As the calendar turned to the first weekend in April, Danny Schlafer watched the weather reports with mixed emotions.
Starting a new racing season is always exciting but, in his heart, he knew he wasn’t quite ready to go. Work on a new trailer had taken up much of his spare time and he admitted the volume of work at the family-owned body shop “was overwhelming.”
When it came to the day-to-day operations, Schlafer Body Shop is a classic mom-and-pop operation. Danny and his father, Al, shoulder most of the burden, while Danny’s 17-year old son Kasey stops by after high school to lend a hand.
Then there is the racing habit.
It turns out that this is a family affair as well. Al Schlafer, 67, isn’t ready to hang it up, Danny is still in the prime of his career and last season Kasey and his older brother Kody also got in on the act.
With a wry laugh Danny admits, “Racing is still fun, but it is more of a full-time job than I want it to be. I still go to work every day to be able to do it.” It’s a story that is relatable to so many blue-collar racers. Danny Schlafer isn’t motivated by fantasies of fame and fortune. He’s far too rational to allow his mind to wander unfettered.
Nonetheless, being realistic does not require one to abandon goals or relinquish the desire to win.
The family racing heritage began with Neal Schlafer who owned modifieds that ran throughout Wisconsin in the late 1940s and 1950s. His son, Al, was also interested in speed, but his first love was drag racing.
However, he was eventually persuaded to purchase a sprint car by his older brother Gary. At first Al installed others in the seat, but over time his wife Debbie talked him into driving.
“My mom finally talked him into driving,” Danny Schlafer said. “She said if we are going to pay the bills why not have the fun?”
It proved to be solid advice and Al embarked on a sprint car career that continues to this day.
Danny wasn’t about to be left on the sidelines and began participating with the Badger Kart Club in nearby Dousman, Wis. After four or five years in the karts, he was ready to take the next step when a perfect opportunity fell in his lap.
When it came to racing, Gary Schlafer was all in. He designed and built his own unique race cars and made his mark at the famed Little 500 at Indiana’s Anderson Speedway, where he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this May.
It was far from his only contribution to the speed game. In the early 1990s, he purchased the long-shuttered Raceway Park and after rolling up his sleeves the newly christened Beaver Dam Raceway was born.
One of Gary’s first moves was to introduce a 360 sprint car class at the track. From there the USA sprint series was born. It has evolved into the current Midwest Sprint Car Series. Later the MSA Challenge tour was launched offering participants a chance to compete at an attractive complement of venues.
With this new relatively affordable class in place, Danny Schlafer had an ideal place to land. To jump start his son’s career, Al reduced his work on the Interstate Racing Ass’n tour and focused more on 360 racing.
By 1996 Danny was taking his first laps in a sprint car and in 2000, he was named the MSA Most Improved Driver. He was just warming up. He became one of the premier 360 sprint car hands in the state, winning eight championships. He was particularly dominant in 2013 taking his second MSA crown, scoring track championships at Plymouth and Manitowoc, and he also topped the chart with the MSA Challenge Series.
Standing in victory lane rarely gets old, but sometimes if you stay in one lane things can turn stale. That’s what happened to Schlafer.
As a result, when three-time IRA king Darrell Dodd offered him a chance to pilot a 410 wing sprint car he jumped at it. There were normal growing pains and later when competing in his own car he suffered broken ribs after a crash at 141 Speedway. It set him back for a time. Rebounding nicely, his seventh-place finish in 2021 standings was more than respectable.
With a solid season under his belt, he was poised to take a big step forward in his performance in 2022. His IRA foes were a tough lot offering a mix of young hopefuls and savvy veterans.
He finished second in the standings, 61 points behind Jordan Goldesberry and won four IRA main events.
For so long Bill Balog set the standard for this club and by default he became the man Schlafer longed to beat. It was a serious competition but one based on mutual respect. Because of this rivalry there were two noteworthy tilts over the course of Schlafer’s breakout year.
On May 21, the All-Star Circuit of Champions joined the IRA regulars at Wisconsin’s Plymouth Dirt Track. Balog won the race with Schlafer second and fellow IRA racer Scotty Thiel third.
It is a race Schlafer “would like to have back.” As he replays the last few laps in what would have been a signature win, he says, “I might have used him up. There was an opportunity to take advantage of him, but I didn’t because of our friendship. I didn’t want to wad a guy up who was doing this for a living.”
The best part of the story came when he shared his observation with Balog, who replied, “I would have used you up in a heartbeat.”
Schlafer recalled an early moment in his relationship with Balog surrounding a dash race at Dodge County Fairgrounds.
“I went over to Bill because I started on the front row and he was behind me,” he said with a laugh. “So I told him, I will pay you a dollar if you let me win this dash. I said, ‘Look, it doesn’t matter, you’re going to pass me in the feature.’ Then I went out and won the dash, in fact I just drove away from them. Then afterward I went over to Bill with the dollar,” said Schlafer laughing out loud, “and he actually took it.”
One thing that helped his cause in 2022 was support from Bob and Dawn Hood. The Hoods usually campaigned a car with the IRA, but sat this year out. Bob Hood helped Schlafer with his engine program, which is a critical aspect of any racing program.
“You are always trying to make as much power as possible,” Schlafer said. “because you have to be on your game all the time.”
Still, Schlafer knew changes needed to be made with his racing program.
“When we finished second in 2022, we weren’t spending a million dollars,” he said. “But we had the right people in place and everybody was pulling in the right direction. Then in the middle to the end of the year, it kind of fell apart.”
Some of what had gone south was easy to understand. The fact that the Hoods were back on the road with their team didn’t help matters and it took some time to get a grasp on some engine issues. Schlafer took more control over his team and with the help of his father, children and crew member Jason Sanders he looks forward to the future.
“We are a top-10 car if you look it at that way,” he said. “But coming from the 360 stuff I won’t say I was the king of that, but I was right up there. When you get to that level and now you are at this level you think you are really struggling. You think you should be better than what you are.”
Schlafer quickly realized that at times it is important to step back and gain some perspective.
“When you look at it, I am racing some guys who are doing this for a living,” he said. “You just get down on yourself and lose your self-confidence. Then you have to rely on a fake self-confidence. It can beat you up really quickly.”
However, by the end of last season he had plenty of reasons to smile.
It was always his father’s goal to race with his grandchildren and one night at Plymouth three generations of Schlafers were in action.
Al and his grandkids raced in the 360 class, while Danny was back in the 410. The plan is for Kody and Kasey to get even more laps this season. It’s a lot to juggle, but it is what this family does.
Danny’s wife, Kristi of 23 years, owns a flower shop and appreciates the sport. Her uncle Bob Robel is a former IRA champion and true to form she met her future husband at the race track. Appropriately, the couple’s first real date came at Wilmot Speedway. Daughter Delaney is 13 and recently asked “what would we do without racing?”
With the rain offering a chance to complete his preparation, Schlafer is ready to roll and has plenty of reason for optimism.
“We have all the correct pieces in place and we are setting out to win the championship,” he said. “One of my goals, before I hang it up is to win an IRA title. I think there are just one or two guys who have won an MSA and IRA championship. If we get started off right, make every lap and not have stupid stuff happen we will be OK.”