One thing Loverude isn’t doing is masking his competitive side and his will to win.

He’s been successful at showing that side also as of late. Loverude has put on the best run of his racing career so far at Arlington Raceway this season in the Ottomotive Tire Repair IMCA Modifieds series, racking up a six-race win streak.

“Before this … the most I’d ever won in a row is two,” Loverude said. “And usually I just couldn’t quite get to a third. Kind of had a goal coming into this year, I wanted to win at least 10 races all year and at least three in a row at one point in time, just try to get that monkey off my back.”

That “monkey” has been having trouble keeping up with Loverude ever since his win streak started on July 6 at Arlington Raceway. Loverude didn’t have too much ground to gain in that race as he started second, but that start was the beginning of something special.

Photos courtesy of Sarah Moriarty/Arlington Raceway Above: Trent Loverude competes during a race at Arlington Raceway in Arlington, Minnesota, on June 8, 2024.

Since then, Loverude has won each race he’s been in at Arlington Raceway, routinely starting in the No. 7 or 8 position.

Loverude has not been without success prior to this year, qualifying for the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals in Boone, Iowa, in 2020 and 2021 and qualifying for the Race of Champions in 2021. He also qualified for the Super Nationals All-Star Race in 2022.

Even with those accomplishments, however, it certainly is hard to deny the current run he’s been on.

What’s the secret?

“I’ve been trying to figure it out,” Loverude said. “I think a lot of it’s preparation during the week, stuff like that. … I make sure my car is pretty well perfect, everything’s been looked at, been gone through, I don’t have to worry about a part failure or anything like that. I’ve got guys at Harris [Auto Racing], who build the car, with Kyle [Brown], who owns Harris, him and I being as a close as we are, I talk to him quite a few times a week and kind of just making sure that the race car is kind of where I want it and it’s going to kind of give you the feedback or the feelings in the car that you need to kind of push and drive harder just to try to be faster.

Below right: Loverude, back, races alongside Dan Menk during a race at Arlington Raceway on May 11, 2024.

“When you can drive really, really hard right on that line of either you’re going to make it through the corner and be really fast or you might spin out, if you can do that really consistently, you can string together a lot of good laps and good laps get you out front. I’ve been able to stay kind of right on that line all year of just very, very consistently being able to ride that line, that very fine line.”

Loverude’s IMCA Modified race car features a GM Performance Crate Engine, with the front stub of a ’68-’72 Chevelle. The rest of the car is custom manufactured by Harris Auto Racing of out Boone, Iowa, who Loverude has been racing for since 2011.

Loverude’s interest in watching races and being around cars started at a young age, which got him to pursue getting behind the wheel to race as soon as he could drive. Before Loverude could do that, however, he had to convince his parents.

“My parents really liked going to the races all the time,” Loverude said. “So I remember from when I was really, really young, we’d go quite often on Sundays to Redwood [Falls] and watch. Then my dad started working at 3M and worked with a guy who owned a sprint car team, and I was pretty young at that time, I started kind of going along with them and got an opportunity to help once in a while.

“I was probably 12 years old, just helping them out and trying to learn. I started bugging my parents that I wanted to race and I just think they finally caved and started listening to me bugging them to race and bought me a [B-mod] car, let me start racing and the rest is history.”

Loverude said when it comes to getting on the track and competing, he doesn’t plan too far ahead. Instead he’s focused on whatever car is in front of him, which motivates him to keep pushing.

“If it’s somebody I’ve got pass for a position or if it’s a lap car, a car that I can see I’m a half a lap ahead of, it kind of gets to, ‘OK, how fast can I catch them and can I get around them,'” Loverude said.

Loverude’s prep work for his races this year have clearly made an impact, but he’s also learned from prior years how to finish races out stronger.

“I’ve caught myself in years past of you get out front, you kind of get complacent, you don’t push as hard, you worry about just hanging on to winning or hanging on to being in the lead,” Loverude said. “I’ve kind of switched to — just need to keep working forward. You can’t go backwards if you’re going forwards.”

After earning win No. 8 on the season and his sixth in a row on Aug. 10, Loverude is set to race again in Arlington on Aug. 17 on Deals & Steals Night. As he looks to push his win streak to seven, he’d like to be at the top of the points standings again this year in Arlington and compete in another Super Nationals championship race.