TJ Michael Nearly Complete With Second, Full Season With All Stars

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / MICHAEL MOTORSPORTS – FREMONT, OH – The “Texas Traveler” T.J. Michael has officially hit the homestretch. Only six dates remain on the 2017 Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions campaign, seven main events when including the make-up feature at Mansfield (OH) Motor Speedway on October 13, and when considering the distance already covered, the upcoming six-race stretch will be a walk in the park.

Michael, pilot of the Michael Motorsports/Hinchman Suits/Big D’s Pizza of Fremont and Clyde/Crown Battery/Kistler Racing Engines/Maxim Chassis/MJ Webb Enterprises/Roy Hardin Masonry/Wood Heating & Air Conditioning/Pro Tech Service Company/No. 8M, is wrapping up his second, full season with “America’s Series” and is currently seventh in the championship chase out of 15 full-time travelers, earning 26 main event starts in the process.

“It has been a long season and it has been a fun season. But with the end officially in reach, it’s not such a bad thing,” Michael explained, a Texas native who spends his summer months in Fremont, Ohio. “We enjoy every minute of this deal, but it definitely gets tough. With anything you do, there are ups and downs. The plan is to have as much fun as we can during the next few weekends. Heading into the off-season on a solid note would be ideal.”

Michael will begin the final stretch of the Arctic Cat All Star schedule with a visit to Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, September 16. Like his recent Central Pennsylvania visits to Port Royal, the trip to Selinsgrove will award a high dollar payday; $8,000 to win the Jim Nace Memorial/National Open.

“We like Selinsgrove Speedway. That was actually one of the first Central Pennsylvania tracks we visited last season during our rookie year with the All Stars,” Michael stated. After transferring through his respective heat race, Michael started 17th on the feature grid and moved ahead to finish 14th. It was Michael’s first-ever visit to Selinsgrove Speedway.

The upcoming weekend will continue with a visit to the Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway in Bedford, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, September 17. Like Selinsgrove, Michael has displayed success at the Bedford Fairgrounds half-mile, hard charging from row ten to finish 13th during the Arctic Cat All Star Spring visit in 2016.

“I wouldn’t be where I am right now without my family, my supporters, and all of those who helped me or pushed me along the way,” Michael said. “We get frustrated sometimes, and we find ourselves in slumps, but the good times we have make up for the bad times one thousand times over. We are heading into the weekend with a lot of confidence. We are comfortable with both of these tracks. It’s never too late in the year to start of streak of great finishes.”