Win-Tron Racing


*Drivers*
		Chris Windom Birth Date: December 24, 1990 Hometown: Canton, Illinois Residence: West Lafayette, Indiana Marital Status: Single Height: 5’ 7” Weight: 160 Hobbies: Fishing, Attending Sporting Events Website: chriswindom.net
	Chris Windom’s racing career took flight at the age of seven when he climbed behind the wheel of a go-kart, and the Canton, Illinois native has been soaring through the open-wheel ranks ever since. The 21-year-old currently ranks second in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship point standings with five points races remaining in the 2011 season. On the path to his current USAC Sprint Car ride, Windom has tested his driving skills at various levels of racing. Windom made his first competitive laps in a go-kart in 1997, and by the age of 11, the talented young driver picked up two national championships. From age 12 until Windom was 14, he raced a 600 cc Mini Sprinter and won the U.S. 24 Outlaw Nationals before he advanced to Sprint Car racing in 2004. Windom immediately excelled with his first attempt in an open-wheel Sprint Car at Paragon Speedway in Indiana resulting in a runner-up finish. In his third race at Paragon, Windom notched his first career win in a Sprint Car. In 2005, 15-year-old Windom competed in several non-sanctioned Sprint Car events and won four races in a non-winged Sprint Car. At the end of the 2005 season, he ran two USAC Kenyon Midget races before continuing to tackle the USAC Midget Series in 2006. At the age of 16, Windom won six non-sanctioned events, and earned the USAC Kenyon Midget Championship. His best finish on the USAC circuit that year was fourth. In 2007, Windom continued to race USAC sprinters winning one pavement USAC Midget race and four non-sanctioned dirt races. Windom remained a household name in the USAC ranks in 2008, driving for several different Sprint Car owners including NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley. The end of the 2008 season brought him two more victories which led the rookie to a more rigorous racing schedule for 2009. Windom started 2009 by finishing seventh in the famed Chili Bowl Nationals. He began the 2009 season driving for Jeff Walker Racing when he was 19-years-old and tallied six victories with three of them in-a-row at the 2009 Illinois Sprint Week. Although Windom started the event strong, the five day-long series of races didn’t end on a positive note. On night number four, Windom was passing for the lead when an accident resulted. Windom suffered a broken back from the crash. His injury parked him from June 2009 until the first week of September that year. On the week of his return, an eager and determined Windom ran second in two of the three events that weekend. In 2010, Windom earned his first career USAC National Sprint Car win at Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pennsylvania. He also claimed a victory in the Perris Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway in California. Windom concluded the 2010 season with 10 total wins, two in USAC National features and eight in unsanctioned Sprint Car events while finishing sixth in the National Sprint Car Series points and eighth in the National Drivers Championship. Windom’s biggest racing accomplishments came in the summer of 2011 when in May the 20-year-old racer captured the win in the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway. His podium finish at the .25-mile track was a milestone in his motorsports career. Windom also secured his place in history when he won the USAC Indiana Sprint Week Championship. In 2011 Windom made his ARCA debut driving for Win-Tron racing at the Illinois State Fairground finishing an impressive 3rd.
		Matt Merrell Nickname: Mateo Martial Status: Married - Kendra Children: Son - Kasen Pets: Two dogs- Pixie and Camber Favorite superhero: Superman Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, riding atv’s and dirtbikes Favorite food: Steak and potatoes Favorite song: Far Behind by Candlebox Favorite movies: Jaws, Old School and Step Brothers Favorite car: The new Corvette ZR1 Favorite vacation spot: Cozumel Favorite charity: Colin’s Hope and Catch a Dream What I admire most in others: The relentless pursuit of their goals What made you fall in love with racing: Speed and the adrenaline rush Favorite non-racing sport: Football Favorite quote: “Pain is weakness leaving the body.”
	Matt Merrell's racecar beginnings came later in life than most of the stars today, strapping in behind the wheel of a racecar at age 18. The Portland, Texas native graduated high school in 2004 and purchased a Dwarf car and began racing throughout Texas. What he lacked in prior racing experience, his natural talent more than made up for and it did not take long for those around him to recognize the raw talent that he possessed. From 2004 to 2006 Merrell, nicknamed "Mateo," made his way through the motorsports ranks, collecting trophies and accolades along the way. By age 19, he was a South Zone champion and the overall Texas State champion. He was also crowned the Rookie of the Year for the Texas Dwarf Car Association to complete a memorable freshman racing season. He then went into the USRA Modifieds in 2005, and chalked up three more wins and produced seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. He also earned Rookie of the Year honors when he finished fourth in the points that season for the Texas Asphalt Modified Series. At 20, Merrell started his USRA Super Late Model Series career and he continued to be successful in yet another series. He ran the full 2006 season and finished second in the championship standings as he racked up two wins, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes as well as the Rookie of the Year honors for the series. The 2007 season marked the beginning of Merrell's relationship with Win-Tron Racing. He was selected to drive the No. 32 Dodge in USAR Pro Cup series and ARCA Racing Series, marking him the primary driver for the entry in both series. The 2007 season also marked Merrell's entry into ARCA Racing Series competition, debuting at Toledo Speedway in May. In his lone ARCA Racing Series start of the year, he qualified 13th and finished 16th. ARCA Racing competition became a full-time pursuit for Merrell in 2009 as he raced in 10 of the 21 events that season, and it was during that season at the age of 24, Merrell experienced his true breakthrough in racing. In 10 ARCA Racing Series events the rookie driver scored five top-five and six top-10 finishes. Merrell and team showed their promise throughout the season as they captured a pole at Toledo Speedway in May and two runner-up finishes at Berlin Raceway and Pocono Raceway. Merrell made several starts in the No. 24 Orion Motorsports' Chevrolet Impala for his first season in the Southeast Limited Late Model touring series in 2010. 2011 will bring a return to Win-Tron Racing where they look to pick up on the success they had in the 2009 season.
			Ryan Wilson Meet the driver whose a weekly threat in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series while also striving to blossom in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards as their newest protégé, Ryan Wilson. Since jumping behind the wheel of a go-kart when he was only five years old it was evident that Ryan Wilson had the skills to get the job done and Wilson has not only grown and matured, but he has been very busy climbing the ladder in the stock car racing world. Wilson jumped behind the wheel of a Sportsman car at Caraway Speedway and instantly had success winning five races in just 12 starts, then moved to Late Model Trucks and on to the Late Model Stock Cars where he won his first race on May 31, 2008. Ryan competed at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina and Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, North Carolina in 2009 and picked up another Late Model Stock Car win in his No. 12 Randolph Bank Toyota Camry.
	In 2010, Ryan returned to racing on some of the state’s most prestige short tracks, including Caraway (N.C.) Speedway . Wilson also completed in selected races at Ace (N.C.) Speedway as well as select UARA-STARS Late Model Stock Car touring series races including starts at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway and Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway. During the year, he notched one win, two poles, 12 top-fives and 22 top-10s. It was though in the summer of 2010, Wilson stole the headlines by winning the coveted “Richard Petty Driver Search II.” By being crowned the winner, Wilson was awarded a shot in the ARCA Racing Series in Menards at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway, where he qualified 19th and finished a noteworthy and respectable 14th. In 2011, Wilson attempted 4 races in the ARCA Racing Series for Win-Tron Racing and scored 2 top-10's.
			Mason Mingus Mason Mingus is a young man just starting out in major-league late model racing, but there’s little reason to think he won’t wind up being an accomplished and popular racer given a little time. After all, Mingus has thus far excelled at every sport he’s put his efforts into and his racing resume already boasts a number of championships. Racing may seem an odd path for a youngster who finds success in plenty more “traditional” sports yet it may just be a natural culmination of talents. He has the pure strength from years of wrestling that serves well while trying to maneuver a heavy stock car around a tight corner at the local bullring. Years of playing both fullback and linebacker on the high school football team have helped teach both the ability to find the holes through crowded lanes of traffic as well as constantly being aware of one’s blind side. And years of running relays on the high school track team? Well, simply put, they’ve just put the desire in Mingus to go even faster.
	Mingus began racing back in 2002, taking a route that many successful racers have taken in order to reach the level they are today. In the early days, Mingus competed in Quarter Midgets in and around the greater Kentucky-Tennessee area. After a few years of this, Mingus graduated to the MMRA Mini Cup Series in 2005, starting to travel around the Southeast to compete in miniature versions of the stock cars in special touring events while competing at Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Beech Bend Raceway Park weekly. By end of 2007, Mingus had picked up a number of winner’s trophies at Bowling Green and had even traveled to Cheyenne, Wyoming to claim a victory in the touring MMRA Mini Cup. 2008 proved to be the year when Mingus would begin to turn some heads and had doors of opportunity begin to open. Most of his success this season was thanks to his transition to the MMRA Baby Grand series, featuring a type of full-fendered racing vehicle right in between the Mini Cups and the average NASCAR stock car. Mingus quickly found his footing in this series, winning touring races at Bowling Green and then at the historic Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville. As a result of these triumphs, Mason earned the 2008 MMRA Baby Grand national championship as well as the local Baby Grand title at Bowling Green. 2009 presented another new challenge for Mingus as he joined the new Ken-Ten Pro Late Model Series driving for Kevin Gardner, a local track titlist who saw Mingus’ immense potential. Competing against some very talented and experienced PLM talent, Mingus more than held his own in his rookie season, recording a top-five and four top-tens in route to an eighth place finish on the tour. His best finish was a fourth place finish at Kentucky Motor Speedway in Whitesville, a track Mingus had scarcely seen prior. 2010 saw Mingus racing again in the Ken-Ten Series. He recorded his first ever touring Late Model victory at Salem Speedway in June. A few more strong finishes down the stretch would net Mingus the 2010 Ken-Ten Pro Late Model championship. While the title serves as Mingus’ most notable season-long accomplishment to date, the undisputed highlight came in October, when Mingus competed in the forty-third running of the prestigious Winchester 400. Competing against some of the best short track racers in the country, Mingus turned plenty of heads when he brought his machine home fourth. 2011 saw Mingus compete full time on the CRA Super Series after parlaying his Winchester success into a full-time ride and a great sponsor in Kentucky-Tennessee 811. After making his ARCA debut this past season at Salem, he will compete in a minimum of seven short track events with Win-Tron Racing.