As every other Mid-American Stock Car racer drove through the checkered flag at the Oktoberfest race in LaCrosse, Saturday, one word came to Jason Taghikhani's mind: bittersweet.

Taghikhani, a College of Engineering senior, could not complete the race due to a cut tire his car sustained eight laps into this final race. However, he placed third in point standings for the overall season and earned Rookie-of-the-Year status in the series.

"Now that the season is over we can look at where we went wrong," he said. "Overall it was a bumpy road filled with many highs and lows. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and improve next year."

And Taghikhani intends to do just that.

Despite Saturday's mishaps, Taghikhani is pleased with his run this season and is looking forward to racing in a new series, the American Speed Association series, next season.

The move will be a challenge to Taghikhani because these cars require a different driving style, engineering and mechanics. But it will also move him forward in his driving career. The ASA series is more regional, which means Taghikhani will be traveling to tracks outside of Wisconsin and Illinois. The races are also broadcast on the SPEED Channel, a cable racing network. Several well-known NASCAR drivers got their start in the ASA series, including Mark Martin.

Taghikhani is selling the two stock cars he used this past season so he can buy new cars for next season. He already owns his own trailer, truck, shop and tool sets.

While his car is for sale and the season is on hiatus, he is planning to relax and prepare for the next season.

"It was a long and tough season, and we're all glad to have some time off now," he said.

This was the first time Taghikhani raced a full season in the Mid-American series, although he had raced partial seasons in the two years prior to this season. Before that, he raced street stock car races eight times to learn how to drive and get some practice.

"We rented a track down in southeastern Wisconsin, raced it for a week, did terrible for six weeks than ran a few races," he said.

In addition to practice runs, Taghikhani has gotten practice during races, especially in crashes.

He was involved in several crashes for the first time this season, which gave him more perspective on his task as a driver.

"It's fun for the fans to watch, but not fun for the driver and crew," he said.

This past July, Taghikhani was driving at least 100 miles per hour when he hit the wall in Kaukauna.

"I can remember everything exactly until I hit the wall," he said. "Two cars were going together at the wrong place and at the wrong time, and I hit the wall head on."

As soon as the crash happened, Taghikhani radioed his crew to let them know he was OK and then moved his fingers and toes. Although his crew panicked at first, once he told them he was okay they relaxed.

"I wasn't sure how bad it was or if he had gotten hurt, but I know better now that with safety equipment, his chances of getting hurt are pretty low," said Tom Reiss, a pit crew member and a 2005 alumnus of the College of Engineering.

He also hit the wall at the Milwaukee Mile earlier this season, damaging his car. But Taghikhani said hard work and practice will carry him through the upcoming seasons and closer to his goal.

"I'm hoping I can race for the rest of my life, but that's everyone's dream that is racing now," he said. "So I'm gonna work towards it until I realize it can't happen."