Introducing “10 Minutes + 2 Laps with…”, a new offseason feature in which we take the same amount of time required to complete a Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event (give or take a red flag) and use it to catch up with, and hopefully learn a little about, some of the more prominent figures on the Progressive American Flat Track scene. To kick things off, we reached out to Bryan Bigelow – a national champion dirt track and ice racer – who these days chases after #1 plates in the role of team manager.

AmericanFlatTrack.com: It's the middle of November and starting to get cold. I’m assuming that means the ice racing season isn’t too far off, correct?

Bryan Bigelow: Yeah, it's full-on ice race time – ice tires and ice bikes.

AFT: Wasn’t that actually the first form of racing you participated in?

BB: Yeah. Where I live in Northern Michigan, there’s not a lot to do here, right? I was just a kid in the backyard with a dirt bike. And then the winter came and the pond froze. My dad said, "Hey, when I was a kid, we used to put screws on our tires and ride them on the lake." So that’s what we did.

It’s pretty much what a lot of the fast flat trackers have done over the years. Scott Parker, Jay Springsteen, Bryan Smith, and so on. We all grew up riding on ice. It's a real cheap treat.

I'm looking forward to bringing Chase (Saathoff) up to Michigan this winter. He's never done it. So I'm looking forward to seeing him do something different like that.

AFT: As you already alluded to, you still stay involved, with the tires and bike prep.

BB: Yes sir. A lot of ice tire building and ice bike building and things like that. It’s a big part of my business.

AFT: Do you still race a little yourself, or are you retired retired?

BB: Just play ride and as much as I possibly can, which is quite a bit in the wintertime. I live on an 11-acre pond, basically, so like a small lake. So right out the door we can ride, which is very convenient. It's about the only time of year I actually still ride.

AFT: I’m curious how neatly the skills translate. If someone is fast on ice, can you automatically assume they’re going to be good on dirt too, and vice versa, or is it not quite that simple?

BB: I would say in general it's almost that easy. The ice is a little bit easier because of the constant traction with the screws and the tires. So you can take a retired old flat tracker like myself, and he can still go pretty good on the ice. The tires give you so much confidence and so much help, you know? But if you took me and put me in flat track today, it would be not so impressive. But it relates very, very similar between ice racing and flat track.

AFT: As you mentioned, a lot of big names have gone ice racing in the past. Who’s the best you’ve ever seen on ice?

BB: (Laughs). Hmm… Probably the fastest guy I ever saw on ice was Henry Wiles. Yup, that’s real. The ice is an interesting discipline with the amount of grip. The more aggressive you are, the faster you are because you have so much traction to support what you're doing. So being smooth and calculated doesn't mean too much.

AFT: You had plenty of accomplishments on dirt and ice. What would you say? Were you better on ice or dirt?

BB: I was better on the ice for whatever reason. I enjoy it a lot. It’s one of those disciplines – it’s so niche… You know, a little bit in Michigan, a little bit in Wisconsin, and maybe a little bit in New York. Obviously, everybody can't do it so it's just not overly popular.

But the guys who do it, love it. I remember when the Turner team started a few years ago, Trevor Brunner came up here and did the ice for the first time, and he thought it was really, really cool. But again, depending on where you live, it’s a very small market.

AFT: What’s it been? Like 15 years since you last raced in the Grand National Championship?

BB: Yeah, that’s right. 2009… It’s been a long time.

AFT: What was it like for you transitioning from full-time racer to becoming a crew chief and a team manager? There’s a big percentage of guys that do what you do now who also rode at a high level, and that makes sense. Lots of riders worked on their own bikes coming up and you understand the mentality of a racer. But was it ever difficult to shift your focus from what you’re doing to what someone else is doing?

BB: Yeah… I mean, the answer is yes, but I also think that the perfect team manager or crew chief or whatever you want to call them, is a former racer – whether they were a champion or just a good racer. I feel like it's a huge advantage. Kenny Tolbert used to race and obviously he's Jared (Mees)’ guy. Tommy Hayden manages the Estenson team. And so on.

AFT: But does there need to be some separation or some distance in terms of time to be able to properly put yourself in the mindset needed to fully support another rider’s effort ? Do you get what I’m trying to ask?

BB: Yeah. That's a loaded question, but yeah, I do. I do. And maybe this isn't exactly what you're asking, but I feel like when I work with a rider – in this case we’ll say Chase Saathoff – I can relate to what he's going through. If he comes in off the racetrack, and he's uncomfortable on the bike, it’s not like I’m this guy who never raced saying, “Get after it kid, I don’t care.” Like I understand what he's feeling. I sympathize and I understand.

AFT: He can trust that you know… That you’ve been there before.

BB: He says he does, and I believe him (laughs). But, yeah, I absolutely think it’s a big, big key. Ben Evans and Brandon Robinson are another great example. Ben still actively rides quite a bit, and that's really that's really cool. And even though it's just at a fun level and a lower level, that helps Brandon. I would like to believe that still helps those those guys

AFT: Right – and also having Kayl (Kolkman) working on his bike, who’ll still go out and run up near the front a couple times a year.

BB: Bingo. That’s a great example. I feel like actively riding at just some level provides a big advantage to their rider.

AFT: Speaking of Chase, tell me it’s like working with him. How is he similar or different from some of the other guys you’ve worked with previously? 

BB: The differences between him and most of the other riders is that Chase doesn't worry about what's on his motorcycle for wheels or suspension or engine or pipe or… He doesn't care, he just doesn't. Whether that's because he trusts me, which I'd like to believe he does, or he's just that kid that literally rides this bike. He's so simple. He makes it very easy to work with him.

On the flip side, sometimes he doesn't give me the best feedback because he doesn't know a lot about the mechanics of the motorcycle, which I think is a good thing, I really do.

And I think sometimes he doesn't want to make me feel bad. I don't even know if that's true, but I feel like he doesn't want to ever tell me, “This isn’t worth a darn today,” I think he cares about my feelings a little bit.

So he's very easy to work with and really respectful. I tell this story all the time. He’s 19 years old, and I'm 44 years old, and he's the one who has to put his arm around me when we're having a bad day: “It's okay, dude, we’ll get ‘em next week,” when I’m pouting a little bit (laughs).

It's kind of funny. He does keep the whole deal together. His attitude is so good. Way better than mine. Way better than mine used to be, and still better than mine today. He's an exceptional young man.

AFT: That is funny because my next question was going to be how you managed his emotions – kept him focused and confident – when he had that long string of near misses before getting his first win. But it sounds like maybe it was the other way around.

BB: It was. It really was. I mean, you could tell… there’s no question that it bothered him. But by the time the SuperTwins race was over, so let’s say, it’s 30 minutes after the Singles race, he was already joking around and being his normal self and talking about next week.

But for 20 or 30 minutes, he was definitely a little upset – steam coming off of his head and stuff – which is cool, I get it. But he never really let it get to him to the point where he let all of us know. He's very good at not showing his cards like that. Like I said, he’s an exceptional young man. I help him for two reasons – 30% is what he can do on a motorcycle and 70% is how he treats me off the track. That’s the truth.

AFT: So how rewarding was it when you started reeling in those wins?

BB: It was super rewarding. I tell everybody that's a part of this race team, “We’re doing this for Chase.” It's all for Chase, and it's all to see him smile.

Texas was Texas and because of the situation with all the red flags and the weather, we didn't actually complete the race. So no victory laps, no smokey burnouts, nothing fun. But then when he did it again – and did it again, it was getting to be a lot of fun.

But as you start winning races your expectations get higher. So when you don't win it gets a little more frustrating.

Again though, it was so rewarding because Mike Turner grabbed this kid when he was an amateur and let me work with him at Turner Racing, and then we’ve continued that to today. Chase and I feel like we’ve been together a long time. It’s been his entire professional career. Hopefully, it's a long-term deal like the Kenny Tolbert and Jared Mees thing.

AFT: No one is really making 2025 announcements just yet, but it seems pretty obvious that, at minimum, you’ll be working with Chase again next year. 

BB: We are together for next year. We're working out the details, and I would say in the very near future we'll have some exciting news. For now, I can tell you that he and I are going racing together in a bigger, more fine-tuned capacity than we were last year.

I'm really excited. He’s just fun to be around. I’m getting older, and all the traveling in the summertime – let's be real – that kind of gets old real quick. But I look forward to seeing him every weekend. We have a great time, we really do.

AFT: Okay, time for the '+2 Laps,' ie., the bonus questions: 1: Can you name an interest or hobby of yours that is completely removed from racing, engines, and wheels?

BB: (Laughs). Yeah, there’s not many anymore, but walleye fishing here on Saginaw Bay. I live three miles from one of the best walleye fisheries in the world. So as much as we can go, my wife and I go fishing. I take my dad sometimes, and I take Chase.

So that's something that's fun. Although it’s not as relaxing as it used to be because it turns into a competition. I’m looking forward to doing a little bit more of that. Now that Jared’s retired, maybe I can take him fishing. He seems to be quite the fisherman now, so I’m excited about that.

AFT: And last one: What would be your death-row style last meal?

BB: (Pause). Probably some Oreos. Yeah. I can tell when Chase wants something because he brings Bryan some Oreos.