Trent Young needs only one word—“amazing”—to describe his 2018 season so far. But the list of people he credits for helping him achieve that success is considerably longer.

The American Modified Series veteran currently sits 110 points clear of second place atop the standings and ranks third nationally in the UMP DIRTcar Modified standings heading into this weekend’s trio of AMS races in Central Illinois, beginning tonight at Farmer City Speedway, followed by trip to Fairbury's American Legion Speedway on Saturday, and a $3,000-to-win finale at Fayette County Speedway on Sunday.

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However, it’s a far cry from the position the 33-year-old from Crofton, Kentucky, found himself last season, both on and off the track.

Young finished the 2017 AMS points race in a distant eighth place and slipped back to 16th overall in UMP Modified national standings after climbing all the way to third in 2016—results the two-time AMS champion considered disappointing, albeit understandable, given the stress and sense of worry his team and close friends were experiencing at the time.

Last summer, Young’s crew chief and team member of six years, David Colyer, was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away this January at age 52.

“I don't even know how to describe how much time me and him spent together,” Young said. “He was my only employee, so me and him worked every single day together. He actually lived on our farm here in one of our houses. And we would come home, both of us would eat, clean up a little bit, and he'd go to the race shop with me every single night. And then he drove the hauler; he worked on the cars. Like I said, he was a major, major part of my racing program for a long time.”

Young knew the loss of such a close friend and integral crew member meant huge changes were in store for his Hopkinsville, KY-based team. But he could not have predicted just how much his collection of volunteers would step up during his remarkable turnaround this season. 

In 17 AMS and non-series races, Young has 16 top-fives and seven wins—including a victory at the AMS season-opener at Windy Hollow Speedway in Owensboro, KY, on April 20. 

“It's really helped take a lot of stress off and just be more focused on our racing program,” Young said. “It's also sad at the same time because I really miss him being here for this success, you know, because that was our thing. I know he's smiling down but every time I win I'm used to having him be the first person I see when it's over because he’s always my stick guy and  gave me signals and everything—so it's bittersweet I guess.”

Along with his crew, Young also credits car owner David Mitchell for his continued support of the team this year. Mitchell is a driver himself but is taking some time off after suffering a bad crash last year. 

In turn, the duo has pooled extra resources into Young’s pursuit of a third title, including a new chassis for his car.

“I can't thank all the guys that have stepped up helping me enough,” Young said. “I think that's the biggest reason for our success is the amount of help that I'm getting from my crew guys helping me keep things maintained during the week and allowing me to focus on what I need to focus on as a driver and getting the car set up and stuff.”

Young raced back-to-back nights at Farmer City and Kickapoo in Illinois this past weekend, coming away with a fourth-place finish on Friday and second place on Saturday in an AMS-sanctioned event, respectively.

If his impressive results continue to roll in this summer, Young may also be able to look ahead to even bigger goals—such as racing for a national championship.

“It looks like it’s definitely possible,” Young said. “We could go that route later in the year if we can keep things going the way they are. I don't see any reason that we wouldn't at least be in contention. Some of the guys that are normally the ones you’ve got to beat have had a little bit slower start to their years than usual, so it's kind of making it where it looks like it is a possibility. 

Until Young has to decide on how heavily he and his team will invest in Summer Nationals events, his primary focus is finishing atop the AMS once again, starting with this weekend's triple-header in Illinois and followed by a huge $15,000-to-win event at Tyler County Speedway next week in Middlebourne, WV. (Watch LIVE on FloRacing)

This Friday and Saturday, the series is scheduled to make its first of two stops this season at Farmer City and American Legion Speedway, respectively. Meanwhile, Fayette County is slated to host the second of its three AMS races on Sunday.

Earlier this month, Young finished runner-up to Mike Harrison, the three-time reigning UMP DIRTcar Modified national champion, at the Brownstown, IL, track after Harrison went out front on lap 19 and led for the remainder of the race.

Altogether, Harrison has won three of the last four AMS races at Fayette County; however, Young believes he and his crew will present another stiff challenge for the Highland, IL, native in his home state.

“He’s just got so many laps around the place,” Young said. “And on top of being Mike Harrison, he just finds his way to the front no matter what. We've been there several times, and it wasn't like he started on the front row and had it easy. He's worked for it and we've been really good there. I think we came outrun him there. ... It's a fun, racey track and I'm looking forward to it. The only problem with that is that it's the last night of the weekend and everybody's tired and you've already beat your car up for two nights. That's the toughest part of beating him there.”

The American Modified Series at Fayette County is streaming LIVE on FloRacing this Sunday. Sign up here to watch!