By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

It's not that Matthew Crowell didn't like racing.

Actually, he loves it. But it also is a grind for a teenager to compete during three straight nights of hobby stock racing, then get back for school the following Monday.

"It was pretty tough," said Crowell, who lives near Clearwater and goes to high school in Goddard. "After school was out on Friday, I'd be at home at 3 p.m. and get the car loaded and we'd hit the road. Then we'd travel Saturday to race, too, and Sunday. I'd sleep in the truck on Sunday nights on the way home. It was tough."

But now Crowell isn't nearly as hurried. School's out, and he has more time to concentrate on racing during the weekends.

He gets another chance to compete beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday at RPM Speedway in Hays. Crowell and the hobby stocks will be joined by modifieds, stocks and sport compacts on Friday night.

"With school being out, I can focus more on racing and getting the car ready for the next weekend," the 16-year-old said.

Hays has a special place in Crowell's heart. That's where he got his first feature win in the hobby stock class. It came Aug. 29 in his first year of racing in the division.

Crowell is third in the hobby stock standings entering Friday night. His 104 points in three races are second only to B.J. Dauer -- who was won all three this year -- and Josh Latka (109). Jerry Hudson is fourth with 103, followed by Ricky Runnion with 100.

"Hays is probably my favorite track," Crowell said. "Mom and Dad have family out there, and they all come out to see me there -- and everywhere else for that matter. They know how to set up the track and have great facilities."

Crowell won rookie of the year honors in the IMCA Northern Region a year ago, and it came as a bit of a surprise to him.

"When I started last year, I didn't think of anything like that," he said. "In the beginning of the year, we just wanted to play with the tracks and see what happened. As the season was winding down, I saw I was up there in points."

Crowell is trying to make a strong run in the hobby stock IMCA points this season. That's why you'll see him competing at several tracks throughout northwest Kansas, including WaKeeney Speedway, Thomas County Speedway in Colby and the dirt track in Minneapolis.

"Being able to just run more than one track is why I chose the IMCA stuff," said Crowell, who said he might move up to the sport mod class next year. "You don't learn anything by just racing one track each week. ... You can learn to set up a car differently at tracks."

Crowell, who finished eight at the May 15 race at RPM, is coming off a third- and seventh-place finish Sunday and Monday night at WaKeeney.

Now he's focused on another busy weekend of racing, beginning Friday night in Hays.

And those long road trips will be a lot more enjoyable with his family in tow once again.

"Just being with family and having them on the team and not sitting on the bench," Crowell said about why he likes racing compared to other sports. "I'm with family every weekend, and it's just great time with my family."