PAT VERWYS LOOKS FORWARD TO MOVE
INTO OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED RACING

   Pat Verwys of West Chester is a dedicated husband and racer and has won numerous stock car races, including extra distance enduro events. He is also a former champion at Mountain Speedway in St. Johns, PA. Pat’s family has been involved with motorsports for many years and helped propel his need for speed. This coming season Verwys plans to hang up full fendered racing and try his hand at the open wheel asphalt modified ranks.
   As a youngster, he and his brothers, Bill, Jr. and Pete, traveled to tracks across the tri-state area with their father, Bill, Sr. The elder Verwys was and continues to be a threat at area speedways, including Mountain Speedway, where he recently visited victory lane in the four cylinder division.
   Watching his father race at tracks such as Freeport Speedway, Riverhead Raceway, Islip Speedway, Wall Township Speedway, Mountain Speedway and White Lake Speedway gave Pat the itch to get behind the wheel of a race car, which he finally did in 2003.
   Pat recalled traveling with his father, older brother and mother to some events in the 1980s, “I have been going to the track for longer than I remember. “The racing experience for us has always been a family event- whether it was winning the Turkey Derby (Wall Township Speedway) in 1984 or running well at White Lake Speedway, everyone was there together, rooting for Dad”
   Pat wasn’t only a young fan of his fathers- both he and his brother Bill, Jr., helped tune on the race car. “I can even remember Bill, who was still in high school and me in elementary school racing home from school to pull a motor on Monday so that we could have it re-built by Friday to stay in points (hunt). “At the time Dad was working overtime as an electrician to pay for it all) the sad part was that this was a more than once experience”, he said.
   Like his father, Pat has been a threat to win races before he even got behind the wheel.
   After taking a break through the 1990s, Bill Verwys, Sr. returned to racing. However, this time he wasn’t alone, as the family entered five drivers in an enduro event at Riverhead Raceway. Bill, Jr., Pat and their younger brother, Pete, ran the event, along with their father and his brother, Pete.
   It was obvious that Pat always dreamt of racing and it didn’t take long for him to visit victory lane. His first victory came during his full racing season in 2004 when he took the checkers during an enduro event at Riverhead Raceway on Long Island. Not long after, Verwys won again, this time beating 106 other cars to the finish on the ¼-mile asphalt track.
   Even though he missed a race during the season, Verwys won the four cylinder championship at Mountain Speedway and instead of going for the repeat the following year, Pat moved into the V8 “Thriller” stock car division at Mountain. After a lot of success and numerous top five and top ten finishes, including a heat race win, Verwys decided to give Wall Township Speedway a try.
   He quickly found success racing at the Jersey Shore and notched a number of top fives and many top ten finishes.
   Moving onward and upward was his goal from the get-go and Verwys is looking forward to the opportunity of piloting a modified.
   Entering his sixth full season in stock car racing, Verwys recently purchased a sport modified with hopes to pick up rookie of the year honors at Mountain Speedway. The sport modified cars are much like the NASCAR open wheel modifieds, with the exception of a more affordable engine package and skinnier tires.
   Pat is in the process of securing sponsorship and team members that will help guide him to consistency in the popular division. He hopes to qualify for every event that he enters and run a consistent, full season at Mountain Speedway, which will give him the valuable seat time that will help him to move up in divisions over the next few seasons.
   Pat’s main goal at Mountain Speedway is to start and finish each feature and hopefully finish in the top ten in the point standings.
   He also plans an attempt to qualify for a minimum of three SST (Super Short Track) modifieds shows in the Southern Tier of NY.
   The young rookie also hopes to qualify for his first RoC (Race of Champions) SST event. His main goal for that race is to start and finish. With competition in the series, a finish to Verwys would feel like a win during his rookie campaign.
   Currently Pat seeks sponsorship to help fund his race team. The more quality sponsors Verwys accrues, the better and more prepared his equipment will be.
   Pat’s first laps in his new race car will be run at Mountain Speedway in late March.

 THE END