on full display at Yellow Bullet this year. I was witness to numerous media outlets stopping by to photograph the car, along with Jonas taking time and chatting with anyone that had questions. In a world where there are certainly a lot of teams that want to isolate themselves from fans and media, CDRC has taken the exact opposite approach to this. Hot dogs on the grill along with Chris over cooking the burgers, but I have seen them feed complete strangers. Seems to be a running theme within Mid-West Pro Mod as well. There are a lot of drivers that are some of the greatest people in not only the industry, but some of the best people that I have ever met.
Jonas and Amber at YellowBullet Nationals
What about the business of drag racing? That is where the heartless of drag racing sometimes comes into play. I watch drivers like Jonas and Stevie Jackson face monetary strains no matter what they do right. It shows you how much of a business this can be. I completely understand how the business aspect of this works though, and at the same time I believe that there are some mighty great used car salesmen out there when it comes to marketing partnerships. They have firms that pitch for them, using shiny new proposals with unrealistic numbers, and companies take the bait hook, line, and sinker. Then there are only potential marketing partners that do the homework and see what their demographic is and how they are going to reach it. They know how to go with teams that are a great representation of the drag racing industry, along with being a great branding partner on and off the track. I am certainly not going to get into the numbers right here because the fact is most people find it boring. I believe it is time for companies to start looking at the branding opportunity and stop just looking at whether you are getting a 3x, 7x, etc return on the money spent. If your brand is important to you and you are looking to get the right exposure, then there is absolutely no reason that drivers like Jonas and Stevie should ever have to worry about having monetary strains in fielding a car.
Bossman Chris Duncan & Mikel keep watch over Jonas
The CDRC team isn’t just Jonas, but that is the car run directly out of that camp. Chad javers and Eddie Rogers are also associated with the CDRC camp, but each are individual teams. You will see them pitted next to each other, helping each other, and doing everything they can to make sure that each team is progressing forward, but you can bet that they are going to do everything they can to beat each other if they are paired up next to each other. Most of you might think that this is some “fluff” piece about CDRC and Jonas Aleshire, when in fact it’s an article about the business of drag racing. Even a championship, or being the face of a class like Jonas and Stevie are doesn’t mean that you don’t face the struggles that come along with trying to field a car at this level.
In speaking with Jonas, and his wonderful better half Amber at PRI last week in regard to this, it became abundantly obvious that this is a very emotional subject for both of them to discuss. Jonas loves drag racing and being behind the wheel almost as much as his loves Amber, and his kids Luke & Ryleigh. Racing is something that drives Jonas, along with his ability to create beautiful pro mod cars for others. Having his family at the track is something that he loves as well but making sure his family comes first is a priority. So, whether he is driving that championship winning Corvette, or is relegated to driving someone else’s car, pro mod or maybe even radial, the family will still come first.
Amber, Ryleigh, Luke, and Amber’s dad in St. Louis.
Jonas did say that would love to thank everyone involved with making this championship happen. First and foremost is his girlfriend Amber, and his kids, along with CDRC Founder and Boss Chris Duncan, who Jonas considers one of the most intelligent people to ever tune a car. Also, his entire team and extended team: Mikel, Chad, Brent, Eddie, Shumbulnutz, Ryan, Adam Flamholc, & every single other person that worked on the car, the grill, the rig, etc. Without them we would not be champions Jonas said. And lastly to Keith Haney, the Founder of the MWPMS. “it is an absolute pleasure to be a part of the MWPMS, and to be able to be their champion is truly an honor”. We would certainly love to come back for the 2019 season and defend our championship, it will all come down to the economics of doing it though. If we have some marketing partners come on board, you can bet we will be out there to compete against some of the best pro mods in the world, and we will become the 2X Mid-West Pro Mod series World Champion.
Mid-West Pro Mod Series Founder Keith Haney (left) and World Champion Jonas (right)