Walt Schumacher sits atop the points lead of the competitive Junior-B class. With a very consistent 2013 season thus far, we caught up with Walt to find out more.

GNCCRacing.com: How's everything going today?
Walt Schumacher: Not too bad! Just hanging out at work, looking forward to some time in the garage and some weight training in the basement tonight.

Sounds fun! So tell everyone a little about yourself.
Well, I’m 27 years old.  Lived most of my life in Bronson, MI but I’m currently in West Mansfield, OH.  I work in Columbus as an R&D Engineer and I’m pretty big into anything with an engine.  My current fleet consists of five quads, two dirt bikes, and a sand rail and I’m always working on some crazy project or another.  More recently, I’ve also started Schumacher Race Works, doing engine work for some of the local guys.

Wow. Sounds like you keep yourself busy! How did you get started racing?
As long as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was be involved in motorsports.  I started racing in 2007, so I would’ve been 21.  I raced a local District 14 Hare Scramble race in Michigan on my bone stock Polaris Outlaw 525 and I was hooked!  I followed the series that year, and for 2008 I bought the KTM that I’m still racing now and did a full season of D14 Motocross and Hare Scrambles.  I moved to Ohio at the end of 2008 and started racing GNCC’s in 2009 and have been doing that ever since.

How has your 2013 season been going so far?
It’s been my best season yet!  I seem to get a little faster every year, so that’s good.  2013 has had a few bumps along the way.  I crashed and bent a frame at Big Buck, then blew an engine up in Kentucky.  So it certainly hasn’t been a cheap or an easy season, but it’s been a lot of fun and with a few good results sprinkled in here and there, it’s kept me motivated!

Did you expect to be leading the points in the Junior B class?
Absolutely not.  I’ve worked really hard this year, but I’ve done that in the past too and results never really seemed to come, so I think I just got used to that.  When I won Georgia, I was shocked.  Before that day I had never lead a lap of a GNCC.  I remember thinking when it said that I was in 1st on the first lap, that if I really rode hard, I could finish in the top 5 for the first time!  Then when I stayed in first the whole race, I was amazed, because I didn’t really feel like I was riding any different than I usually do.  Since then, results have been a somewhat hit and miss, but it seems like the class is super close this year.  We’ve had 7 winners in 9 races, which is really cool.

What is it going to take to continue with the success you've had so far?
To be honest, the biggest problem for me is starts.  If you watch Junior B take off, I’m the one in the back on the KTM.  It’s crazy, and I don’t know what causes it.  I’ve been last or nearly last every race this year, even Georgia, where I came through the pack and won!  When you start like that, it comes down to how far forward you can get before you run out of time, and that’s why my results are so mixed.  If I can keep the quad together, keep up on my fitness, and get the quad off the line, I think I’ve got the speed to win races.  I’ve got some ideas to try to fix it for the last 4 rounds this year.  Snowshoe showed me that I still am capable of riding like I did at the beginning of the year if I can get off the line, so I’m suddenly pretty focused on getting this thing to start.

Do you think you can come away with the class championship?
I think I can if I keep up on everything like I need to and get some decent starts.  My quad has 260 hours on the hour meter, so it’s getting old and banged up and takes a lot of work to keep running from one round to the next, but it’s been really reliable for the last few years, so that shouldn’t be an issue.  I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing, and push a little harder down to the end and see where we come out.

What do you hope to accomplish in the final 4 rounds?
This is silly, but I want a holeshot.  I want to start a race first instead of last, even if it’s just once.  After that, I might just pull over and let the pack go by because I wouldn’t know what to do with it once I got it, but it would be nice to get one.  Other than that, another win would be great, but if I can’t manage that, I’m just looking for 4 solid finishes.

Do you have any plans for next season yet?
I’ve been all over the map on this, from hanging up my boots to buying 2 new quads, building them and really going nuts with it next year.  It’s a decent possibility that I’ll be moving to Vet A, and as far as equipment, to be honest, it’ll probably be more of the same.  I’m really happy with my KTMs at the moment, so I’m thinking I’ll just do a little work to my backup one to get it to the race quad’s level and run the same package next year.  I’m planning on doing some more bike races next year for sure though.

What would you hope to accomplish in the future?
I’ve always said I want to be competitive in a national A class.  Not necessarily winning every round, but I’d like to get to the point where the A class is the right class for me.  After that, I’m looking to branch out into other things.  I’m getting into the sand rail stuff pretty heavy at the moment and really want to start racing my dirt bike a lot more and seeing what I can do with that!

What has been the biggest accomplishment of your career so far?
Winning Georgia for sure!  I was so shocked that while my family and girlfriend were super excited when I came off the track, I just walked over to the scoring trailer and sat down and waited for the results to get posted to make sure it was real.  I’m not sure I ever expected to win a national.

Alright, before we wrap this up, who would you like to thank?
Oh man, there’s a list!  First and foremost, my mom and dad for their help on and off the track.  My girlfriend, for being probably the most understanding person in the world, when I spend all my time and money on this crazy dream.  Rocket Ron Racing for his awesome suspension work and all the help and support since 2008!  And all of the other awesome companies that are helping me out and have been for years:  BNR Motorsports, FMF Racing, GBC Motorsports, Hinson Clutch Components, HiPer Technologies, Houser Racing, KTM-Parts.com, Motorex, Powersport Grafx,  Rath Racing, and Twin-Air.