We caught up to the 2020 West Michigan Sand Dragway Shake & Bake Champion Jon Sorg after the event to talk about his big win.
WSDN: How does it feel being the 2020 Shake and Bake champion?
Sorg: Being the 2020 Shake and Bake Champion is just awesome! To battle through 102 of the best cars and drivers around and come out on top is truly unforgettable.
WSDN: What was your mindset going into that final round?
Sorg: To be quite honest my mindset for the final was to go do what I did in the previous rounds, stay collected and not make any mistakes to take myself out and give the win away.
WSDN: How would you describe that last pass?
Sorg: On the final round pass I felt I had cut a good light and passed Corey Meyers just before the finish line, at that point it seemed like forever before the win light came on.
WSDN: Do you go into a race like the Shake and Bake with a different approach than a typical race?
Sorg: As far as my mental preparation coming into Shake and Bake, well, we honestly had not planned on running the bracket class, and was just gonna run the Quick 16. When I ended up #17, it was run the big bracket, or pack it up. I’m a racer so it was an easy choice to enter and see if we could make something happen.
WSDN: What was most key in you winning the Shake and Bake class?
Sorg: The Shake and Bake win is special as it was the biggest single bracket class in our tracks history and that I have ever seen in our sport. The car owner/ crew chief/ great friend Jim Bailey gave me a super consistent race car, all I had to do was fill in the blanks as a driver….it all worked out when the dust settled and we came out on top!
WSDN: How long have you been in sand drags and does any other win in your career match this one?
Sorg: My roots in sand drag racing started as a small kid watching my dad race in the dunes.Then at Silver Lake Sand Dragway (WMSD) my dad entered the very first race there in 1983, one of 35 entries. After that I was hooked…my first race driving was in 1993. To come out on top this weekend was a lot like winning my dad’s memorial race. That’s the only other race that can even come close.
