Tristan Dupuis

 

When thinking of 1990’s Asphalt stock car racing in Michigan, one name stands out on the win list at speedways from tip of the mitt all the way past the Indiana border. That name is Tristan Dupuis.

 

Hailing from Iron Mountain in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Tristan didn’t grow up in a traditional racing family, but he always had an interest in mechanics and engineering. That passion took a turn at the age of twelve when his older brother Tyronne took him to Dickinson County Speedway, a ¼ mile dirt track just north of the Wisconsin border (now the asphalt Norway, Speedway). By age 16, he was itching to take to the track. So much so, that after the races one night, Tristan snuck the ’62 Chevy 2 that was on loan from the local dealership at which he worked out onto the track and began making laps in the used passenger car until he got caught and was asked to leave and not return.

 

After graduating from Michigan Tech with his engineering degree and landing his first career job at Dart Container just outside of Lansing, Michigan, Tristan found himself just a few miles from the ¼ mile paved oval of Spartan Speedway. Soon the urge to race was too great and halfway through the 1987 season he began competing at Spartan Speedway in the Street Stock division in the now infamous gold #4.

For the 1988 season, Tristan began to think of racing as more than just a Friday night hobby. Although still not ready to commit too much financially, instead sourcing all of his tires for the season from various dumpster piles and scuffing them enough to get some traction. Tristan began racing Motocross in Brighton on Wednesday nights, Dixie Motor Speedway on Thursdays, Spartan on Friday, he would hit whatever track had a good Street Stock payout in Indiana on Saturday’s and then Sundays were spent racing at Galesburg and eventually clinched his first championship at Spartan and in 1989 quit his job to go full time racing.

 

In 1990, although not racing all week long, Dupuis still retained a very busy racing schedule. Building what would be his car for nearly the remainder of his career. It started as a Sportsman, but eventually that same car saw victory lane in everything from Sportsman, Limited Late Model to Super Late Model and was the car that Tristan clinched the 1995 Owosso Speedway Late Model Championship in.

That thirst for winning along with Tristan’s calculated driving style were the perfect combination to appeal to Jaxport Dwarf Car’s and in the mid-90’s they hired Tristan to pilot the #43 house car. Each time a new car rolled out their doors, Tristan would deliver it to the new driver, helping with set up and the first race out was with Tristan behind the wheel to prove that each race car was a winner.

In 1998 Tristan also got involved in Enduro racing, a form of motorsport that was well suited for Dupuis’ assertive yet conscious driving style as he went on to win numerous $10,000 event at Kalamazoo Speedway as well as a host of others at Galesburg Speedway.

 

The 1999 season saw Tristan take the leap into a points chase when he joined an A.S.A. (American Speed Association) team competing in the series for two and a half seasons. Although Tristan’s time in A.S.A. was filled with what he calls “just a string of bad luck”, he still ended his rookie season with a top-10 points finish racing against the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Cywinski, the Sauters, Gary St. Amant, and Joey Clanton. In 2000 Dupuis captured his first series victory at the Minnesota State Fair.

 

With over 300 A-Main wins over his 13-year career, Dupuis truly is an accomplished driver, and amazing representative of Michigan Auto Racing modern history, Tristan Dupuis would be a wonderful addition to the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame.