June 11, 2025 | By Lyndal Scranton

Luttjohann living his dream driving USRA Stock Car Inbox

WHEATLAND, Mo.—Allen Luttjohann is not your typical rookie in the O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars division at Lucas Oil Speedway, mainly because he’s 55 years old with five grandchildren and another on the way.

But Luttjohann is doing his best to keep up with the younger competition as he’s living out his racing dreams. The results are more than respectable. He's third in track points entering this Saturday’s Pitts Homes and Realty Weekly Racing Series program.

“It’s not gone as good as I was hoping, but this is my first year in a full-bodied stock car, so I’m still kind of getting used to it,” said Luttjohann, who is five-for-five in top-10 finishes, including a pair of fourth-place runs in the highly competitive division.

The Republic resident made the move to Stock Cars this year after spending seven seasons driving Midwest Mods. He won a feature in 2022 at Springfield Raceway, where he’s done the majority of his racing since first climbing behind the wheel of a race car in his late 40s.

When Luttjohann sold his bass boat and bought a race car, he said it was his chance to chase a long-time dream.

“I’ve always loved racing. I remember going to the (Springfield) Fairgrounds when I was a kid watching Larry Phillips, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Dick Trickle, all those guys,” Luttjohann said. “I just always loved racing, but ... I didn’t want to waste my money racing while trying to raise a family.

“After my kids got grown and out of high school, I had a good friend who raced and he died. That's when I decided that I wanted to give it a try. My wife (Serena) told me to go ahead.”

Luttjohann said he’s done most of the maintenance on his car over the years as he learned the ins and outs of racing Midwest Mods, but credits veteran Ozarks-area racer Rob Muilenburg “with helping me out tremendously” over the last few years.

“We pitted next to each other at Springfield and I got to know him pretty good. He helped me out a lot,” Luttjohann said of Muilenburg. “He always told me, ‘I’ll tell you honest. I won’t lie to you. I’ll help you out the best I can.’”

The decision to move into Stock Cars was sparked by a trip to Lucas Oil Speedway last season and watching the division, plus experiencing rising costs in the Midwest Mod class.

“I always loved this class,” he said of the USRA Stock Cars. "I love the Super Stocks also. I kind of got tired of the Mid Mod thing that was going on. It was supposed to have been an entry level, at least where they’re not spending a ton of money. But it kind of got way out of hand the last few years and I kind of got fed up with trying to keep up with those guys.

“I went up to Lucas on night and was like ‘I want to race these.’ I talked to my wife and she was like ‘if you find one, go ahead.’”

Luttjohann bought a Stock Car from Camdenton’s Waylon Dimmitt and credits Dimmitt with giving him helpful advice. Driving the full-bodied car has been quite an adjustment, though.

"It’s a totally different driving style,” Luttjohann said. “A modified, you kind of throw it in there and it’ll stick. These cars you can’t do that. If you do, it’s not gonna be good. I have a good car. Just learning to drive the car is my biggest thing. I’ll still catch myself driving it like a Modified and that just doesn’t work.”

As for his car number, Luttjohann said his daughter picked out 23 after he sold his boat.

“Before I started racing I was bass fishing a lot, did some tournaments here and there. My daughter really loves to go fishing and she got mad at me because I decided to sell the boat to buy a race car,” Luttjohann said. “She said if you’re gonna do that, I get to pick the number. That’s the number she liked.”

Luttjohann is sponsored by KennCo Construction and Yocum Automotive.

“I just want to get better,” he said of goals for the rest of the season. “I have to give a lot of credit to Waylon Dimmitt. He’s helped me a bunch this year, plus I couldn’t do all this without the support of my wife, Serenna.”

Boats and dirt action this weekend: Fans can double up their fun at Lucas Oil Speedway this weekend with racing action scheduled on both the water and the dirt. Lake Lucas roars to life for the first time in 2025 as the Kentucky Drag Boat Association pays the first of three visits with the KDBA Summer Thunder on Friday and Saturday.

Three rounds of qualifying are set for Friday with spectator gates opening at 9 a.m. at the drag-boat facility. On Saturday, gates open at 9 with eliminations tentatively set to begin at 9:30 a.m.

For more information on the KDBA, visit kydragboat.com.

On the dirt track Saturday night, the Pitts Homes and Realty Weekly Racing Series returns as the O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars will run a special 25-lap feature for $750 to win. The Hermitage Lumber Late Models, Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds, Clear Creek Golf Car B-Mods and the Hickamo Super Stocks also will be in action.

Gates for the dirt track open at 4 p.m. Saturday with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7.

Fans purchasing drag boat tickets will be admitted free to the dirt track action.


Drag Boat Admission

Friday:

2-day pit pass - $35
General admission (6 and up) - $15
Kids (5-and-under) - FREE


Saturday:

Pit pass admission - $20 (includes entry to dirt track event)
General admission (6 and up) - $15
Kids (5 and under) - FREE


Combo Event (Drag Boat and Dirt Track)

Adults General Admission combo (13 and up) - $20 
Seniors (62 and up) / Military GA Combo - $17
Youth GA Combo (6-12) - $20
Kids GA Combo (age 5 and under) - FREE
Family Pass GA Combo (Includes Admission for 2 Adults and Up to 2 Kids, ages 6-12) - $60 


Dirt Track Admission

General Admission (ages 6 and up) - $5
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Pit Pass - $35


Recliner giveaway for Father's Day: To celebrate Fathers's Day Weekend, all dads are invited to sign up for a chance to win a recliner, courtesy of Jamie Scott of Scott's furniture in Osceola. A drawing will be held during intermission to determine the winner.

For information on admission or camping for any Lucas Oil Speedway event in 2025, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or email her at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.