The familiar red No. 98 Modified—which won countless features and four track championships—again will take to the Lucas Oil Speedway oval this season.

Even though it will be Jeff Cutshaw’s car, the driver who’s been retired the last two seasons will be watching from the pit side and not from behind the wheel. Robert “Hollywood” Heydenreich, a young driver with talent—but not always patience—will be piloting Cutshaw’s new Domination by Cutshaw chassis in the Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modified division.

“He hangs around the house all the time and is good friends with the family,” Cutshaw said of Heydenreich, a fellow Bolivar resident. “I just wanted to give the kid a chance and put him in some good stuff.

“He’s got some talent. We just have to fine-tune him a little bit and calm him down and get him to finishing races.”

For Heydenreich, 24, the chance to learn from a veteran with championship pedigree and a totally different driving style, is a dream scenario. The driver who got his nickname of “Hollywood” a few years ago after rolling his car and posing for cameras as he crawled out of the crumpled ride, can hardly believe the opportunity that awaits.

“I don’t know that I deserve it; there are probably better options for Jeff out there,” Heydenreich said. “But he said, ‘You’ve got a lot of potential, we just need to slow you down and get you focused a little bit more.’ That got me excited. I’ve never been taught by anybody.

“I didn’t start racing until I was old enough to pay for it myself. I’ve never had anybody like Jeff who’s a multi-time track champion with well over 100 feature wins offer to help me. He says, ‘Hey, you’re doing good, you just need some help.’ For him to stick his neck out for me, it’s saying something.”

The way Heydenreich found out about the offer to drive for Cutshaw made it more memorable. He had been doing some welding work for Cutshaw and was asked to stop by Cutshaw’s shop to take a look at a potential project.

Little did he know what awaited behind Door No. 1.

“I got over there and walked into the shop and there’s this brand-new race car sitting on jack stands,” Heydenreich said. “I said, ‘You getting back into racing?’ He said, ‘No. That’s what I had you come over here for. We’ve got to have a talk.’ ”

Heydenreich is entering his sixth season of racing, spending time in a USRA B-Mod before switching over to the his first full season in a USRA Modified in 2020. He wound up sixth in Lucas Oil Speedway points, but did pick up a feature win in exciting fashion last June, passing reigning track champion Robbie Reed on the outside in the final 100 yards.

Cutshaw joked that Heydenreich is notorious for aggressively riding the high side around the track while he won his championships by religiously sticking to the low groove. That makes the pairing of the duo more unique and already, the high vs. low path around the track has been a subject of conversation between student and teacher.

“We’ve already had discussions about that and I told him I was gonna pull him out of the car if I ever saw him on the high side,” Cutshaw said, with a laugh. “I told him I won way more races on the bottom than I ever did on the top.”

Heydenreich said learning a more-patient approach will help him in his goal of finishing at or near the top of the championship chase. Too often last season, Heydenreich failed to finish races.

“Jeff told me ‘wrong place, wrong time. It’s not always your fault, but you have to not put yourself in those situations.’ This week we’re reviewing a lot of race video footage from last year and he’s gonna point out some areas, things that will help me. To be able to finish high in points, you have to finish races. Just be smooth and consistent.”

Cutshaw, who won consecutive track championships at Lucas Oil Speedway from 2014-17, retired from driving after a runner-up finish in the 2018 standings. He admittedly missed the sport and had some ideas of the kind of car he wanted to build.

“I started messing around with this a couple of years ago,” he said. “Right after I quit, I wanted to do something different, so we’re gonna do a different kind of suspension. We went into a partnership deal with a guy building cars out of McClure, Ohio. He had never built a Modified before. He’s a Late Model guy, but he had a suspension like I wanted to build.

“We’re trying something that’s completely different. We’re going to see if we can make it work.”

The team looks to do some testing prior to opening night and let the process of dialing in the new car, along with the education of the young driver - begin to play out.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity,” Heydenreich said. “I’m gonna learn as much as I can and do anything I can to help out. Jeff is a big part of me being where I am. He helped me with a motor deal last year when we went to the ‘A’ Mod.

“I asked him about our plans and he said, ‘we’re gonna go fast and have fun.’ I’m excited. I know there are a lot of fans who cheered for Jeff and will be excited to see that No. 98 car back on the track.”

Team sponsors include Cutshaw Farms, The Big Slice, Tri-Lakes RV, Parrish Tire & Alignment, Eletric Beach Tanning Salon, Boone’s BBQ Barn, Lucas Oil, Custom Land Works, SCP Race Engines, Cullum and Brown, Fast Shafts, Wehr’s Machine, Midwest Sheet Metal, RPI Suspension, Bud’s Tire & Wheel, Cutshaw Motorsports and Double H Motorsports.

Test & Tune coming up: Lucas Oil Speedway's Open Test & Tune is scheduled for 2-6 p.m. March 27 with pit passes $25. The Big Adventure Weekly Racing Series Spring Opener Presented by Benne Media is set for April 3.

The Weekly Racing Series includes 14 events, from opening night through the Rempfer Memorial Season Championship on Aug. 28, which crowns season champions. Competing classes include Cedar Creek Beef Jerky USRA Modifieds, Missouri Metal Buildings ULMA Late Models, Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods and O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars.

For ticket information for any event during the 2021 Lucas Oil Speedway season, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or via email at nichole@lucasoilspeedway.com. Fans also can use the online ticketing system.