Randy Mausteller

Maustellers looking to duplicate midget success in sprint cars

By Dave Herrold For The Daily Item

The name Mausteller has long been associated with midget racing. The elder statesman, Randy, now 55, raced midgets, mostly with the American Racing Drivers Club, for years before being joined by his sons, Duane and Shannon.

The travel required and lack of pit crew help forced Randy and Duane to eventually switch to sprints, and run closer to home. Shannon took over some of the pit crew duties.

Randy, who owns Mausteller's Service Center, Bloomsburg, started out in karts at age 10, jumped into drag cars at 16 and midgets at 20.

He owned a midget from that time until just this year, when it was traded for a sprint car, he said. He also competed in stock cars and champ dirt (Silver Crown) cars briefly. The first midget Randy bought, he said, was from Fred Heydenreich, whose son, Johnny is a standout in the midgets. From 1995-97, Randy and his two sons hauled three midgets wherever ARDC ran, "and lots of times'' it was just Duane, Shannon and himself, with little or no crew help.

Over the years, Randy picked up several midget wins at the Flemington (N.J.) Speedway, Linda's Speedway and Buckeye Speedway, Oreville, Ohio. He even served as president of the ARDC for a couple of years.

Randy races on and off at the Selinsgrove Speedway, but has found a Friday night home at the Clinton County Speedway, where he competes in a 410-cubic-inch car. Duane is a Saturday night Selinsgrove regular in the 358 class.

As far as a return to the smaller open cockpit cars, Randy said, "If the midgets would ever become a viable option again we'd gladly get back into them. They are still a fun race car to drive.''

Randy's sprinter carries the No. 21 on its tail, while Duane's is No. 25. Both are sponsored by Oval Track Trade Show and Flea Market, Bloomsburg Diner, Frank Spencer and Sons Used Auto Parts, Bardo's Collision, D&R Lollipops and Advance Auto Parts, all of Bloomsburg, and Snyder Engines, Danville Ind.

After all the years he has competed in a race car, Randy admitted to having been injured a couple times. "At Trailway Speedway, I got burned in 1974 or '75,'' he said. "At Grandview Speedway, the wheels came off and I got knocked out in the 1980s; at Flemington, (after being hit by another car) I flipped eight or nine times and got knocked out and was sore for a week.''

Promoter Charlie Paige and former co-promoter Earl Zechman "together brought Selinsgrove up from a decline over the years,'' Randy said. It's the best racing surface Selinsgrove has had in 30 years. "The whole facility is amazing. Every winter they make improvements. Their Pack The Track Night brings in spectators who wouldn't normally come to a race, and hopefully they'll come back."

In talking with Randy Mausteller, it's easy to see that racing a midget or sprinter is relaxing to him. His goal for this year? "To win a couple features,'' he said. It just might happen.