More than 6,000 miles and several tanks of gas later, Casco’s Coy Vlies found himself in the ultimate victory lane last Sunday. After winning season titles at Luxy Raceway in Luxemburg and 141 Speedway in Francis Creek, Vlies drove his way around a late crash in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, to win the IMCA national title in Northern SportMods.

The achievement is not lost on Vlies, who followed his father’s lead and got into racing at a young age. After a winning streak to start the season, Vlies added trips to Minnesota and Iowa to his calendar to earn enough points in the standings to make Sunday’s championship a reality.

Thanks to his sponsors, an understanding boss and a lot of time behind the wheel and under the hood, Vlies said he could not be happier with how the most competitive part of his season concluded.

Vlies is not done getting behind the wheel. He will participate in this weekend’s annual Spooky Showdown presented by Rendezvous of Luxemburg. Race time is 6:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday.

Vlies will also race at 141 Speedway next weekend before calling it a year.