Brownstown Speedway
Dad back in car to build Chamberlain's notebook
By Bryan Ault
Special to DirtonDirt
Tristan and Duane Chamberlain in June at Eldora Speedway. (joshjamesartwork.com)
Duane Chamberlain has spent the last several seasons focusing on his crew chief duties for his 19-year-old son Tristan Chamberlain. But the five-time Sunoco American Late Model Series winner decided on Labor Day weekend to climb back into the car for a few races to sharpen the Gibson Racing team.
Whether dad’s experience behind the wheel played a significant role in Tristan’s dazzling Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series victory Sunday at Eldora Speedway can’t be certain, it must not have hurt the youthful World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular at the historic Rossburg, Ohio, oval.
In an interview during Saturday’s Northern Allstars Late Model Series action at Brownstown (Ind.) Speedway on Saturday, the elder Chamberlain, 47, made clear his short stint with the Wayne and Holly Gibson-owned team isn’t a full-time return to the cockpit.
“We have just been talking about me getting back in the seat and being Tristan's crew chief, I ain't been in a car in a few years,” Duane said. “I think it's just good for me to feel what's going on. It's been a while. We're not going to start doing this all the time or anything. We're going to go to the World (100) and play. But yeah, I still want to be able to make the best decisions I can make for him. I just want to feel these cars and how they're changing and all that stuff.”
The Chamberlains chose to come to the Northern Allstars-sanctioned John Gill Classic — won by Trey Mills of St. Augustine, Fla. — because Saturday’s Valvoline American Late Model Iron-Man Series race at Montpelier (Ind.) Motor Speedway rained out. Duane piloted one of Tristan’s backup cars for the 50-lap event, where he retired and finished 19th after battling inside the top 10 for most of the race’s first half. The following night at Eldora, Tristan, in his sixth Late Model season, captured the biggest of his 12 victories while his dad retired after 15 laps in the following semifeature.
Before the Brownstown feature, the elder Chamberlain said he planned to experiment with suspension changes they’ve been considering.
“Sometimes you're just afraid to make changes and ain't have time to test,” Duane said. “I’m just going to throw things at my car and feel it out and it'll help out for him down the road.”
Evolving technology has changed Late Model racing since Duane’s heyday, which included more than a dozen special event victories and two ALMS triumphs at Eldora. One of the biggest changes Duane noticed is how setups often force drivers to push the modern machines beyond their limits.
“You’ve got to drive them hard,” Duane said. “You’ve got to drive them harder. I think it's just the shock and spring package, the aero package. They don't feel a lot different when the track's heavy, but when the track starts to slow down, you still drive them really hard. I'm trying to figure that out. That's one of the reasons I'm driving and seeing what he's dealing with. It's just about me learning more and me staying up in the cars, me being able to relate with him, what he's feeling. When he tells me the car fills a certain way, I just want to make sure I understand what he's talking about.”
Additionally, Duane said he thinks “tire management’s probably bigger now than it was back then even, because you can drive it hard and there's different lines you can choose, and you're not stuck in one line,” he added. “So I think these guys have to run hard for a while, slow down, let (the tires) cool off, run hard. Maybe you were supposed to do it that way back then, but I never did.”
At Brownstown the prime visual difference in Duane’s car and his son’s was the “T” on Tristan’s No. 20TC was taped off.
“It’s his seat, everything,” Duane said with a laugh. “I had to go on a diet to get in there,”
His son, as always, took notes on his father’s performance. As he stood on the grassy hillside off turn four at Brownstown during Saturday’s prelims, Tristan was beaming as he watched his father run third during a heat race and transfer into the big show right before he had to go to staging for his own race.
And it didn’t look like his father has lost much speed since his last career victory on Oct. 21, 2022, at Moler Raceway Park in Williamsburg, Ohio.
“I've always took pointers off him when I grew up watching him, so I was quite honestly impressed,” Tristan said with a grin. “I mean, he jumped out, got in the car after three years, and I mean, he's still right there with himself. It's pretty cool. You know, I'm always taking advice from him, how to drive and everything. Watching him get back out there and he still knows what he's talking about, he’s the same old dad.”
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