Occasionally a family name stirs memories of the past and the present at Ransomville Speedway.  One of the most famous is Stolzenberg, where Dave Jr., driver of the No 1s Blue Moon Potatoes Monte Carlo street stock, has followed in the footsteps of long time campaigner Dave Sr., one of the most durable drivers in regional history.

The Stolzenberg family, consisting of wife Kelly, nine year-old James, two year old Zackery, and eighth month old Matthew, has seen the twenty-nine year-old Dave Jr. forge a racing career born out of Dave Sr’s involvement in racing.  From watching racers and helping work on his father’s car, Dave Jr. became obsessed with driving a race car.  That lust only increased when he had the opportunity to hot lap his father’s car at the tender age of thirteen.  From that moment on, his one desire was to have his own car, and that was his number one wish at Christmas.  When he was fifteen the wish came true and he became the driver of a street stock at Ransomville in 1992.   Young drivers are not unique at Ransomville.  Witness the success of young teens, Matt Reynolds and Digger Lester.  Dave thinks his son James will be the next teenage sensation.  He’s already helping with the race car. 

Dave Stolzenberg Jr., who hails from Olcott, not only had an early start, but has stuck to it.  He had fairly good success in that first year, finishing as high as fifth in a street stock feature and finished eighth in points.  Since that time he has raced most of the past fifteen seasons, with the inevitable interruptions caused by various factors, mostly financial.  “At times we just couldn’t cut it,” Dave asserted.  There were also job obligations, which forced him to take a few years off, but it’s been close to a fifteen-year career.  His highest point finish was 2004 when he finished fifth.

His father, who lives in North Carolina and was recently hired by Richard Childress Racing,  was and is intimately involved with his son’s career.  Dave explained, “My dad was an all around racer.  To me, he’s the Dale Earnhardt of dirt. He was very involved in everything that I did.  Even to this day, even though he’s not around.  He is still very involved with my race car.  I call him on the phone for advice every day.  As a matter of fact, in 2003, I won the BOSS (Best of Street Stocks) “Dash for Cash,” after I won my heat at Weedsport.  I had never been there before.  I drew pole and called my father.  Every single time I got out of the car, I called my dad.  ‘Here’s what the car’s doing; what do I do?’ He’d say, ‘Do this, try that.  Call me back.’ So I did, and it worked.” 

His high water mark was in 2003, when he won the 50 lap “King of the Hill” street stock event, the most prestigious event of the year for that division.  Starting on the outside pole, he led all fifty laps against a stellar field.  “It’s intense from lap 1 to lap 50,” he noted, “because I led the whole thing.  I started out front on the outside pole.  It all has to do with the luck of the draw.  You never know who’s coming, who’s the fastest, who’s coming through the pack.  You just try to make your car eighteen feet wide.”

Dave campaigns a 1981 Monte Carlo owned by Buzzy and Sharon Livermore of Royalton Hartland Center, with the able assistance of crew members Brian Skutt, Brad Cass, Chris “Chicken Wing” Cotriss, his uncle Paul and Paul’s son Scott.  Owner Buzzy Livermore also logs plenty of time in the pits as well.  There is no designated crew chief, the team preferring to operate that way.  Another former racer with plenty of history, Gene Schulz, father of former pro stock standout Dave Schulz and sprint car driver Mark, supplies the motors for the team, so the racing gene pool on this team is ample.

No team can be successful without strong sponsorship and the Stolzenberg team is no exception.  Along with Blue Moon Potatoes from Ontario, Canada, sponsors include JJ’s Cabin Bar and Grill, Good Guy’s Transmission, DJ Gerling Electrical Contracting, Cotriss Motor Sports, and GD Tank.com, a group that Dave sincerely appreciates.

Though he is currently ranked sixteenth in points in the street stock division, due in part to losing an opening night fourth place to an inexplicable weight infraction, Dave still is satisfied with the team’s progress and would consider a top five finish to be a successful season.

Future plans might include moving up, but for now he is content in the street stock.  He explained, “Right now it’s (street stock) affordable for doing what we’re doing.  Everybody wants to move up.  I’ve driven my dad’s pro stock before.  I finished tenth here at Ransomville and then took it to Batavia the next day and destroyed it, but I’d really like to drive an open wheel car, event if it was just for hot laps.  Hopefully, I’ll get that chance.  He would consider a move to sportsman as high as he wants to go.