Competing at Inverness track takes Butler down memory lane

From his Bushnell house, it takes about 30 minutes for Shane Butler to haul his race car to Citrus County Speedway.

But the reason he considers it his home track goes beyond the close proximity. For the 21-year-old driver, it is a place where dreams come true.

Five seasons ago this month, Butler won his first feature event at Citrus as a 16-year-old rookie in the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association Sprint Car Series.

In a thrilling, all-out run to the finish, he beat at their own game sage veterans such as Wayne Reutimann and Due Teate and even Butler's father and older brother. Since that night, Butler has made the sky the limit.

Among the most impressive young talents on the TBARA circuit, he has quickly risen to the top of the Florida sprint car ranks. With three feature wins this season, Butler heads the series standings by 44 points. He enters the weekend's TBARA race at Citrus as the event's defending winner.

"For me, Citrus has always been a great track to race on," Butler said.

"It's a little tricky here and there, but as long as you're willing to be patient, there aren't many places to get in trouble," he said.

For Butler, who drives the Bushnell Quick Lube/Jumper Creek Veterinary Clinic No. 18, mastering the reconfigured Inverness track may be his most difficult task this week.

He hopes the wider backstretch will make for more passing among the 750-horsepower, alcohol-fueled machines.

"From what I can tell, it's a lot more like Sunshine and Hialeah (speedways)," Butler said. "The hardest thing about driving on those tracks is trying to avoid getting all bunched up in the turns.

"If we can concentrate on giving each other a little bit of room, it'll make for some real fast racing."

The sport has long been a key focus in his life. The son of sprint car veteran Stan Butler, the younger Butler began running go-karts at age 7.

As a teenager, he started assisting the racing efforts of his older brother, Keith, before Butler eventually was given a car of his own to drive.

"I learned early on that you get out of racing what you put into it," Butler said.

"When I get home from work, I'm out in the shop getting the car ready for the next race," he said. "It's never-ending work, but if you don't do it, it's not going to be done."

Butler hopes that one day his passion for sprint cars might carry him into loftier circuits such as the USAC or World of Outlaws.

"I'd do it tomorrow if I could afford it," he said. "But for now, I'm happy right where I am. To me, it's the most fun in the world."

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