Tyler Rypkema remembers being a kid watching his father race and sitting in the grandstands playing with his Ole Blue No. 3 die-cast car.
Now the 27-year old from Owego, N.Y. will get a chance to drive the real thing.
Boehler Racing Enterprises owner Mike Boehler confirmed to RaceDayCT on Friday morning that Rypkema will take over his ride for the final five events on the Whelen Modified Tour schedule this season.
“It’s kind of a perfect fit,” Boehler told RaceDayCT. “He knows the tracks, so that learning curve is out in not grabbing a rookie. He’s got a bunch of top-fives and top-10’s with his own stuff. With our notebook and guidance and [crew members] Greg [Fournier] and Scott [Richards] kind of working over the next five races with him hopefully that will lead into something for next year. That would be the goal.”
Rypkema will make his debut for the team in the Whelen Modified Tour Eddie Partridge 256 at Riverhead (N.Y.) Raceway on Sept. 14.
“We’re excited as all get out,” Rypkema told RaceDayCT. “There’s not another car in the field that has the history of [that] car. I grew up in the grandstands playing with their Modified [die-cast] while watching my father race.”
Rypkema was the 2020 Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year. He has 65 series starts for his family owned team since 2018. He has seven top-five finishes, 23 top-10’s and two poles. He has started nine of the 11 events this season on the Whelen Modified Tour with one top-five and three top-10’s.
Jake Johnson started the first 10 events of the season for Boehler Racing Enterprises, and scored his first series victory with the team on May 4 at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, N.H. Johnson, who had run part-time with the team in 2022 and 2023, stepped away from the ride following the Aug. 14 event at Thompson Speedway. Bobby Santos III drove for the team in Saturday’s event at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway.
“Literally, never in my lifetime have I ever driven anyone’s car but our own,” Rypkema said. “… It’s just become so tough to be able to maintain everything and work … it comes down to just time. So it seemed like a really good deal for both of us. Mike was looking for somebody with some experience on the tracks. It didn’t seem like he wanted to get some new young blood kid, he wanted somebody with some track experience on the Tour. So I think it’s a really good fit. It’s going to be a different mindset for me driving for somebody else. It’s not our stuff, it’s theirs. And obviously when you have a car owner involved they’re looking for performance and all that, so there’s a little bit more on the line for sure. I’m stepping into a car that’s proven. It’s won this year, they’ve been really fast, so there’s a level of what to expect.”
Said Boeher: “It’s a tough situation with everything that happened, but I think this will be a perfect fit to work with somebody young and energetic that wants to win on the [Whelen Modified Tour] and move things forward. The guys are pumped up to have somebody that has the experience at tracks and wants to run up front and win races. That’s what we’re about. It took us a while to get back to victory lane with Jake [Johnson] but I believe we can definitely do it again with Tyler so we’re excited.”
Wish them luck – I think the kid has the $$ that the 3 needs to keep going