Veteran Racer Sundeen Seeking Record Fifth Championship
THOMPSON, CT – Scott Sundeen began his racing career in 1998 at Seekonk Speedway. The Sutton, MA driver began competing part-time at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in 2002 while building his first home, and managing his furniture business. In his first start, Sundeen proved he would be a force to be reckoned with, registering his first win.
With his house complete and the furniture business thriving, Sundeen began entering his No. 36 Limited Sportsman regularly in 2005. Sundeen has proven that he has been a force to be reckoned with since then. The patient veteran has driven to a record four championships, including back-to-back titles in 2014 & 2015. In 2016, Sundeen fell victim to mechanical issues early in the season that set up back in the championship point standings. Midway through the season, Sundeen and his team identified a radiator issue.
The four-time Champion explained, “At the beginning of the year, we thought it was a motor issue we were facing, but around the 5th race we figured out the problem was the radiator, and after that, we were good the rest of the season.”
It was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time that got in Sundeen’s record fifth championship, as he was involved in an early-race accident at the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing. The No. 36 Limited Sportsman ended up finishing second in the standings, behind first-time title winner, Ryan Waterman.
Nevertheless, the finish did not discourage Sundeen. “We were really fast at the end of the season so this should help. I hope we are good for the Icebreaker coming up,” the furniture business owner expressed.
Equally, Sundeen looks forward to the 2nd Annual Limited Sportsman Long Distance & Military Night, presented by Pepsi. Sundeen said, “It is a great race, because 20 laps isn’t enough when you have a lot of cars in the division to get to the front the way they handicap the points. Overall I would rather see races with longer laps every week…”
Not only is Sundeen busy managing his furniture business, and preparing and racing his own car, but he supports his son, Jason, is racing in the Sunoco Modified Division. The father-son duo are a package deal: “Me and my son work together. We go hand in hand and do the best we could to win,” Scott explained. The two even bear the same number on their doors: 36.
Both Jay and Scott are entered into Icebreaker 2017, beginning on Friday, March 31. Practice and qualifying will take place on Saturday, April 1, with the first feature events of 2017 taking place on Sunday, April 2. You can meet both of them at the Fan Appreciation Party on Sunday morning (11 am) on the track. For more information about the event, please visit thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Jeffrey Price/Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park PR