Meyer explodes to Limited Sportsman crown

To an outsider, it appeared it was Chris Meyer’s worst night of the season, finishing 10th in the fourth race of the year and winding up on the infield grass.
From Meyer’s perspective, however, it was the night his 2017 Limited Sportsman season got “over the hump.”
After the first three races, Meyer decided to come up with a season-changing move.
“The car wasn’t great,” Meyer said. “We just weren’t good enough to win a lot of races. So we decided to go to the chassis dyno and we picked up some major horsepower. So even though we had a rough night in that race, we knew we had something to work with. We found out what was missing. That trip to the chassis dyno made all the difference in the world.”
It was the final ingredient of a championship recipe. Following that 10th place finish, Meyer won seven of the final 10 races to win his first Limited Sportsman title. Meyer’s season resume of seven wins, one second and two thirds, was good enough for a 41-point win over the 2016 champ Al Stone.
Meyer said he had come close to a title in the past, but never found a way to seal the deal.
“We were in position, but something always happened,” Meyer said. “Maybe it was immaturity, or maybe it was not knowing how to set the car up, but something always hurt us. Last year we lost by seven points, and I made a couple of mistakes in a couple of heat races going for the win and I wound up spinning out. If I just finished second in both those races, I would have had enough points to win. So I learned every point matters. Even in a heat race, you have to be smart. I learned to take what you can get.”
That philosophy paid off in a big way in 2017.
“I tried my hardest,” Meyer said. “I just attempted to get with into the Top 3 with enough laps left to go for the win. Then I’d take it from there.”
Meyer said many people said he would never be consistent enough to win a championship in the highly competitive atmosphere of the Limited Sportsman Division.
“They said we could win a race, but never be consistent over a long period of time,” Meyer said. “My dad kept reminding me what the end game was, and how much hard work it was going to take to get there.”
Meyer also had other key members of the team who put the ship in the right direction.
“So many people have helped,” Meyer said. “It started with Jay Stuart and Joe and Larry Brockett and Terry Brick. In 2014, we hit a low point, and Jeff Granger helped us and has been with us ever since. He knows how to make a car go.”
It went well enough to get to the top.
“Guys like Al Stone are never easy to beat,” Meyer said. “His nickname is ‘Stone Cold,’ and that’s because he is so cool under pressure. If he has a bad week, he doesn’t let it ruin the next week. There was one night when we beat Al on the outside on a restart, and I figured we might be on our way.”
Meyer’s sponsors include his dad, Joe Meyer, the 7-11 of Franklin, Falvey’s Motors of Norwich, 32 Signs, Treats Pools and Spas and Engines By Andy. His crew includes his dad, his brother Dan Meyer, Jeff Granger, Shawn Gaedeke, his sister Brittany Meyer and Andy Dorsey.
It was a trip to the chassis dyno that salvaged his season, however. In this case, the word dyno stood for one thing — dynamite. The result was a championship explosion.