Ryan Preece is the consummate racer. It’s not only his career choice, it’s the driving force that fuels his passion for winning.
The NASCAR Next alum began racing full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in 2007. The following year, he became the youngest driver in the series history to capture a pole. Preece won the championship in 2013 and claimed another first as the youngest champion in NWMT history. No stranger to winning, he moved up to the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2016, driving the No. 01 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports, where he faces the biggest challenge of his career.
Accustomed to winning, he moved up to the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2016, driving the No. 01 Chevrolet for JD Motorsports, where he faces the biggest challenge of his career.
His season has been one of ups and downs and Preece is currently 18th in the XFINITY Series point standings. In 12 starts, his best finish was at Talladega where he finished 15th. It was his fourth top 20 finish this year.
I spoke to Preece about the different aspects of transitioning from the NWMT to competing in the XFINITY Series and why he still continues to race modifieds at every opportunity.
The trick, he says, is “managing expectations. Every week, we’re pretty much in that bubble where it’s 24th–18th. When you’re racing against teams that have quite a huge budget, our goal is, with everything we’re doing, maximizing what we can.“
“That’s why I still race my modifieds quite often, to manage the part of me that’s a racer and wants to win races. At the end of the day, racing against JGR, Roush and a lot of teams that have a lot of manufacturer support; I wouldn’t say we don’t have manufacturer support because we do. Chevy’s been really great to us, but their budgets are probably 10 times what ours is. It’s kind of hard to race against that.
“But like I said, that’s why I race modifieds, to fuel the fire in me that wants to win.”
Preece also explained how racing modifieds is a way for him to keep his confidence level high.
“Because it’s my first year full time, every time you get out of the car you’re looking at the speed charts and saying ‘hey, what can I do here? What am I doing wrong?’ Every race car I’ve ever been in my entire life, it’s usually been one of the quicker cars to winning races. Right now, not having that, you sit back, you look back and wonder, ‘Where are we missing this, what am I doing wrong?’
“That’s why I have to keep racing. I have to keep racing modified, I’ve got to keep racing whatever I can to keep winning races because it’ll mentally beat me up if I don’t.”
While racing on a limited budget against cars with more horsepower is not ideal, Preece maintains that being competitive on the track is a combination of several factors.
“To be honest with you,” he says, “I’m more of a person that’s going to say car goes 100 times further than motor. With the tapered spacer they run, horsepower is almost irrelevant. You’re on the throttle for so long especially with how much aero plays, you’re not out of the gas very much so that’s really the big thing.
“These cars have come so far as far as how they’re set up. Ten years ago, 15 years ago, everybody used to call them taxi cabs because they used to roll over, drive different. Now they’re pretty immaculate right off the truck. You’re really nitpicking for everything you can get.
“These cars that are top five, they’re nearly perfect. When you got a perfect race car, it’s hard to beat them. It’s the little things you got to start looking for.”
Preece compares it to a puzzle and he’s quickly learning how all the pieces fit together.
“There are always things I need to work on. I’d say right now it’s a lack of going to the racetracks experience. Even though I’m getting better with mile-and-a-half tracks, that’s something I’ve probably only gone to about six or seven times my entire racing career. I like them a lot but right now it’s just trying to find the feel we need. We’re getting closer, still just trying to find that feel because if you can’t find that feeling, if you don’t know what you’re searching for, it’s a struggle to find what you want and what you need.
“I’m starting to learn that with these cars. The way these cars are set up, how I would go about it in my modifieds is totally different than this. So understanding the pieces of the puzzle, to break down what I’m feeling on the racetrack and relate it to what Zach (McGowan, crew chief) needs to do in the garage, you’ve got to break through that barrier and understand all the different pieces of the puzzle.”
This year will certainly be a season of learning and growth for Preece and his team. But there should be little doubt that Preece will return to his winning ways; he simply won’t accept anything less.
It may be an off-weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but for Chris Buescher, driver of the No. 34 Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports, it is a special one as he pays tribute to his dad for Father’s Day.
“My dad is the reason I am racing,” Buescher said. “He was a hot rod guy growing up, so that’s what I remember is cars in the garage getting taken apart and me helping him.”
“At the end of the day, I’m sure I was slowing him down. But I learned a lot from him and to this day, I still love to work on the stuff in my free time. It is something that me and my dad still enjoy doing.”
“That was the big start for me getting into cars and then racing.”
While Buescher’s love of cars came straight from his father, Chris was the one who ultimately wanted to make those cars go fast.
“Dad had a ‘67 Cobra kit car that he started right about the time I was born,” Buescher said “He finished that car when I was 18 years old. He was pretty hesitant to let me drive that one because knows I’m hard on stuff.”
“One day I decided to take that car out. There in Prosper, Texas where we used to live, you could hear for miles around. The car was extremely loud but I thought I was far enough away from the house where I could lay it down and try to get some speed up.”
“I pulled back in the driveway after my run and he was at the top of the hill with his arms crossed. He was looking at me and he said, ‘So, how fast did you go?’ I told him I didn’t go that fast and he said, ‘Don’t lie to me. I heard you.’ I got busted right there.”
While the love of hot rods still ties father and son together, even to this day, there is also a bit of competitiveness that has emerged between the two.
“Dad’s building a ‘56 Ford Pickup right now,” Buescher said. “I’m building a ‘55 Pickup at the same time so he’s trying to motivate me to get on mine a little bit quicker. He’s keeping me going and pushes me along. But I still might get mine done first.”
Buescher is also grateful to his father for doing a very difficult thing. His mom and dad both agreed to let him go and move to North Carolina when he was just 16 years old to pursue his racing career.
“I know it was hard on both my mom and dad when I moved away,” Buescher said. “But it was a decision we had to think about for a long time and figure out how to make it work out best.”
Buescher actually moved in with David Ragan’s parents and brother Adam in North Carolina. And there he found another father figure in Ken Ragan.
“The Ragans pretty much picked up right where my parents left off,” Buescher said. “They gave me a place to stay and food to eat. I just had to take care of the yard, making sure the grass was mowed.”
“I’d go over to David’s shop and work in the evenings to try to do whatever odds and ends they had there that needed done.”
“The relationship that Ken has with David and Adam was so special. Ken loves racing and seeing David be a part of it, supporting him in any way he can. It was cool to see it because it was very similar to how my dad supported me growing up as well.”
Nowadays, after moving up from the Xfinity Series, where he won several races as well as the championship, Buescher tries to keep up with his dad as much as he can even with his hectic Sprint Cup schedule.
“Dad usually calls me about twice a day,” Buescher said. “I don’t always answer twice a day, which I feel bad about. But we definitely talk after the races and figure out what happened throughout the weekend.”
Those talks are especially important to Buescher as he tries to deal with the ups and downs of being with a smaller team, albeit a Roush Fenway Racing-related team, that has struggled to compete at the front of the pack.
“It’s been a learning curve, which was expected to an extent,” Buescher said of his season to date. “Coming off of last year where we won a handful of races and the championship, I stepped into the Cup side and thought it would be an adjustment and that we’d be running top-ten before you know it.”
“It’s just been hard. There is nothing easy about it. So, we’ve been trying to be patient through the year and make sure we learn as much as possible every race. We also want to learn so that when we come back again, we’ll be ready this year.”
“Those are the things that I talk over with my dad. He keeps me going, even when I have trouble being patient.”
So what does Buescher admire most about his dad?
“He just has a lot of respect for everybody,” Buescher said. “It’s something that I learned growing up, to work hard and respect everybody that you are around.”
“It’s tough to go out there in a competitive environment like we are and try and not lose your cool a lot. But growing up around Dad, I’ve figured out that better things will come back around. It’s just a matter of being patient sometimes and letting it happen.”
While Buescher may not be able to celebrate Father’s Day in person with his dad, especially given his own racing schedule and his parents’ homebuilding business, he will most certainly be in touch, enjoying some Dad time across the miles.
“It’s hard to get together on Father’s Day, even on Mother’s Day,” Buescher said. “Our race schedule is just very difficult.”
“But I certainly will be thinking of him, especially on Father’s Day. And I am so thankful for all that he has done for me and for my racing career.”
Sometimes sponsor and NASCAR relationships just click, which was definitely the case when Kalahari Resorts in the Pocono Mountains decided to sponsor the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet of Ryan Newman.
Come Behind the Scenes this week to learn just how this relationship developed and came together quickly in the Pocono Mountains.
“We could not be more excited to partner with Richard Childress Racing to sponsor Ryan Newman’s No. 31 Chevrolet to bring the spirit of Africa to the Pocono Raceway,” Todd Nelson, owner, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, said. “The Pocono Mountains have been incredibly welcoming and we continue to find new ways to partner with and support the area.”
Don Pleau, General Manager, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, could not agree more with his boss as far as the excitement of Kalahari coming on board with Richard Childress Racing for the Pocono race weekend.
“The Nelson family are the sole proprietors of the Kalahari property,” Pleau said. “It’s a family-owned business and they like to be involved in the community, whatever happens to be prevalent in the area.”
“The ‘Tricky Triangle’ is right around the corner and the Nelson and Igdalsky families at Pocono have sparked a relationship and they have become good friends.”
“Mr. Nelson was introduced to Richard Childress several years ago by Dave Moyer, who is the guy who is doing all the new building earth work on the site here at Kalahari. So, Mr. Nelson and Mr. Childress sparked a relationship and then introduced him to Ryan Newman.”
“And now we’ve got the Kalahari elephant on the No. 31 car.”
The Kalahari sponsorship will not only celebrate the resort itself, with its many indoor and outdoor waterpark attractions but will also showcase the resort’s upcoming anniversary in the area.
“The resort is coming up on its first birthday on July 1st, which will be the first anniversary of the opening of this property,” Pleau said. “We have two sister properties, one in Sandusky that is eleven years old and one in Wisconsin, the flagship property, that is sixteen years old.”
“So, we’re just coming up on our first anniversary and the second wing is going to open in less than 300 days. We have 457 current rooms and we’re adding 520 more rooms.”
“With that, we’ll be America’s largest waterpark. We currently hold that title in Sandusky but we’ll move that to Pennsylvania. We’re also adding four more restaurants as well. We’re basically doubling the size of the resort.”
Pleau’s favorite attraction at Kalahari is most likely the favorite one for many of the resort’s guests, both young and old alike.
“My favorite attraction would definitely by the FlowRider, an attraction in the waterpark where you can actually surf,” Pleau said. “Most people do it on their bellies, like me, but the really good guys can surf while they are standing up. Lessons are available and we actually open the park early and extend the park hours to give lessons.”
“We also have mermaid and merman lessons that we do as well. That’s really neat because there is a tail that you put on and you swim around like a mermaid or merman. That is very popular as well.”
Pleau is not only passionate about his work at Kalahari, having been with the company for over four years, but he is passionate about racing as well.
“I started with Kalahari in Wisconsin as the Food and Beverage Director and I was part of the team that opened this property here in the Poconos as the Corporate Food and Beverage Director,” Pleau said. “At the end of the summer, the Nelsons asked me if I wanted to stay on and become the General Manager and I said ‘Why not?’ My kids are both in college and so we’re empty nesters.”
“So, we were up for the opportunity and now we are happy PA residents”
“In addition to my work, I’ve been a racing fanatic for a long time,” Pleau continued. “I grew up in California and my parents were open wheel fans. So, we started watching racing when I was little.”
“I’ve been a NASCAR fan for a long time. It’s just great to be so close to the track here. We’re hosting the BK Racing team for the weekend, which is great. I got to meet Matt DiBenedetto. And Rodney Childers and his family have enjoyed the park, as has Austin Dillon.”
“Any opportunity I have to enjoy racing, I do,” Pleau said. “I normally root for the No. 4 car of Kevin Harvick, but this weekend I love the No. 31 car of Ryan Newman with that Kalahari elephant on the hood.”
For more information about the Kalahari Resort, call 1-877-KALAHARI (525-2427) or visit www.KalahariResorts.com.
XFINITY Series racer Brandon Gdovic has been throughout the United States and Europe to race, but he is excited that his travels have brought him to Pocono Raceway to participate in the inaugural Pocono Green 250.
Although Gdovic has traveled the world, he has had to rely on technology to get prepared for this first-ever race at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’
“I’ve done a bunch of I-racing to prepare, Gdovic said. “That’s really the only thing I can do before I figure it out on the track. I’ve also been doing a lot of YouTube stuff, watching videos from past races, including Cup and ARCA.”
“When I’m doing that online, I’m trying to get used to the track characteristics, the braking zones. Even with the track not being updated on I-racing with the new paving, it still seemed pretty accurate with the ways the track felt in the game compared to how I felt it on the track.”
“The reality is that I couldn’t look up any XFINITY races obviously because the Series has never been here before. But I think I’m as prepared as much as I could be coming into the race weekend.”
Gdovic is also grateful that his travels to Long Pond have allowed him to participate in making history with the XFINITY Series’ first foray into Pocono Raceway.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Gdovic said. “Pocono is always somewhere that I have wanted to go. It’s kind of weird but it’s one of those places where I always wanted to race. It seemed like it would be somewhere that I liked and I really love it.”
“I think it’s great to bring the XFINITY Series here.”
While Gdovic is focusing this weekend on Pocono, the driver has also been traveling the world driving some other racy cars.
“I’ve mainly just done NASCAR up until last year when I got into the Lamborghinis,” Gdovic said. “Once I got a chance to do some road racing in the K&N Series, I loved it and wanted to do some more of it.”
“The Lamborghinis kind of fit with the team being close to me and it’s been a good option and choice for it. It’s also a good fit schedule-wise and I’ve had pretty good success last year. So, we’re doing a full season this year.”
“With all the road racing, I’ve gotten some cool opportunities. I have gone to Spain and Italy and got to race in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. That has been really cool.”
Gdovic also fulfilled a dream, traveling to Daytona to compete in the prestigious Rolex 24.
And I also got to do the Rolex 24 this year. That was cool getting to do the Rolex 24 this year,” Gdovic said. “I got to do it in one of the open cockpits and I thought I would never do that in my entire life.”
“But when they asked if I wanted to drive it, I said, ‘Yep I’m there.’”
Whether Daytona or across the pond, Gdovic’s heart is competing in the world of NASCAR. His struggle is one that is common with most young racers, finding the sponsorship relationships to sustain him.
“Right now, being a family funded team, small sponsorships help,” Gdovic said. “But we want to look for larger sponsorships to allow us to run the full season in XFINITY. We’re limited to a partial season right now.”
“Our goal is to take advantage of every race we’re in and to have the best performances we can. We know we’re one of the Tier 2 teams, not Cup affiliated. But in the two races we have done with me driving, I felt like we’ve done pretty well.”
“This will be my third race and I’m hoping to have a good run, as well as impress folks with what we have. That’s my goal and all we can do right now.”
“My team, Precision Performance Motorsports is owned by my dad,” Gdovic said. “My dad is a racer as well. He started it as a hobby and that’s how I got into it. He still races a little bit now and again but the focus has now been on me.”
So, where will Gdovic’s travels take him next after competing in the Pocono Green 250?
“I love to travel and I love the travel part as much as love the racing part,” Gdovic said. “All the places I’ve gotten to go, including other countries, has been great.”
“I’ve been to 35 of the 50 states so far. That’s one of my goals is to hit all of the 50 states. And I want to go to all sorts of other countries just for personal gain and to learn other cultures.”
“There’s not enough time to go to all the places I want to go. I’m a traveler and a real explorer.”
Last year on Pocono race weekend, Ray Black Jr. was driving in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This year, Black has taken a step up to the XFINITY Series, driving the No. 07 ScubaLife.com Chevrolet Camaro for SS Green Light Racing.
“We did a really good job as a team in the Truck Series last year with a lot of top-15 finishes,” Black said. “We were debating whether to run again in the Truck Series or step up to the XFINITY Series. We figured for the money we were putting in this year and the budget that we had, we could make the XFINITY Series leap, be somewhat competitive and build on that.”
After deciding to go to the next level, Black has been experiencing the normal vagaries associated with competing in a brand new series. He has, however, been progressing nicely, from 33rd place finishes in the first two races to his best finish of 17th at Dover.
Black, however, struggled in the most recent race at Charlotte, suffering an oil line issue which relegated him and his team to a 37th place finish.
“So far it’s been a roller coaster, Black said of his season to date. “We’ve had some good races and bad ones. Overall, we’ve learned a lot and had a lot of new cars. It’s on the right track and it’s been a good step up for right now.”
As he has moved up, Black acknowledges that there has been a lot of learning involved in that transition, both on the part of his team and on his own part.
“As far as my team is concerned, they have done a good job so far with the change,” Black said. “As a driver, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about these cars but there are a lot of things they do differently in the XFINITY Series, with more tires and different strategies. And you have a lot bigger teams in this Series.”
“I feel like I have a lot more to learn, but that makes it fun.”
Black has been taking it all in, especially when it comes to the differences between the trucks and XFINITY cars.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to drive these cars with the aero-dependency,” Black said. “The trucks are more mechanical and with the cars, you are almost driving sideways and that’s the fastest way to do it.”
“That’s been our biggest hill to climb and I’m definitely not where I should be there. But I’m getting closer.”
Black is also learning other lessons as he steps up the rungs of the NASCAR ladder, including handling the length race and the fact that some of the Cup drivers are also his competitors.
“The race is longer too so you have to pace yourself and make sure you are there at the end. I’ve always been good at that, so that is paying off for us,” Black said. “And then I’ve been learning how to race these other guys, especially the Cup guys.”
“That’s been interesting but you have to race whoever is on the track,” Black said. “But if you get Kyle Busch popping up in these races, the problem is that he laps us all so fast. Getting laps down in these races is the toughest part.”
“We’re just trying to get more speed so we can race competitively with the guys. We’ll have our chance.”
Black is also proud to have the chance to make history, with the XFINITY Series racing at Pocono for the first time ever.
“I think it’s pretty neat,” Black said. “I’ve been here twice in Trucks and these are great races. That front stretch is really long so if you get a good run there, you can make it five wide.”
“I’ve had some cool experiences here so I think XFINITY coming here is awesome. I think it’s neat and cool to be a part of it.”
While Black is having a cool experience at Pocono, he is also having some pretty cool experiences off the track. He and his father are currently constructing an international location for the Commercial Diving Academy in St. Kitts.
“We’ve built a bunch of docks and a marina,” Black said. “That’s the base of it right now. Slowly in a couple of years, we will have an entire center.”
“Last time I went down, we were building underwater platforms and surveying the area. We had to do some dredging and make it deeper. We also had to build jettys with rocks to tie the boats to. It is a lot of work right now and that’s what I like doing when I’m not on the track.”
“I love racing but you have to pay the bills too.”
Speaking of those bills, Black is hoping to pay some as he takes to the track tomorrow in the Pocono Green 250.
“I want a top-20 finish, at least,” Black said. “That’s a worst case scenario. A top-15 would be really great.”
“We need to get back on track and make sure that we don’t let the mechanical failure of last week turn our season upside down.”
“So, I’m going to get right back out there and continue stepping up,” Black said. “It’s been a good transition from Truck to XFINITY for me and I just hope to keep building on it here at Pocono.”
Ever wonder about the women behind the men who run NASCAR race tracks? Suzanne Igdalsky, the wife of Pocono Raceway President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky, is one of those special women, working on race weekend to do all she can at track, as well as running her own business and being mom to 12-year-old twin girls.
And while many may think that Suzanne’s connection to NASCAR started with her marriage into the Pocono Raceway family, she was actually born into it herself growing up in Lehighton just a half hour from the Pocono race track.
“A funny story, my grandfather had owned a hunting cabin that was adjacent to track property,” Igdalsky said. “And he was here before Doc Mattioli even came into this area.”
“After the track was built, I would come up as a kid for every race. And after the race, my grandfather and I would collect cans under the grandstands. So, I’ve been coming around NASCAR since I was a little girl.”
In spite of spending so much time at Pocono Raceway, Suzanne and her husband’s paths did not cross until she finished college.
“After I finished my Bachelor’s degree, I had gone out with a couple of friends,” Igdalsky said. “And I met Brandon at Shenanigans, which Brandon likes to call a bar but I say is a restaurant.”
“He just sort of popped out in front of me and started talking to me. It was cute. And it was cute because our grandfathers had some differences, which was interesting. But it all turned out well and both grandparents were at the wedding and on great terms.”
Once they tied the knot, Suzanne began to realize the enormity of the job her husband had running the race track and began to immerse herself in it as well in order to help and support the family business.
“In the beginning, to be honest, I didn’t pay as much attention as I probably should have,” Igdalsky said. “But as I started to realize what this was all about, I now try to attend as many functions as I can with Brandon and be a support for him.”
“And I also try to network myself with the NASCAR community and I absolutely have grown to love NASCAR. The NASCAR family has become a second family to our family.”
While Suzanne has embraced the NASCAR family, her own family, especially twin daughters Madison and McKenzie, are her top priorities. So, will they be the next generation in the Pocono Raceway family business?
“Well, the kids just want to be kids right now,” Igdalsky said. “Would I say they are interested? I would say yes. Do I think that they are going to be in this industry when they are older? I cannot say.”
“They both have strong personalities. Madison is Brandon’s little clone, so perhaps I could see her being involved, especially with social media because she is really good with that. And McKenzie is very scholarly and she likes to read her books.”
“I guess time will tell about their involvement in the future at the track.”
While family is of utmost importance to Suzanne Igdalsky, what she says surprises people most about her is that she also runs a very successful business of her own. Not surprising, however, is that her business benefits children with special needs and their families.
“I’m a speech pathologist and I work with kids from birth to age 3 in early intervention,” Igdalsky said. “I actually own my own early intervention agency now. I’m now in five counties and I have grown to about 15 staff.”
“We are family-centered and routines-based, which means we work wherever is best for the child. It could be at daycare, at grandparent’s houses, or even grocery stores. I had one therapist meet her child at the pool.”
“We want to work on the child’s goals in their natural environment. So, if a family is having trouble going to the grocery store, we will come out and work with them wherever they need the help.”
In addition to her thriving business, Igdalsky is also involved in volunteering and helping the Pocono community whenever possible.
“Obviously, doing volunteer work with children is a big thing for me. Autism is a part of my life and I have a soft spot there.”
“But I’m also an animal lover. I’m always trying to support different kinds of animal charities. I admit that I am a cat lady, with one indoor cat and the stray cats that have also found their way to me.”
“So, I now have about 9 outside cats, which Brandon is not a fan of. But, because he loves me, he indulges me and is flexible with it.”
While Suzanne Igdalsky balances her role as race track wife, mother, businesswoman and philanthropist, her greatest memories to date at Pocono involve two very special family members.
“I have many great memories of growing up here and having my family here,” Igdalsky said. “But my greatest memory was when Doc (Mattioli) and Rose were in good health and were here with us.”
Finishing top-20 in a grueling race at the Monster Mile on Sunday apparently was not enough for Landon Cassill. The driver of the No. 38 MDS Transport Ford for Front Row Motorsports, along with fellow competitors Jimmie Johnson and Josh Wise, took to another track on Monday, participating in a 102.7-mile bike race.
This week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes focuses on both of Cassill’s big rides, the first at Dover and the second featuring 10,357 feet of climbing to the summit of Mt. Mitchell State Park in North Carolina.
“On Sunday at Dover, we kind of battled with our car all day and had to scratch and claw to keep ourselves in the mix,” Cassill said. “We adjusted on the car almost every pit stop. It wasn’t our best performance of the year but we were fortunate to miss the big wreck and kept going after that. I guess at the end of the day we got the points and the finish and that’s all that matters.”
“Then on Monday, we got up at 4:00 am and flew from Dover to Spartanburg, South Carolina with Jimmie Johnson on his plane,” Cassill continued. “That got us to the starting point of the bike race at the Spartanburg Auditorium in downtown Spartanburg and continued along the Blue Ridge Parkway. And then the race was up the summit of Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina.”
“Jimmie actually was the lead guy for us in terms of logistics and putting things together.”
Cassill was one of about 800 plus cyclists participating in the 41st Assault on Mt. Mitchell, along with several other NASCAR colleagues competing to the top.
“There were a couple of other NASCAR industry guys, one from the 11 car and one of the engineers from Stewart-Haas Racing, in the competition, Cassill said. “But as far as drivers it was Jimmie, Josh and myself.”
“Josh beat us. He’s a pretty strong cyclist. Jimmie got second and I was the third of the drivers. So, I’ve got some work to do and I need to get back into bicycling shape to hang with them again.”
In fact, Josh Wise finished 55th with a time of 6 hours, 19 minutes and 22 seconds. Jimmie Johnson was not far behind in 57th place with a time of 6 hours, 19 minutes and 34 seconds. And Cassill finished 117th, with a time of 6 hours, 52 minutes and 42 seconds.
“It took almost seven hours to complete,” Cassill said. “You have to carry your fluids, your food, your gels and everything you need to stay fueled up with you on the bike. I think I ingested maybe 2,000 calories during the entire ride.”
“And I probably had 150 ounces of fluid, so there were a few potty breaks and a couple stops to refuel. But I probably stopped no longer than 90 seconds at one time. It was a quick stop, refuel, get back on the bike and get back to biking.”
So, why on earth does Cassill feel compelled to put his body to such demanding tests by racing on Sunday and extreme biking on Monday?
“Well for one, it makes me a better driver,” Cassill said simply. “You know, it’s a good hobby but it’s valuable to my driving career.”
“At the end of the day, what we do in NASCAR is an endurance sport. So any type of endurance training I can do to complement that is important.”
“There is also a lot of training and a lot of work to keep the focus for that long,” Cassill said. “There are a lot of people that took twelve hours to complete the bike ride so that is pretty mentally taxing if you ask me.”
“That is also what makes what we do so special in a race car as well.”
In spite of the incredible stress that he put on himself with his two big rides in just two days, Cassill advised that he was doing well afterwards in spite of it all.
“I haven’t been training heavily the last two months and I signed up for this ride just four weeks ago. I hadn’t really trained for it, so I feel like from a fitness standpoint, mostly from my base fitness that I built up for the past few years, I’m really kind of happy that I got it done.”
Not only are these challenges good for his racing, but Cassill also feels that he is living out one of his sponsor’s values, that of Snap Fitness.
“Snap Fitness loves supporting what I do,” Cassill said. “They believe in me and our sport and our fans. Anything I do along these lines, I feel like Snap is all over it. It’s pretty cool to have their support.”
Cassill did indeed reach the mountaintop in his big ride after the Dover race. Yet in spite of that, he has set a new goal and fitness challenge for himself.
“I’m going to do a half iron man in Dublin, Ireland,” Cassill said. “So, that will be a swim, bike and a run, so I’ll add that to the cycle training.”
“This is just a good kick in the pants for me to kick start my new season of training and to set new goals.”
Jeremy Clements survived a tumultuous finish at Talladega Superspeedway to snare a career-best finish of fourth place in the Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race and win the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race award.
The driver of the No. 51 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet/BRTExtrusions Chevrolet with new sponsor Signs and Displays Direct (SDD) drove from a 34th starting position to lead seven laps and contend for the win. The race ended under caution in overtime when Joey Logano made contact with leader Elliott Sadler, sending Logano into the outside wall.
Clements’ fourth place result moved him up three positions to 13th place in the championship standings. In 209 XFINITY starts, his previous best finish was sixth at Road America in 2014.
The top five is a career defining moment for this small family-owned team. Jeremy Clements Racing (JCR) only has two full-time and three part-time employees but what they lack in numbers, they make up for with dedication.
They have a rich history entrenched in NASCAR. Clements is the grandson of Crawford Clements, acclaimed engine builder, and the nephew of crew chief Louis Clements who won a championship with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rex White in 1960. Their engine development program continues today under the leadership of his father and uncle at Clements Automotive Racing. They play a vital role in the team’s success by supplying the engines for the No. 51 Chevy.
Jeremy Clements receives a hug from his Dad after a career-best fourth place finish at Talladega, April 30, 2016. Photo Credit: Jason Watson
Clements has an affinity for Talladega and heading into the race, he commented on the unpredictable nature of the track.
“There’s nothing like Talladega,” he said. “We always seem to run well there. In 2013, we scored a Top 10. In 2014, we led but with six laps to go, got clipped in the right rear and sent into the wall. I think we were running seventh or eighth at that point and moving forward. The car got pretty well wrecked, but at least we got our sponsors some face time on TV that day. They’re back with us for this weekend, so hopefully, we can get them some more exposure, but for the right reasons this time.”
Clements’ hopes were realized Saturday and he was ecstatic after the race. I spoke with him about the significance of the top five finish, both personally and for his team.
“I’m pretty excited for sure with our career-best finish,” he said. “It was a lotta fun and I am glad we survived typical plate racing, push the guy that is in front of you for all it’s worth. Great race for us, needed (it) a lot, ‘cause we have been struggling with bump stops, so it gives a great boost to our three-man team.”
Clements is hopeful that it will be the catalyst needed to bring more sponsorship to the underfunded JCR organization, saying, “Definitely, this could help getting our foot in the door with new sponsors.”
He is also confident that his fourth place finish at Talladega will give his team “momentum going into Dover in a couple of weeks.” It’s a track where they have put together good runs in the past, including a top 10 last year.
The series returns to the track May 14 at Dover International Speedway as Clements and the No. 51 team continue to pursue their goal of making it into the top 12 to compete in the first elimination-style Chase for the XFINITY Series.
Despite not having set foot in a stock car since 2008, Kyle Petty still remains a huge part of the NASCAR scene as an NBC Sports analyst as well as a renowned humanitarian. The eight-time Sprint Cup race winner’s legacy can also be linked to his family’s Victory Junction Gang Camp for children with terminal illnesses, opened in 2004 in honor of Petty’s late son Adam, who was killed in a racing accident in 2000.
Petty’s Charity Ride Across America, which is entering its 22nd year, has been an instrumental part in the growth of the Victory Junction Gang Camp, and will kick off on April 30, 2016.
SM: With the Charity Ride Across America entering it’s 22nd year, what are some things that come to mind regarding the ride?
Kyle Petty: Well, it’s hard to believe it’s been going 22 years. That’s the first thing. When we started it, it was just a group of us going to ride from California to North Carolina. We did it, we never thought it could get any better, but here we are 22 years later and still doing the same thing.
This year, we’re leaving from Palm Springs, California on April 30 and from there, we’ll be heading over to Phoenix and visiting with Manheim Auction, Manheim being one of our event sponsors. The next day we’ll be leaving Phoenix to El Paso and going by the Harley-Davidson dealership there where we’ll be having a big dinner, and on May 2 we’ll be traveling to Lajitas, Texas. The next day we’ll be heading to San Antonio, where we’ll be staying an extra day so people can have an opportunity to go around, visit the Alamo, and do some sight-seeing around San Antonio. On May 5 we’re going to Beaumont, Texas, and we’ll wrap up the ride the next day in Biloxi, Mississippi.
We’re excited. This is a route we’ve never taken before, so we’re looking forward to taking this route.
SM: What is the expected turnout for this year’s Charity Ride?
KP: We have about 120, 130 bikes. We try to keep it in that range, because being an eight-to-nine day event, obviously, we’ll be stopping in Lajitas and taking about 200 hotel rooms (which is basically all the hotel rooms there). We’ll be serving breakfast, lunch, as a group. We’ll be traveling as a group. We’ll be fueling as a group. So we try to keep our number of bikes down to 120 to 130. We’ll have about 200 people, we’ll have some support vehicles along with us and a medical staff that travels with us as well.
SM: Who are some names we can expect to see on this year’s Charity Ride?
KP: Well, my father’s going again this year (NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Sprint Cup champion Richard Petty), I think he’s gone about 20 of the 22 years. Harry Gant (18-time Sprint Cup race winner) has gone all 22 years. Herschel McGriff (2017 NASCAR HoF nominee) is going with us for the first time. Donnie Allison (10-time Sprint Cup race winner) is going with us again. NFL Hall of Famer Herschel Walker is going with us, as is Rick Allen (NBC NASCAR Analyst) and Eddie Gossage (Texas Motor Speedway president). Rutledge Wood (Top Gear America host) may come in, we’re waiting to hear from him, but we’ll also be having retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West with us as well.
That’s about the group of celebrities we know, but I’m telling you, the other 115, 120 riders that are going with us are the real celebrities that are going with us.
SM: Aside from the Victory Junction Gang Camp, are there other charities that are involved in the Charity Ride?
KP: No, you know, when we first started we used to stop at children’s hospitals all over the United States. We went to 20-something-odd children’s hospitals all across the United States. That was what the ride’s mission was. When my son Adam was killed in a racing accident in 2000, we decided to build Victory Junction. Since that time, the majority of the money, probably 98 percent of it, goes to the camp in order to give these kids the opportunity to come to Victory Junction and experience a medically safe environment and enjoy the camp at the same time.
SM: There have been discussions of possibly bringing the Caution Clock to the Sprint Cup Series. What are your thoughts on the Caution Clock in general?
KP: I don’t enjoy it. I don’t like it. I was born in June of 1960 and attended my first race in July of 1960, and I’ve been going to race tracks ever since. I’m a purist in the purest sense of the word. I think racing needs to be done on the race track and does not need to be manipulated by timeouts, time clocks, and fake cautions, and things like that. You got to be able to go out and kick everybody’s butt. If I’m kicking everybody’s butt and they throw a caution, that penalizes me and helps the people whose butts I’m kicking.
I don’t like the Caution Clock in the Camping World Truck Series, I dang sure wouldn’t like it in the Sprint Cup Series.
CONCORD, NC – MAY 27, 2007: Kyle Petty, driver of the No. 45 Coke Zero Dodge, makes a pit stop during the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)
SM: Cup drivers running in the XFINITY events is nothing new and has been the basis for an age-old debate in NASCAR. However, it seems that with the constant domination by Cup drivers, this argument has reached a fever-pitch. Is the XFINITY Series facing an identity crisis?
KP: Yes and no. I think the XFINITY Series has its own identity with Daniel Suárez, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, and guys like that that are going to be future Cup stars that get their start in the XFINITY Series. I do believe it has its own identity because you’re watching future stars. Are they competing against today’s stars? Yes. Is that right or wrong? I’m not sure.
I don’t believe it’s wrong for Kyle Busch, or Brad Keselowski, or Joey Logano, or Jimmie Johnson every now and then, or Dale Junior to jump in and run a XFINITY race. It’s been that way since the beginning of time. I think what we see that’s different now than what we saw during those eras was that you had drivers that did that. Now you have owners that do that. You drop back to the XFINITY Series, the owners that are winning all the races are Jack Roush, Richard Childress, and Joe Gibbs.
So you have XFINITY drivers racing against Cup owners and Cup drivers. The deck is stacked totally against them. It wasn’t that way when Dale Earnhardt Sr. did it, it wasn’t that way when Darrell Waltrip did it. Mark Martin was the first guy to actually have a Cup owner as a XFINITY Series owner. I would rather see (NASCAR) back up and say, “Hey, you guys can run all the races you want to, you just have to drive for a XFINITY team. As long as you drive for a XFINITY team, that’s fine.”
That would give the XFINITY drivers more of a level playing field. Right now, I don’t believe the field is level for those guys in the way that it had been in the past. They struggle, but I think you get better as a race car driver racing against better drivers. And if you’re racing against Kyle Busch, you’re racing against the best. You’re racing against Joey Logano, you’re racing against the best. Guys like Suárez and Jones learn from those guys.
SM: Which rookie from the 2016 Sprint Cup class looks the most promising: Chase Elliott or Ryan Blaney?
KP: Good question. I think they both have tremendous promise and tremendous potential. I think that goes back to what we were saying about the XFINITY Series a little bit because you got Chase Elliott driving for Rick Hendrick in the No, 24 car that Jeff Gordon won 96 races with. Obviously, it’s a winning race car.
You’ve got Ryan Blaney driving for the Penske organization basically; even though it’s tagged Wood Brothers Racing it’s still Penske cars and Penske equipment. I think when you look at that, those guys are maximizing their potential and maximizing their car’s potential. I think both those guys are pretty promising.
Another guy I’m going to throw in that mix is Chris Buescher. Nobody is really talking about him. He’s driving a car that’s underfunded, not up to the standards and capabilities of the No. 24 car or the No. 21 car, yet he is doing some good things in that car on a weekly basis. He’s finishing in the top-25, top-30, and that’s about all you can ask for from that team and that car.
Blaney and Elliott may get to Victory Lane sooner, but at the same time, once Buescher gets a ride he’s going to be a force also.
SM: Who are some surprises we could expect to see in this year’s Chase field?
KP: You have to give a tip of the hat to two guys: A.J. Allmendinger and Austin Dillon. I think Austin has made tremendous progress this year. That team has made some progress as well. He’s running in the top-five, top-10, and having solid finishes. Because of that, he seems to be the leader of the Childress organization right now. I look at him and see that he could probably make the Chase.
As for Allmendinger, that group of guys has done a tremendous job this year. They are not a major organization like Roush or Hendrick; they are below that, yet they are still able to run with those guys and put together good solid runs and good solid finishes. I think he could be a guy that makes the Chase as well.
SM: Lastly, here’s a reader question: What’s the funniest/weirdest thing a fan has yelled at you from behind the booth while you were on or off the air?
KP: We were in Watkins Glen last year doing the post-race show when this fan came up and he might have had a little bit too much to drink. He had a cane because he had broken his leg, and he kept waving his cane in the air and screaming at Joey Logano that he (Logano) got lucky. He kept screaming, “You’re lucky, Joey Logano! You’re just lucky! Lucky! Kevin Harvick should have won that race.” Harvick had run out of fuel on the last corner of the last lap.
He kept saying it and kept saying it. We had told him to be quiet when we went on air, but he kept saying it and finally I turned around in the middle of the program while we were on air and told him, “Lucky is I don’t come down there and beat you over the head with that cane. That’s what lucky is.”
So that’s probably the strangest or weirdest thing that has happened.
He had one chance, one shot to win, in what was likely the only race he would probably be able to run. One opportunity to show everyone what he already knew inside, that he could win. At heart, he is a race car driver. He is Quinten Moore and this is his story.
Moore grew up in a family of racers. His grandfather, father and even his sister have raced. Late NASCAR driver Bobby Hamilton helped Moore’s sister with her car, offering to help if needed. Moore and Hamilton became friends and Moore would visit his race shop which was located near his home.
Moore became an avid NASCAR fan even entering a coloring contest where he placed third which allowed him to meet Jeff Gordon. Gordon was just one of the many drivers Moore had the pleasure to meet. Out of the drivers that Moore has met one driver would become a big inspiration. Many drivers may come to mind when you think of who inspires us, Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Tony Stewart are two which would probably come to mind. However, the driver that made the biggest impression on Moore is none other than veteran racer Morgan Shepherd.
You see 20-year-old Moore has Spina Bifida and is in a wheelchair. Moore has had 33 surgeries and 51 kidney stones, earning the nickname “Stone Man” by the hospital staff. At one point they thought that Moore would lose his left kidney. He also had a shunt put in to drain spinal fluid but was able to have it disconnected in September 2012. Some of the other issues stemming from Spina Bifida are seizures and epilepsy. Some of the grand mal seizures may last up to a few seconds leaving Moore dizzy with blurred vision. It’s because of the seizures that he is unable to be cleared to race as it is too dangerous for Moore as well as the other competitors.
It was during some of these hard times that Moore turned to his faith for guidance. As he was going through all of this that he believes God put Morgan Shepherd in his path. As he was recovering from back surgery in 2012 he received a surprise phone call from his idol. To his shock, Shepherd called to see how he was doing. From then on the two became friends, and they stay in contact still today keeping tabs on one another talking about faith and racing. Moore spent part of his graduation trip at Shepherds race shop, ending up spending the day chatting with him and watching him work.
It was from Shepherd that Moore got the inspiration to see if he could find a way to race.
“I looked at Morgan,” he said, “who hasn’t let anything or anyone stop him from racing, especially not his age. I thought to myself that if he could do it then so can I.”
Moore knew it just wasn’t possible to race full-time with his disability. He thought if he could race just once he could show everyone that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. He wanted to show others that even if you’re disabled you should not give up on your dreams.
He actually has a funny quote he likes to say for laughs, “I’m not disabled, I just really like wheelchairs.”
Putting his ideas into action, he and his dad got the go-cart that his sister had used to race and tricked it out with hand controls so that Moore would be able to use it. Finally, In 2013 at the Wilson County Fair in Tennessee, Moore had his chance to race.
It was everything coming together from his roots in racing to inspiration from Shepherd and learning from Hamilton. It was his chance to prove that even with Spina Bifida he could race. Not only could he race, but he could win… which he did!
Some people may look at it as if it’s not much of a big deal, but to Moore it was huge. It was so much more than a race; it was something that he will carry with him in all that he will face now and in the future. It’s lifted him up in ways few will understand.
He hopes that anyone facing struggles or who thinks that they can’t fulfill a dream will be inspired by his story, to at least try. On his journey, Moore has found a lifelong friend and he hopes to continue to help Shepherd on and off the track. Most important, he wanted to race and win so that he could inspire others.
What Moore doesn’t realize is that he has been an inspiration long before he entered that race. He’s yet to see that he has been in a different race his entire life and true to form, he’s winning that race too.
