Profile On: Tyler Groenendyk!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tyler Groendyk, #10 360 Sprint
by Joanne Cram
22 year old, rookie sprint car driver, Tyler Groendyk, has quite a story to share when it comes to telling the tale of how he ended up in a sprint car, racing on one of the fastest half miles in the nation and traveling around the Midwest with the Sprint Invaders.
The Oskaloosa native began his career as a youngster climbing the ranks of karting and motocross, following in his father’s footsteps. With a career best finish of 2nd place at the Karting Nationals in 2006, Tyler began racing modifieds the 2008 season at his home track, The Southern Iowa Speedway, where he finished 7th on the season in overall points as a rookie.
Expanding his horizons, Tyler took his team on the road running national events, as well as racing at nearby tracks such as Bloomfield and Memphis, Missouri. The team hit Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota- all in addition to running weekly at the Southern Iowa Speedway, where he claimed the track points championship title in both 2009 and 2010.
When Tyler’s friend, Josh Holt (driverwebsites.com) put an idea in Tyler’s head to race the Chili Bowl in January of this season, he was game! Josh was able to hook Tyler up with Donovan Peterson of South Dakota with a Chili Bowl rental for the big race. This was Tyler’s first ever appearance in a sprint car related mode of transportation, and he finished in the G main.
In the stands, was Knoxville car owner and former racer, Steve Wares- who coincidentally, wasn’t sure who was going to pilot the #10 car for the 2011 season. Tyler and Steve began discussing what a possible partnership might look like for 2011, and the team was formed.
The trial night out was down in Burlington in April. Tyler said the switch over from his past racing experience was smooth, and he is now working on making his laps at Knoxville more consistent. His goals on the season are to improve each week, bettering his finishes on each track appearance. As well as weekly Knoxville races, Tyler is planning on running with the Sprint Invaders this season, who’s first race was rained out at the end of April.
Additionally, Tyler is still running the modified, but has his brother, Brandon in the seat- making Tyler a car owner and a driver in two different classes of cars! The modified team runs weekly at Oskaloosa and will do some traveling in between the Knoxville Raceway and Sprint Invader schedules.
Long-term goals for Tyler include a career in sprint car racing, hoping to win a feature soon, and some day, a points title in a sprint car. Tyler is very thankful for all the backing he has- including his sponsors, good friends, family and car owners. He and his fiancé, Mollie Van Wyk also have a wedding to plan in the future!
When Tyler isn’t racing and working on the car, he is the busy owner of Safe Step of Iowa. He also enjoys online racing and spends a lot of time with his family- mom and dad, LeRoy and Brenda; siblings, Brandon and Kayla; fiancé, Mollie; Grandparents, Burt and Jerry Van Zant and Grandma Joyce Groendyk; and extended family- Calvin, Kendra, Heidi and Olivia Groendyk and Mike, Lisa, Jesse, Heather, Jaden and Hannah Van Zant.
Sponsors include Safe Step of Iowa, Renze Seeds, J.C.’s Speedshop, Leighton Processed Meats, Roose Manufacturing, Gritters Electric, Wanders Racing Engines, Walking, Billingsly and Blair Law Offices, and Driverwebsites.com.
Crew this season includes car owners Steve Wares and Vern Harrison; Crew chief Jeremy Rankin, Brandon Groendyk, and Helen Fisk.
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