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By announcing his entrance into the NASCAR Winston Racing Series at the age of 20, David Stremme moved one step closer to achieving his lifetime goal—to become a professional race car driver. When it comes to racing in Northern Indiana and Southwest Lower Michigan, hardly a driver, crew, or car owner hasn’t heard the name Stremme. Auto racing is a family affair for David Stremme who lives in South Bend, Indiana. We’ve all heard about racing brothers, but how about a racing father, mother, and brother? David’s father has earned two Rookie of the Year Awards and five Championships since 1983. David’s mother has earned one Rookie of the Year Award and three Championships since 1984. When David is not busy working on the ISES Performance Group race car fleet, he can be found working with his parents or younger brother on their equipment.
David Stremme has been around racing since he has been old enough to go to the race track. When the other children in the neighborhood were fixing their bicycles, David could be found working on the family’s race cars right beside his parents. Now at age 21, David prepares, maintains, and works full time on the three cars owned by the ISES Performance Group. David began racing at the end of 1993. In 1994 at the age of 16, David earned Rookie of the Year Honors while winning six feature events at three different race tracks! During 1995 at the age of 17, David won 12 feature events at five different race tracks enroute to garnering his first Track Championship! 1996 found David at the helm of a superlate model race car. While honing his skills in this high speed class, David found his way to the checkered flag on three occasions while achieving 11 top five finishes. During his final race of the 1996 season, David won the prestigious “B 100 Blow Out”, an event held annually at the New Paris Motor Speedway.
For the 1997 season, David’s goal was to win a superlate model Track Championship. With his sites set, the 19 year old rookie sensation found that consistency and patience would pay off. David took the checkered flag with three feature wins, 12 top five and 18 top ten finishes. As an added bonus along the way to capturing his first superlate model Track Championship (second career), David set track records at three different speedways during the 1997 season! In 1997, David’s desire to race became even greater. David found that he could be competitive with veteran drivers, regional champions, and even national drivers making appearances at high paying special shows. However, during the last race of the 1997 season a unique partnership was about to be formed. Tris Gour, a successful open wheel race driver was trying his hand at late model racing. After seeing David compete at a local event, Gour was astonished by his talent and dedication, which led to an agreement to put David behind the wheel of new equipment for the upcoming 1998 season. 1998 1998 proved to be an exciting challenge. Getting familiar with a new team, new equipment, new race tracks, and the NASCAR Winston Racing Series were the main focus for the beginning of the 1998 season. The ISES Performance Group with David at the wheel appeared weekly at the NASCAR sanctioned Kalamazoo Speedway. In their first year at the “Fastest Paved 3/8 Mile Track In The World”, David and the ISES Performance Group placed seventh in the fierce points battle while receiving second place rookie honors. Enroute to the seventh place season finish, David collected seven top five and 11 top ten finishes. During 1998, appearances were also made at the Berlin Speedway, M-40 Motorsports Arena, Columbus Motor Speedway, and Winchester Speedway. After winning the Michigan Independent Superlate Series feature event at the M-40 Motorsports Arena in July 1998, David and the ISES Performance Group entered the Kalamazoo Klash VI. This nationally recognized event brings the nations greatest superlate model drivers together for 200 laps of racing action. Drivers from the NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch Grand National, Craftsmen Truck Series, American Speed Association, and ARCA Supercar Series compete in this event. In their first appearance at this event, David and the ISES Performance Group collected seventh place honors. David was also awarded highest finishing rookie honors while advancing more positions than any other competitor. In September 1998, the ISES Performance Group introduced their new 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix. Winchester Speedway “The World’s Fastest ½ Mile High Bank Asphalt Track”, and the GM Performance Parts World Stock Car Festival was the event of choice for the inaugural run. At the end of the weekend, David obtained fast qualifier honors, set a new track record, and finished the race in fourth place. It is evident that David and the team are in full motion. In late September 1998, David entered the M-40 Motorsports Arena “Border Wars”. This event challenged the best Michigan and Indiana drivers in a three-day event. After crossing the line in first place, David brought the Border Wars trophy back to Indiana.
At age 22, David Stremme is working to achieve his goal. After donning his cap and gown from high school, there was no talk of college. David’s learning curve is actually four curves, two at one end of a race track, two at the other. “The best desk I can think of is one that says “Butler Built” on it and has a steering wheel in front of it,” David relates. There’s not a university in this country’s esteemed system of higher learning that can offer the curriculum needed for David’s further education. Nowhere will you find Tire Compound 101 or Advanced Understeer Control on the course offerings. David Stremme wants to be a racer—and, racers race.
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