Lee’s Erik Worster was racing in the Big Enduro class on Wednesday nights at Hermon’s Speedway 95 five years ago. It was his first year of racing.

Just five years later, Worster finds himself leading the points in Saturday night’s top division, the Sportsman class.

“I’ve moved up pretty fast,” acknowledged the 24-year-old Worster, who now lives in Bangor.

He spent three seasons in the Big Enduro class although he also ran in the Strictly Street division on Saturday nights his third year.

“I used the same car in the Big Enduros and the Strictly Streets,” said Worster referring to his 1992 Ford Thunderbird.

That same year, he also ran on Thursday nights at Unity Raceway from time to time.

He moved up to Limiteds last season and then to the Sportsman division this season.

He has two wins during the 2005 campaign and has been a model of consistency with 10 top-five finishes in 12 races.

“I’m very happy. When you start in a new division, you go for a top five finish in points. A top three would be good and winning the championship would be a great thing,” said Worster.

“I’ve been able to use the car I ran in Limiteds last year. I got a bigger engine for it and there’s bigger tires on it and stuff,” said Worster about his Chevy Monte Carlo with a brand new chassis.

He is enjoying life in the fast lane.

“I like running the Pro Stock car better than the Limited car. I got used to it. The car has bigger tires and it’s faster [than the limited car]. It feels like it has more grip and power,” said Worster. “I like how the car feels.”

He added that the class is more competitive than the Limited class and “people respect you a lot more.”

Worster has been a race fan since he was a youngster.

“My uncle, Greg Worster, used to race in the hobby division,” he said. “I’ve always loved racing. I like the smell of the new paint on the car and the smell of fuel burning. But I never thought it was anything I could ever do.”

That changed when one of his buddies, John Curtis, also a racer, convinced him to give it a shot.

His first Enduro car was a 1986 Pontiac Grand Am.

He ran respectably in his first season, finishing 10th in points. He was third in points the next season and he captured the points championship in the Big Enduros his third year. He also finished third in Strictly Streets that year and was rookie of the year.

Between all of his racing during his third season, he collected seven wins and 25 top-10s.

Worster was third in Limiteds with one win last season among his seven top-three finishes. He was the rookie of the year.

For the 1999 Lee Academy graduate, racing is very much a family affair.

His parents, Bryant and Ellen, and his fianc?e, Katie Rawcliffe, help him out, as does his friend Matt Hamor. Worster keeps his car at Hamor’s garage in Glenburn where they work on it.

His brother, Kraig, used to work on the car with them but has since moved to Alabama.

Worster, who has two degrees from Bangor’s Eastern Maine Community College (machine tool and business management), would love to run the Pro All-Stars Series tour in the near future and his “absolute goal” is to move south and try to crack the NASCAR ranks.

But for the time being, “I just want to keep moving up” said Worster, who is a welder by trade at Collabric in Veazie.

He said he is hoping to run at least one of the two PASS races at Speedway 95 (Aug. 21 and Sept. 11). He is pretty sure he will run the September race.

He added that in order to run the full PASS tour in the future, he will need to obtain sponsorship.