Zach Daum has long been known for his accomplishments racing Midgets. Four national Midget series championship trophies sit in his shop in Greenville, IL, but this year, he’s changing the narrative and getting back into Sprint Car racing.
The 34-year-old Midwest open-wheel standout has already got a head-start on his progress with the wing on, making his first trip back to Victory Lane in a Sprint Car in over two years last Friday at Crowley’s Ridge Raceway against the regional stars of the ASCS Hurricane Area Super Sprints.
No full-time crew members. No previous experience at the Arkansas track. No fear. Just skill in the seat, knowledge of his car and the same relentless drive to win he’s maintained for over 20 years.
“It was fun,” Daum said. “I didn’t expect to go down there and win. I didn’t expect that at all, so when it happened, I was quite happy about it. These things are so hard to win in anything, especially when you go down to that group of guys that race there and race those racetracks. They’re tough to beat at their home tracks. When you can go there and beat them, it’s rewarding.”
Armed with a self-built engine and 2016 Eagle Chassis, Daum will take his High Octane Bar & Lounge No. 5d into national American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) competition this Friday–Saturday at Windy Hollow Speedway and Benton Speedway in pursuit of his first national Winged Sprint Car series win.
As it was at Crowley’s Ridge, Daum will likely have limited crew help. But that doesn’t bother him, nor does it seem to affect his results.
“Luckily, I’ve raced around the country long enough that I still have friends in a lot of places,” Daum said. “They’re in the pit area and like, ‘Hey man, I’ll push you up to staging tonight, I’ll help and do whatever, it’s cool that you’re doing it all yourself.’
“And it is cool, I enjoy doing it that way. But it is a struggle at times.”
Being without full-time help at the track is nothing new to Daum; he’s been a self-made racer for years in various iterations of his signature No. 5d. He began climbing the ranks of open-wheel racing since he was a child, earning multiple Quarter Midget championships at the local, regional and national levels before moving up to Midgets in the 2000s.
He later took on Sprint Cars of both the Winged and Non-Wing variety in the 2010s while staying active in the Midget ranks, garnering three POWRi National Midget League championships in 2013, 2014 and 2016. His Midget star continued to shine in the 2020s, claiming the inaugural championship with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota in 2022.
He admits it’s been a challenge leaving the full-time Midget world again in favor of the winged cars, but one he’s taking head-on in pursuit of the dirt track adrenaline rush he’s thrived on for years.
“It’s difficult. The wing deal, for me, is so new, and I’m not expecting to win races right off the bat with this,” Daum said. “I ran quite a bit of winged stuff probably five-to-six years ago, and then in the last four-or-five years it’s been maybe 10 races a year. About the time you kinda think you’re starting to remember how to do it, the season’s over with the Sprint Cars.”
In the past three seasons, Daum has piloted Midgets under his own King Chassis operation, Tulsa-based Trifecta Motorsports, and other various car owners with a variety of equipment, winning eight races in 66 starts. When it comes to his self-funded Sprint Car program, however, he knows he’ll have to make some improvements to be competitive at the national level.
“My Sprint Car stuff is not what my Midget stuff is — it’s not as nice, my motors don’t run as good… it’s all older stuff,” Daum said. “I’m trying to take that and learn with it, and then, next year, I can upgrade and feel like I have a shot. But it costs so much money to do these things that you’ve got to put it in perspective and do what you can with what you have.”
To support his racing ventures, Daum stays busy off the track. A father of three, he opened the High Octane Bar & Lounge last fall — an extension of his race shop — and is a full-time distributor of VP Racing Fuels during the week.
His efforts to stay sharp in the seat and keep the bills paid behind the scenes helps maintain his competitive drive — one which he’s considered taking to race for points one day as well.
“The wing deal right now is appealing,” Daum said. “If I have a 360 or a 410, I can go race within an eight-hour radius of my house every single weekend. That’s a big deal. And race for good money, decent money at least. Even the regional stuff pays fairly okay.
“There’s little perks all the time. I seem to sell more tee shirts at Sprint Car races, there’s more contingency money — you win $100 here, $100 there, and the next thing you know, that’s paid for a tank of fuel. It’s just a different atmosphere.”
Daum continues his rejuvenated Sprint Car campaign with the American Sprint Car Series this Friday–Saturday, July 25–26, at Windy Hollow Speedway and Benton Speedway.
Tickets for both events will be sold at the gate on race day. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
