Nathan Levenhagen at 2026 Quincy Grand Prix – photo by Mark Schwigen
Every athlete has an ultimate end goal that they’re after. Whether it’s winning a championship, breaking an unbeatable record, or just playing on the biggest stage your sport has to offer, there’s something that keeps every athlete going through every win and every setback. Something where if they ever achieved that goal, their career would be complete. For me, ever since I was a kid, that end-all goal was to make it to IndyCar and win the Indianapolis 500.
The harsh reality of choosing racing as your sport is that there’s no straight-line way to make it to the pro-level, especially if you’re budget is a bi-weekly paycheck from a part-time job. That is to say, my dream of winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is a bit out of reach for me with the time and resources at my disposal. But for those like me who are stuck in the ranks of karting but still want to write their name in the history books, look no further than the Quincy Grand Prix of Karting.
The Quincy Grand Prix has been one of America’s premier karting street-races since the late 60’s, bringing thousands of fans and racers from around the country to a city park in the great river city of Quincy, IL. Because of the race’s long history, high esteem, and unforgiving nature, it is often referred to as “the Monaco” or “the Indy 500 of Karting.” Winning this race is a great honor if you are ever privileged enough to experience it, and it is also extremely hard to do. This year would be my third attempt at running this race, and we would once again be seeking redemption from the battle scars of years past.
I showed up to a wet South Park on Saturday morning in a mix of emotions, but ready to jump into the deep end. I was once again under the tent with Bobby Krug Racing Services, and thanks to old friend of the Kartplex Seth Hanlon for some Friday-afternoon wrenching, my arrive-and-drive kart was already prepared to hit the track. The team and I sat through the driver’s meeting as jet dryers were still crawling around the track, and before long it was time for Warm-Up.
The all-Ignite Warm-Up was my first time back in the seat in almost 9 months, driving a brand-new kart that had never been driven. It went about how I expected: not terrible, not great. Couldn’t tell how much of it was the conditions and how much of it was me. Fast forward to Ignite Senior Practice with a slightly longer session, and I was warming up a bit more. Track was still a bit wet, and by now I could tell that the balance of the kart was close, but not perfect. I made some slight changes, and next up was Qualifying.
I started Qualifying behind a few of my BKRS teammates in an attempt to work with them, but the traffic around me had other plans. As their pack broke away from me, I eventually found Matt Krechel in the chaos and was able to work with him in the closing laps of the session. With the tow from Krechel and a kart that I finally had confidence in, I was able to put down a lap good enough for 8th on the Saturday Feature grid.
Gridding up for the Saturday feature, the only things running through my mind were survival and re-acclimation. I hadn’t done a proper race in almost 10 months, and I wasn’t 100% sure if I would still be competitive or not. I had a couple of teammates starting around me, so I figured if I could work with them, stay out of trouble, and set myself up well for Sunday, then that’s about the best I could do. I don’t think anyone, including myself, could have predicted what happened next.
After a few more moments of waiting eagerly on the grid, the green flag dropped on the first feature race of the weekend. The 34-kart field made it through the first couple turns clean, and I settled into 7th picking up a spot from teammate Bobby Krug. By the end of the first lap, I was 5th. The second lap I got up to 4th, then 3rd on the next lap, then second a few laps later. And by the time flagman Jason Burgess threw the halfway signal, I had taken over the lead with Evan Stamer and Riley Scott close behind. Now the sitting duck, I had the near impossible task of holding off the wolf pack behind me all the way to the end. As the laps ticked by, though, the order stayed the same, and I was still leading the 6-car train as we took the white flag. Now the only thought running through my head was defend with my life. I covered the inside heading into three, no move from Stamer. Watching my outside heading into 4, still no move. The race was going to be decided on the run to 12. Coming out of 11, carrying as much momentum as I could, all I could do now was pray. One long straightaway and one turn to go. Stamer got a massive run and made a move to the outside. Just as he was about to clear me, I got a massive push from behind. Now we were dead even screaming into the final corner. I held it flat out on the inside of 12, and the boost from behind was enough to clear Stamer and be first to the line. I had just won the Quincy Grand Prix.
The race that had tried so many times to break me and scare me away, I had finally come out on top of. The weight of all the bad luck and disappointment that plagued my Ignite career for 4 years, had finally been lifted. My first race in 9 months, in a brand-new, unproven kart, against some of the best drivers in the Midwest. Against all odds, I did it. I am a Quincy Grand Prix Champion.
It is worth noting that my win in that race wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. For one, a few laps into the race I ended up making a small mistake that ended the race for one of my teammates, Avery Schwalm. I got to talk with him later and apologize to him for the incident, and we were able to move on from that without any hard feelings. And the second incident, the elephant in the room, was the scary crash that happened right behind us at the finish. I didn’t even realize anything had happened until the official at pit-in told me, and then coming back around to start/finish to see a graveyard of karts and emergency vehicles. Thankfully, everybody involved was able to walk away mostly unscathed, which is miraculous having now seen the video of that wreck. Between that and a few more incidents throughout the weekend, God was watching over a lot of people at the park.
Once everyone had been checked on and the incident had been cleared, the stage was finally opened up for the new champ. I got to do an Indy 500-style celebration on the finish line with the rest of the BKRS team, do a quick interview with the presenter, then a parade lap on the Jeep, waving to the fans with my new Champion’s Belt. The weirdest part of it all was that even though I was done for the day, I still had to come back on Sunday and do it all again…as the defending winner.
Long story short Sunday was a fairly uneventful day for me, but also a very enjoyable one since I just got to have fun without anything left to prove. The day started out wet enough that I didn’t go out for warm-up, meaning that the Final was my only real session of the day. In the final I started 11th, and through some back-and-fourth racing, I finished 11th. The race-winning setup from Saturday just didn’t do as many wonders on Sunday. Alas, there was plenty of other successes to celebrate that day.
Whether it was a spark that I lit with my win on Saturday, or something that was put in the team’s coffee that morning, then entire Bobby Krug Racing Services team showed up and delivered. To kick off Sunday’s races, the BKRS Ironman Tommy Shereck, running something like 5 classes this weekend, took home his first Quincy belt in the Briggs Medium class, and the team’s first EVER win in their VLR program. The very next session, two-time Ignite Heavy Champion Matt Zigaitis won in the Briggs Super Heavy class in his VLR. Later on, Brody Strong scored a win in the Ignite 100 class, making that class a BKRS sweep with Aidan Liber’s win on Saturday. After Avery Schwalm’s disappointment from Saturday, he got his revenge on Sunday by winning the Ignite Heavy class, and his FIFTH Quincy title. And lastly, Evan Stamer, who I barely eeked out on Saturday and had been so close to winning on so many occasions, finally broke the curse and won the Sunday Final in Ignite Senior. He may not be a BKRS driver, but everyone who races Ignite knows who he is and how talented he is. He has now won every single Ignite Major, and I’m proud to say I denied him of that title for a whopping 24 hours. All jokes aside, I’m very proud of the performance this team showed at Quincy this year, and everyone who went home with a belt was a very deserving winner.
I guess the question now is, what’s next? All I know for sure is that I have no future plans of getting back into karting, at least not anytime soon. Like I said at the beginning of this article, every athlete has that one end-all goal that they are after to make their career complete, and that’s what I did this weekend by winning the Quincy Grand Prix. I know I’m not going to go beyond karting at my age and experience level, so with this win my story is complete. It’s time to move on.
Now I think it’s time for me to slow down and focus on the more important things in life. Racing is a ton of fun, and it always will be, but it’s also lots of time and money that’s better spent elsewhere for a 21-year-old. I have a family that deserves more of my attention, and I have a full-time job and a business that I need to put more focus towards. Most importantly, I’ve still got my whole life ahead of me, and a million choices to make. Regardless, these last 5 years, from my start in iDrive until now, will be years I remember for the rest of my life. And the belt will stay with me as a symbol that every setback is a setup for something greater.
One Response
Fantastic to hear about your win! Keep up the good work, you’ve earned every last second of it. You’ve got lots of room to grow and improve and I know you’ll make it happen one day. Just keep up that grind 🔥