News Director 
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / FREMONT, OH – Two Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions appearances in Western Pennsylvania resulted in two main event starts for the “Texas Traveler” T.J. Michael; a momentum boost that was just as valuable on the race track as it was off.
Michael, who is currently seventh in the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions title chase on the strength of ten main event starts in 14 tries, joined “America’s Series” at Lernerville Speedway and Mercer Raceway Park during his Western Pennsylvania stint, finishing 17th during each program. The Texas native advanced a total of four positions in the process, all amongst fields of 42 and 34, respectively.
“We needed a weekend like that, for sure,” T.J. Michael explained. “More so than not, text results are deceiving. We battled hard all weekend and we’re proud of what we accomplished. Things were pretty tough for us for a while, but I think we found where we need to be with our race team. I can’t thank my guys enough for working as hard as they do. Hopefully we can keep this momentum boost going during our trip west.”
T.J. Michael, the 2016 Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Rookie of the Year runner-up, will rejoin “America’s Series” on Friday through Sunday, June 9-11, for a trio of events in areas of Illinois and Iowa. Michael and the Arctic Cat All Stars will visit Lincoln (IL) Speedway, Macon (IL) Speedway and 34 (IA) Raceway, respectively, during the upcoming weekend, each awarding $5,000 top prizes, as well as full points toward the 2017 Series championship.
“We have a long season ahead of us. I’m confident we are a top-five team in the Series championship. We need to take advantage of every lap,” T.J. Michael said.
