YORK, Pa. – Veteran sprint car driver Kerry Madsen has parted ways with central Pennsylvania-based Barshinger Racing, effective immediately.
Madsen took over Mike Barshinger’s familiar No. 24 this year for Lucas Wolfe, who spent the previous four years in the car. The 49-year-old Australian, who now calls Knoxville, Iowa home, collected one win and three podium runs in just 18 races with the team.
“I can’t be based out there [in Pennsylvania] the whole time and never be back home,” Madsen said in a phone interview Wednesday evening. “There are commitments out here [in Iowa]. Mike [Barshinger] just wants to race around there [in central Pennsylvania], which is fine by me. That’s what he wants to do.”
Madsen tipped that a desire to be back closer to his family was a big factor in his decision to depart from the team.
“It just made sense just to concentrate around here,” Madsen continued. “It’s not because I didn’t like Mike or didn’t like the team. It’s just disappointing to have to do it. I really got along with Mike so much. We put the effort in. I felt like we were getting to where we wanted to be, but at the end of the day … if I was closer to Pennsylvania, it’d be the perfect deal. You don’t know. I probably should have known that going in, but you just don’t know until you get going, how it’s all going to work out.
“I’m used to traveling, but I’ve always been home a little more,” he noted. “I’ve hardly been home. I had to make a decision. … I felt like it was best to do it now. It was a hard decision for me, personally, but what do you do?”
Madsen is set to race Tony Stewart’s No. 14 in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series #LetsRaceTwo doubleheader on Friday and Saturday at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Beyond his one-off appearance in Stewart’s car this weekend, Madsen’s schedule remains fluid, but he said opportunities in the Midwest are available.
“We’ll get through this weekend and see where I’m at next weekend,” Madsen tipped.
Madsen’s lone win with Barshinger Racing came at the reconfigured Bridgeport Motorsports Park on April 6, where he led the final 25 of 30 laps and beat out Tim Shaffer. It was the team’s first victory since July 12, 2019.
Madsen was 12th in the Central Pennsylvania Sprint Car Series standings as of Wednesday, 268 points behind leader Anthony Macri.
As for the Barshinger Racing operation, its future plans are unclear at this point.
“There are no bad feelings between us,” Barshinger Racing officials said in a statement posted to social media on Wednesday evening. “Mike and Barshinger Racing wish Kerry all the best in his future endeavors.”