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Featured interviews from SpeedwayMedia.com

  • Max Gresham Inspired by Podium Truck Finish at Charlotte

    Max Gresham Inspired by Podium Truck Finish at Charlotte

    For Max Gresham, 20 year old driver of the Eddie Sharp Racing No. 8 AmWINS Chevrolet, his career-best third place finish was inspirational. The young driver also led three laps for the first time in his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career and gave Charlotte-based sponsor AmWINS its first top-three finish right in their own backyard at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    “For us, the finish is major league justification that we are going down the right path with our technology and all the things we’ve been doing to get better,” Gresham said. “It’s a huge confidence boost for us because we’ve been struggling with having good runs this year.”

    “That’s just the run we needed to start something and we have a bunch of rejuvenated energy now,” Gresham continued. “That finish was inspiring for everyone involved with what I’m doing and where I’m trying to get.”

    While Gresham could not pin point exactly what has been the spark to get his season going in the right direction, he did acknowledge that he and his crew chief Chris Showalter had hit on a thing or two that seemed to suit the car and the driver.

    “We’ve been adding some new spring and shock combinations and we just found one that I really liked in practice,” Gresham said. “We just kept working on it to make it better and better.”

    “It just brought the truck alive,” Gresham continued. “And we just had everything go right for once.”

    “We didn’t get caught up in any wrecks and it all went right.”

    Gresham shared his tremendous respect for his crew chief and credits his years in the Truck Series as a key factor to their success together.

    “Chris Showalter is a genius I think,” Gresham said. “He makes all the right calls and continues to work really hard.”

    “He is also the only guy to have been to every single NASCAR Truck race,” Gresham continued. “He has not missed one since its initiation in 1995.”

    “I think he’s up to 400 something races now,” Gresham said. “No one has more trips to the Truck races than him.”

    “He’s seen it all, he’s done it all and he’s been a part of it all.”

    Gresham also contributed his podium finish to his race team, Eddie Sharp Racing, with whom the young racer has had a relationship since his ARCA Series days.

    “I knew Eddie from when I was running ARCA races,” Gresham said. “Late last season, we went back to him and everything came together.”

    “It’s been an awesome start to the season,” Gresham continued. “We’re going to run the full year and we’re going to make the most of it.”

    While his third place run in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 moved him up to 17th in the point standings, the young driver set his next goal as getting into the top ten in points.

    “Our goal is to keep building on that success and keep inching our way forward,” Gresham said. “We want to be in the top ten in points.”

    “Of course we want to win, but we want to get consistent finishes first.”

    Gresham admitted that he had also had an interesting ride with his sponsor AmWINS, a company that absorbed his grandfather’s insurance agency late last year.

    “Steve DeCarlo (CIO of AmWINS) is actually a race fan and I’m glad he decided to go racing with us,” Gresham said. “He was at the race and he said he that he has never had so much fun and that it was one of the coolest things he has ever done.”

    “When you can make a man like Mr. DeCarlo say something like that, you are doing something special.”

    Gresham has already had a very special racing career and is actually in his 12th full season of racing.

    “I started when I was eight in Bandeleros and then went to the Legend car,” Gresham said. “I was running Pro Super Late Models all over the southeast and then in 2010, I moved up to the K&N Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and in 2011, I won the K&N championship for Joe Gibbs.”

    “From there, I moved into the Truck Series and now I’m with Eddie Sharp Racing and we’re on the verge of doing some very cool stuff this year.”

    Gresham is absolutely enjoying every minute of the Truck Series, from the competition with other young guns to the wise advice and counsel of the veteran drivers.

    “The great part about the Truck Series is that everyone is so close and the competition is so tight,” Gresham said. “Even someone like Ron Hornaday or Todd Bodine is willing to tell someone that he’s going to be racing a little secret here and there so that when you’re racing with them, you don’t do something stupid, wreck and take them out.”

    “Everyone is willing to help you a little bit to make sure you don’t get them in trouble and that’s how everyone works,” Gresham continued. “I’ve been in other divisions where no one is willing to talk to you because you’re just a rookie and a young kid.”

    “But the Truck Series is great, there are a lot of good people and you can constantly learn from everyone.”

    While Gresham idolizes many of the Truck Series drivers, he has two racers in particular that have earned his respect as a fan and as an up and coming talent.

    “When I was very young, I was a Ricky Rudd fan and watched him until he retired,” Gresham said. “Now, I’ve become a Carl Edwards fan.”

    “He’s an awesome guy,” Gresham continued. “He knows how to talk. He knows how to drive. And in my mind, he’s the full package.”

    With a top-five finish in his pocket, Gresham cannot wait to get to the next Truck Race at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware. In fact, the youngster feels like he is due at the fast mile race track.

    “Dover is just fun,” Gresham said. “I’ve run there twice in the K&N Series and it really owes me one.”

    “I should have won the race in 2010 when my motor blew up when I was leading,” Gresham continued. “Then in 2011, I had a loose wheel that didn’t allow me to race in the green, white, checkered finish.”

    “So I feel like it owes me,” Gresham said. “It’s a fun track and it’s a fast track. It always leaves the Truck Series with a good finish because we really race hard there.”

    Gresham is also thrilled with the new sponsor that he is bringing to that race track as well.

    “We will have Trimmers Assist on the Truck at Dover,” Gresham said. “It came about a month and a half ago and we had it on the deck lid at Charlotte but it will be a full truck deal at Dover.”

    “We’re ready for Dover in two weeks and we’re really looking forward to what is to come in these next few months,” Gresham said. “It’s inspiring.”

  • Ken Schrader Just Having Fun as ARCA’s Newest and Oldest Winner

    Ken Schrader Just Having Fun as ARCA’s Newest and Oldest Winner

    Ken Schrader may just be the oldest winner in the history of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, but he is no doubt the happiest after taking the checkered flag first in the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care this weekend at Toledo Speedway.

    And in Schrader’s own words, he is simply an almost 58 year old driver that is “just having fun.”

    “Well, being the oldest winner is sure better than being the oldest loser,” Schrader said with a laugh. “I love it.”

    “That’s five (at Toledo) and we’ll take it.”

    Schrader started on the outside pole in his No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet and led 163 laps in the event on his way to securing the win. Schrader was especially pleased as he has not been in an ARCA car for quite some time.

    “I haven’t run an ARCA race in two and a half years because Tom Hessert from New Jersey has been driving our car,” Schrader said. “He did a good job and ran for us the last two years but he is doing something different this year.”

    “So, we picked out a handful of races that Federated Auto Parts wanted to run and this was the first one,” Schrader continued. “We qualified second and won the thing.”

    Schrader, as one of the older veterans in the field, battled a bit with the youngest pole winner in the ARCA Series, Kyle Benjamin, who took that honor at the tender age of 15 years. But Schrader admitted that his biggest competition was Grant Enfinger, who he battled side by side at one point in the race but who eventually cut down a tire to finish 15th.

    “Kyle, we didn’t fight with too much,” Schrader said. “I just fell in behind him at the start and we went about 20 laps and we got around him and then he had some trouble.”

    “But Grant Enfinger – he looks young compared to me but he’s not young, young – he was really the strongest car all day,” Schrader continued. “I had a lot of fun racing with him.”

    Schrader admits that, while he enjoys racing at the highest levels of NASCAR, the ARCA Series has a special place in his heart.

    “Well, first off I still love the Cup Series but we’re just too old to play that game week in and week out,” Schrader said. “And that takes too much sponsorship.”

    “The ARCA Series, where you run tracks like three-eighths at Elko to Talladega to mile dirt tracks to road courses, I just love the diversity of the ARCA Series.”

    And of course Schrader receives a hero’s welcome whenever he does race in the ARCA events, just like he did at the Toledo event, although he modestly disagrees with that.

    “I’m no hero,” Schrader said. “I’ve just been there lots of times.”

    “It’s different now because there are so many young kids coming up and they’re doing a phenomenal job,” Schrader said. “Veteran Frank (Kimmel) has been there a long time and I’ve been there off and on for quite awhile.”

    “A lot of folks in the grand stands don’t know the young kids yet so they just remember us or their parents told them about us.”

    Although this was Schrader’s 61st ARCA start, he is not so impressed with that. Instead, he would much rather talk about the number of races he won in the series, which he does admit is pretty impressive.

    “61 starts are not very many though,” Schrader said. “I think we ran our first one in 1981 or so.”

    “So, that’s 60 some over all those years,” Schrader continued. “The most I’ve run in a year is five or so.”

    “But we’ve won 16 of them.”

    Schrader is not just running the ARCA Series this year but also has many other races on his dance card. And admittedly being behind the wheel of a race car is what keeps him going and traveling all over the country.

    “We’re running the Sprint Cup car ten times and then we’re going to run a couple of Truck races, Bristol and the Eldora, Ohio Truck race on the dirt,” Schrader said. “And then we’re running four or five ARCA races and my little dirt modified somewhere between 60 to 70 nights.”

    “Last year, we ran in 18 states and the year before in 22 states, Schrader continued. “So, we go all over with that thing.”

    “I don’t know,” Schrader said. “I must not be very smart because I still get up in the morning and want to go race.”

    At this weekend’s race, however, Schrader also paid tribute to Dick Trickle, a NASCAR legend that was lost due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound this past week.

    “There are so many of us across the country that Dick has taught,” Schrader said. “We learned from talking to him and racing with him.”

    “There’s young kids that he has taught, guys my age that he taught, and racers that are now retired that he taught,” Schrader continued. “He was one of the smartest racers there was.”

    “There’s so many of us that Dick raised, like Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin and Kenny Wallace,” Schrader said. “What we learned from talking to him and listening to him as well as watching him was amazing.”

    “I hate, hate what happened there but I know that he had to really be in some pain to do that.”

    In spite of that pain and loss, Schrader was in full celebration mode after scoring the ARCA win. But he puts it all in perspective as only Ken Schrader can.

    “It was a real fun day that obviously put Federated Auto Parts in Victory Lane,” Schrader said. “But when we wake up tomorrow, it doesn’t make any difference and we just have to get ready to go to Elko.”

    “I feel good about our sport though,” Schrader continued. “We had a good weather day and a packed grandstand out at the ARCA race.”

    “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

  • A Conversation with Jeremy Clements

    A Conversation with Jeremy Clements

    I spent a few minutes with Jeremy Clements Friday afternoon before the Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway. Arriving a few minutes early, I sat down to wait and noticed the crew working on his No. 51 Chevrolet in the garage. I was not surprised when one of the crew members turned out to be Jeremy.

    When you drive for a family owned team, everyone has to do their part. Each week is a struggle. Winnings are usually poured right back into the car in a never ending battle to keep the car on the track every week.

    Jeremy scored a ninth place finish at Talladega Superspeedway last Saturday, earning his first top-10 this season. It was a tremendous result for a team that prides itself on achieving the most with limited resources.

    “It’s been a rough year,” he told me. “We’ve had motors fail and parts failures. We’ve been involved in wrecks where we got wrecked by another driver so it was good to go to Talladega and get a top ten. It made us remember how good it feels to get a good finish. It was an energy boost. It revitalized us.”

    We continued the interview, talking about everything from racing to music to pets and more.

    Do you prefer old school or new school racing?

    “I’m a dirt track driver. I come from the dirt late model world. I like the short tracks like Bristol and Richmond. I love Darlington so I’d say old school for sure.”

    Are you a cat person or dog person?

    “Definitely dogs; I’ve always had a dog. I have a cocker spaniel named Abbey right now. She’s nine years old.”

    Do you listen to country music or rock and roll?

    “Rock and roll; I’m not a country man at all, don’t really like it. I’m a hard rock guy. I like Evans Blue, Three Days Grace, Pop Evil, stuff like that.”

    Would you rather go hunting or fishing?

    “I’m not into hunting and I haven’t fished in years. I don’t have one particular hobby. I like all kinds of things. I like movies and I like playing sports. I’m pretty good at basketball; anything active. I love going to the lake and getting on the tube and the Jet Ski. I love going to amusement parks and riding roller coasters.”

    Would you rather go to the beach or to the mountains?

    “I like both. I went to the mountains this past year in October and then went on a cruise in January. We went to the beaches at some of the islands we stopped at. I love them both.”

    I couldn’t believe he didn’t have a preference so he finally went with “beach in the summertime and mountains in winter.”

    Do you prefer football, basketball or baseball?

    “I keep up with football and basketball more than I do baseball but I love going to a baseball game. I’ve been to see the Cardinals, in St. Louis, the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves. I love going to baseball games lives but don’t really like watching it on TV. I keep up with football, mostly professional. But being from South Carolina I keep up with Clemson and the Gamecocks but I’m more of a Tigers fan.”

    My last question brought us back to racing.

    What has been the proudest moment of your career?

    “I look back to when I raced ARCA and we won at Nashville and absolutely dominated the race. We beat a lot of top notch teams like Ganassi and Roush. That was really fulfilling for me. There were only four guys on the crew that weekend, including myself, and knowing what we did it with, which was barely nothing; it was cool.”

    Be sure to like the Jeremy Clements Racing Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @JCR_Clements51 for a chance to win the ‘Fan of the Week’ contest.  The winner will have their name displayed on his car in the next race. The contest alternates each week between Facebook and Twitter.

  • James Buescher: The performance is not reflected by the results

    James Buescher: The performance is not reflected by the results

    “We just haven’t finished the way we’ve ran. We’ve been running really strong; just don’t have the results to show for it. Gotta keep building on Kansas and go from there.”

    Coming off of his championship last season, everybody thought that James Buescher would come out of the box strong this year, ripping off top 10 finishes. However, the season hasn’t started like Buescher and team would have wanted.

    “In the races we haven’t finished in the top 10 we’ve had more bad luck then you can imagine,” he said. “We’ve finished on the lead lap every race even though we’ve had things thrown at us – getting wrecked by lap cars and just not having things work out our way at Daytona and Martinsville.”

    At Daytona, Buescher was running up front though made multiple pit stops under a caution at the halfway mark to change the carburetor. He still made his way back up through the field to finish 13th.

    At Martinsville, Buescher finished 14th with how the pit stop strategies played out, followed by a 14th at Rockingham. Buescher had been running in the top 10 at Rockingham, though made contact with a lap truck under green flag conditions.

    His sixth place finish at Kansas actually marked, surprisingly to most, his first top 10 of 2013.

    “The things that we’ve had to do to get the finishes is key,” Buescher commented. “The performance is not reflected by the results. The performance is there. We’ve ran well. We’ve qualified in the top three at every race except Martinsville. We’ve ran in the top five all day each race and I think I’ve led laps everywhere.   The performance is there; we just have to have some luck for things to go our way.”

    With his strength last year on the mile and a halfs and the top 10 finish at Kansas, Buescher is looking forward to getting to Charlotte later this month.

    “Charlotte is a place that I feel like we can go and continue to improve our season,” he commented. “We have some things that we want to try for our mile and a half package. Looks like they’re giving us some extra time so look forwarding to that and possibly improving our program even more and trying to get the first win of the season.”

    Having that past success on the 1.5 mile tracks in the past equals confidence and Buescher added that if they’re as strong as last year, he is going o take advantage of that and pick up some wins.

    One of the things that has contributed to Buescher’s success is being able to work with his teammates at Turner-Scott Motorsports.

    “We’re multiple teams under one banner and some places that works out well where you can work well with your teammates,” he commented. “Other places, your teammate can be your biggest competition. At Turner-Scott Motorsports, we put a big emphasis on working together as one team and I think that shows. At Martinsville, we were able to help each other a lot. At Daytona, we were able to draft with each other a lot.

    “Our crew chiefs communicate really well together and help each other with set-ups. If one team is struggling, they’re able to take notes and share with another team. The communication is there and it’s important for us to work together as drivers as we know what each other has – we’re evenly matched and driving the same thing. so we’re able to help each other out and ask each other questions and bounce ideas off of each other and help each other out as much as we can.”

    The 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion got started in racing at the age of 12 by doing the Lone Star Legends driving school at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “I got a bandolero a couple weeks later and it kind of exploded from there,” he commented.

    Buescher looks to repeat that same success from last year, though is faced with a new challenge this year with the diversity of the truck schedule. The trucks will race on a road course for the first time since 1996, and will also race for the first time on dirt.

    “Having diversity on the schedule definitely makes it more difficult and I think it’s better to have the diversity,” he commented. “At the end when it comes time to crown a champion, you can say that you outdid everybody on a diverse schedule and it shows how strong you are as a driver and how strong your team is. Hopefully we’ll be back up on that stage at the end of the year at Miami and be able to say that we did it again on a more diverse schedule than last year.”

    Buescher had the opportunity to go check out the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park road course with his teammates as Nelson Piquet Jr. laid down some laps in a Turner-Scott Motorsports truck. Looking at the track, he says it should make for an entertaining race, but also a challenge on drivers and teams.

    “These guys haven’t had to prepare a truck solely for a road course in a long time and on the driver side, a lot of these guys don’t have a lot of road course experience and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park is somewhat difficult track,” he commented. “Overall, it’s not the hardest track in the world, but there’s some tough corners that are off-cambered and blind corners that will jump out and grab some guys. It’s going to be entertaining for the fans, but a challenge for the drivers and teams.”

    He added that he thinks his team will have a good package and will be able to pull from their Nationwide Series team with their success on road courses.

    As far as where Buescher will be five years down the road, he says he doesn’t know but wants to keep driving racecars.

    “I don’t really have a five year plan put together, but maybe in Cup by then,” he added. “I just try to take it one year at a time and this year I am focused on winning another truck championship and we’ll see what happens in 2014 in regards to my career going forward.”

  • Bryan Silas Goes Back to School During Truck Series Off Week

    Bryan Silas Goes Back to School During Truck Series Off Week

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Bryan Silas may have the weekend off from racing, however, he is taking full advantage of the time to go back to school. The T3R2 racer will be testing almost daily, from a road course in Virginia to a dirt track in New York.

    Silas hit the road course at Virginia International Raceway earlier this week in preparation for the Truck Series road course event later in the fall at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

    “This is actually a fun type of school and is much better than sitting in a school doing paper work,” Silas said. “I’ve been on a couple road courses but most of them have been very flat.”

    “I needed some experience on a road course with some elevation and VIR was one of those places that had some of that,” Silas continued. “I need to get that experience because the track we are going to, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, apparently that place is just wild.”

    “There are a lot of elevation changes and it’s a road course that thinks it’s a super speedway.”

    So, what did the young driver learn on the VIR road course?

    “If you are going downhill to a corner, you can’t brake as late as you can going uphill,” Silas said. “This is the stuff I’m learning.”

    “And also going into a corner where you can’t see the exit and trusting that, going 110 mph, that you will make it through,” Silas continued. “That was a learning experience.”

    “I remember a couple of times there was a straightaway where you went uphill and the downhill and I felt my stomach get light a couple of times,” Silas said. “It just makes it that much more fun.”

    During the VIR road course test, Silas rode with the BMW Racing School and was most impressed with the horsepower of those vehicles.

    “There were four or five cars in line and I followed one of the BMW instructors,” Silas said. “They would show me where to lift and following the instructor who has done a million laps around the place was definitely a good learning experience.”

    After some wild road course testing, Silas will head to New York later in the week to do some dirt track testing, all in preparation for the upcoming Inaugural Mudsummer Classic set for July 24th at Tony Stewart’s track, Eldora Speedway.

    The 25 year old racer will be the guest of four-time dirt champion Bryan Holland for this test.  Silas will also experience the racing hands-on by working with the crew and then having his own private test session following that.

    “I have a total of four races under my belt on dirt, all in ARCA,” Silas said. “My dad is telling me that he thinks there will be 50 trucks showing up for the Eldora race.”

    “So, I have to get some dirt experience before I go there and make a fool of myself,” Silas joked. “So, I’m going to some track in New York and jumping into a late model the day after the race there to turn a bunch of laps.”

    “There will be a couple people there helping me get ready for Eldora,” Silas said. “I think my biggest challenge there will be trying to figure out the best line to get around the place.”

    “The issue will be learning how the track will change during that race.”

    Silas feels that his whole racing season to date in 2013 has been all about learning. Unfortunately, the racing gods have not been with Silas in his student phase.

    “Overall, I’ve learned a lot from last year and I’ve been able to use that this year,” Silas said. “Not only have the cars gotten better but I’ve gotten better with these Trucks.”

    “We’ve just had crappy luck,” Silas continued. “Daytona, we got wrecked out. Martinsville, we ended up blowing a drive shaft.”

    “And in Kansas, we were going to get a top 17 easy and we got caught in the wreck with Todd Bodine,” Silas said. “Our vehicles are heading in the right direction but we need to catch a little bit of luck and then we’ll be alright for Charlotte.”

    For Silas, though, his season really is all about learning and he is most eager to do so. But the best way to learn in his mind is to be there on the race track as much as possible.

    “I know I still have a lot to learn, but I’m eager,” Silas said. “I’d rather be on the race track.”

    “At this point in my career, I need as much testing as possible because I can learn so much,” Silas continued. “You look at the Cup racers and they are on track every week or if they do have an off week, they are racing somewhere else.”

    “So, it’s really hard to catch up, but I plan to,” Silas continued. “And I just have to keep learning and going to school.”

  • Kenzie Ruston looks to continue success moving up the racing ladder

    Kenzie Ruston looks to continue success moving up the racing ladder

    There’s always that question that is asked – where can I find out the next talented star? Who will be the next talented driver? NASCAR teams ask that same question when they’re signing developmental contracts and one team definately got it right.

    This past off-season, Kenzie Ruston signed a developmental contract with Turner-Scott Motorsports. For this season, she will be running the full K&N Pro Series East schedule.

    In just four starts so far this year, the Oklahoma native has already shown that she’s worthy of the opportunity, scoring a pair of top fives including a third at Greenville.

    “They’re a lot different than what I came from,” she says of the cars. “I came from super late models which are light cars, big motors, lot of grip with the tires. The K&N Pro Series cars are a lot heavier cars.

    “It’s been a learning curve, learning every week at the track, learning new stuff every lap.”

    Ruston started running late models in 2010, competiting in the Pro All Star Racing Series (PASS) Southern Division, scoring multiple 10 finishes and finishing 12th in points despite missing two races. She would run some Champions Racing Association (CRA), becoming the first female to win a CRA event with her win at Lucas Oil Speedway. She ran the full ARCA/CRA Super Series championship schedule last year, finishing second in points.

    She first caught the eyes of many in 2011 when she made four ARCA starts for Venturini Motorsports, scoring a pair of top 10s, including a fourth at Toledo Speedway after leading some laps.

    The 21-year-old got her start at the age of 14 running bandoleros.

    “I always wanted to race dirt bikes since I was little and my dad raced dirt bikes so I wanted to get on a dirt bike – but he wouldn’t let me, ” she says. “So we were at Texas Cup race and there was a little 5th mile track out there. Got in a bando – bandolero – and made some laps and it went from there.”

    With making the move to the K&N Pro Series East, she didn’t set her goals high coming into the season.

    “I was just hoping to log laps and get top 10s and earn respect,” she says. “As the year has gone on, my goals are just like gotten bigger. We definitely want to win a race this year, win rookie of the year, and be in contention at the end of the year for the points championship. That’d be awesome. Right now, learning and earning respect from other drivers.”

    Ruston says that she wants to continue to move up the racing ladder, possibly running in the Nationwide Series or Sprint Cup Series five years down the road.

    Crowned Speed51.com Most Popular Driver last year, it’s no secret that Ruston has many supporters already and a role model to other young females out there. To those wanting to follow in her steps, she says it’s the hardest thing that she’s ever had to do.

    “It definately hard to being a girl,” she says. “You have to prove yourself way more than the boys have to prove themselves because they never think a girl can do it. You just have to go out there and work way harder than them and show that you’re here to win races and run up front. You want to be the best driver, not just the best girl driver; you want the same things they do.”

    Outside of racing, she doesn’t have many interests as she is at the shop every day.

    “I play a little bit of golf – but I’m not really good; it’s just a waste of time,” she comments. “I’m not very good at golf.

    “In the winter time, I like to go up to the cabin with my family and we snowboard quite a bit in the winter time. But in the summer time, it’s mostly all racing.”

  • Robby Benton returns to his roots at Richmond, crew chiefing for Kenny Wallace

    Robby Benton returns to his roots at Richmond, crew chiefing for Kenny Wallace

    With sponsors hard to find and the rough state of the economy, Robby Benton had to do what he had to do to keep his team his float.

    “I had to go the route of everything that I had acquired for myself and utilize that to keep my team float by using other drivers that their own sponsorship, their own funding,” Benton said during an interview on Tuesday afternoon. “So going that route to just survive, to keep the team together.

    “So I started doing that. I was the crew chief and general manager and we grew from a part-time ARCA team to a full time ARCA team and then we parlayed that into a full time Nationwide team and now we’re in our fifth season in the Nationwide Series.”

    With Alex Bowman behind the wheel and Chris Rice calling the shots this year, the No. 99 team has scored five top 15 finishes in seven starts, including a third at the season opening Daytona race.

    This past weekend, though, RAB Racing branched out with a second car – the No. 29 Toyota Care Camry – with Kenny Wallace driving.

    “Just to get Kenny Wallace back in the seat – he has done a lot for our race team,” Benton commented. “He had been a very important part of RAB Racing for the past almost four years. Being able to take him back to a place that is near and dear to him – Richmond is one of his favourite tracks – I think was very special to us.”

    Benton also got to return to his roots, sitting on the box as the crew chief.

    “As a car owner on this race team, my normal day to day attention is elsewhere,” he said. “I used to be a crew chief when we started this team so it’s nice to get back to working on the cars and sitting on the pit box and things like that. It really reminded me of how strong our 99 group is because there are things that you take for granted, things that they do on a normal routine basis. When you have to do it for yourself, you’re reminded of how good a job they actually do.”

    Benton says that he was proud of how the team ran with being a new team. They were seventh and second in the two practice sessions, before qualifying fifth.

    “We were able to show strength in our organization because the 99 has run upfront a lot this year and to be able to unload another car and be able to run up front with Kenny showed a lot,” Benton commented. “It was fun to work with Kenny again. We hadn’t got to work with him since last year. It was an honor to serve as his crew chief.”

     

    The race wouldn’t go as well as Benton had planned as they’d finished 36th due to a failure in the rear end gear.

    “We had a DNF there which no team wants, which we defiantly didn’t with bringing Kenny back into the organization and his first race in 2013 being a DNF,” he commented. “We’ll get back to Charlotte and rebound from it and hopefully have a good run there.”

    With one of the smaller organizations in the garage compared to the Sprint Cup Series backed organizations they are running against, Benton says that he feels proud when his guys can go out there and compete right alongside them.

    “I think what we lack in budget, we make up for with the guys in heart and effort and experience,” he said. “Our guys want it bad and everybody that works here knows what we have to work with and the constraints that we’re operating in. I think running well is the best thing that can happen because it pushes the guys that much further. I think going into the season we had a goal that we wanted to try and meet. As you run and do better, those goals change, but our guys have stayed realistic in what we should do and what we want to do. At the same time, everybody is very proud to compete with the Gibbs and the Roush and the RCR cars, Penske cars. T

    “hose are the cars that we’re parked in between in points so I think that says a lot for our organization, for our size to the people that we have to the budget that we have to the budget, it’s something that we can be proud of.”

  • Erik Jones impresses early in career with Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Erik Jones impresses early in career with Kyle Busch Motorsports

    Last year when ARCA lowered their age limit t0 15 years old, Erik Jones became the youngest driver to ever start in an ARCA race.

    This year, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series officials lowered the series age limit to 16 for tracks 1.1 mile or smaller and the road courses. Jones once again made history, becoming the youngest driver to run a Truck Series race.

    In process of making that history, Jones has impressed as he finished top 10 in both of his starts so far – Martinsville and Rockingham.

    “They’ve been good,” he said. “Happy with it so far.

    “Going to Martinsville was a new experience for me. Getting used to a new team and a new car, getting used to working with them and a new track, too. So going there was cool.”

    At Martinsville, Jones would qualify 19th and worked his way steadily through the field avoiding the wrecks to finish ninth.

    “It was a fun track,” he commented. “We had a longer day qualifying 19th – not what we wanted – but actually getting into the top 10 in my truck race was good.”

    At Rockingham, he would have problems with the front end of the truck hitting the race track, resulting in a last place qualifying effort. Though he used all 205 laps to his advantage as he would make his way through the field to finish ninth once again.

    “We had a little unfortunate qualifying run – truck hit the race track and really slowed our lap down and qualified dead last,” he summarized the day. “So made for a pretty long day and working with our way up through there and going a lap down at one time, getting our lap back but we ended up in the top 10.

    “We’ve been solid in our first few races with KBM. We’ve had fast Toyota Tundras the whole time so I need to work on qualifying better and we’ll be in the contention more of the day instead of working at just getting up there.”

    A driver as young as Jones embodies the reasons that Kyle Busch had in starting Kyle Busch Motorsports as Busch wanted to bring in young drivers and give them a shot.

    “It’s pretty neat to see the young talent and that’s kind of the whole point in having a Kyle Busch Motorsports, having a Late Model program, having a Truck Series program, having a Nationwide Series program,” Busch said in an interview in February. “We’re trying to help bring that younger talent to NASCAR.”

    Before the age limit was lowered, Jones had been in talks with KBM about possibly doing some late model races.

    “Then when the series changed the minimum age, we wanted to run some trucks for someone,” Jones said. “Luckily, we ran against Kyle and ended up winning against Kyle. So that really opened the door for us to get in touch with KBM and run some truck races for them.”

    joneserikberlin12
    (C)ARCARacing.com

    In the late stages of the race, Jones was able to pass Kyle Busch for the victory in the Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway. Known as one of the crown jewels in short track racing, the win meant a lot to Jones and his team.

    “It really a big win for us,” he commented. “2012 was a trying year for us – we had a lot of parts failures, lot of bad luck. Going down to the Derby and it all came together for one of the biggest win of my career and it was really big for me and my team in getting that momentum back on our side at the end of the year like that.

    “Being able to win that race was something that I wanted to do ever since I learned how big the Snowball Derby was.”

    In working with Kyle Busch, Jones says that the Sprint Cup Series driver and team owner is really helpful.

    “I talk to him before every race at a track that I haven’t been to and also tracks that I have been to, to just get his opinion,” Jones said. “He’s more than helpful, more than anything you can ask for help. He’s very open to help.”

    Jones also says that it great to have teammates like Joey Coulter and Darrell Wallace Jr. to share information with.

    “I can’t share as much information, but I try to share as much as I can during the weekend,” he said. “We talk about what the trucks are doing and whether they did something and fixed it if they’re having the same issue. That’s why it’s very helpful to have teammates to be able to share more and more information.”

    Jones’ next start with KBM will come in June at Iowa Speedway, which he says he is looking forward to as it should be a “really good track for us.”

    When he’s not behind the wheel of a truck, Jones will return back to the ARCA Series with Venturini Motorsports to race at Pocono Raceway and Kentucky Speedway.

    “Getting able to get back in arca car this year is great, espically with Venturini,” he commented. “They are a strong contender pretty much every track that they go to so looking forward to getting in their cars, espically at Pocono and Kenucky. I’ve never been on a big mile and a half- 2 mile track like that so being able to getting on a track like that is a big opportunity for me.

    “Hopefully I’m able to get on there and learn a lot of stuff about bigger race tracks. Hopefully we can pick up our first ARCA win.”

    Jones started racing at the age of seven in quarter midgets, before moving to Street Stocks when he turned 12.

    At the age of 13, he moved up to Late Models and last year, attracted the eyes of Venturini Motorsports, running 10 races for them last year. In those 10 races, the young driver was able to score five top 10 finishes.

    With the way his career has gone so far, many are wondering when the Bryon, Michigan native is going to move up to the next levels in NASCAR. Jones says that it’s kind of hard to say.

    “When I got into late models, I kind of had a timeline planned out – I would look at that timeline and set goals for myself with where I wanted to be at this time,” he said. “When I was 17,18 years old I wanted to be running trucks. When I was 20 years old I wanted to be running Nationwide.

    “In five years, I’d really like to be running Nationwide, maybe even Cup. The ultimate goal is to be racing. If I can be driving racecars, that’s all I can ask for.”

  • Gearing Up for Race Weekend at Richmond with the Track President

    Gearing Up for Race Weekend at Richmond with the Track President

    Some of the best short-track racing in the world occurs at the Richmond International Raceway. Twice a year, fans pour into the facility to witness classic short-track racing and to see the stars of NASCAR do what they do best. The whole show is run by many people, but Track President Dennis Bickmeier oversees the entire facility. He is just as excited as race fans are for the upcoming race weekend and he expects fans to have a great experience. In addition to all of the great things that the track has had in the past, they have added even more for this season.

    I was fortunate enough to interview Dennis and he gave me some great insight on what is happening behind the scenes to prepare for race weekend at RIR. Below, you can read the interview and get stoked about the upcoming races that will be occurring at RIR.

    What are some of the exciting things you and the Richmond International Raceway staff have in-store for race weekend?

    “I think the biggest thing that comes to mind right now is “new.” We have a lot of new initiatives we are rolling out, as well as finalizing some new construction in an effort to enhance the facility that will greet our fans. Some examples include: a new frontstretch gate and redesign of our midway area; new food courts with some local and national restaurant flavor; new tent camping; additional traditional camping opportunities; new flow for our pit pass guests to enjoy more in the infield.”

    Through social media, I see that you guys have many more exciting additions scheduled for race weekend this year, it’s a great thing to see, but how did you guys come up with all of these new and exciting things?

    “Our team has gone through an extensive strategic planning process on what we want to be and then how do you get there and make it happen. So, you need a plan first and part of that plan is generated by feedback from fans. We get a lot of that via social media and post race surveys, but we also utilize our fan advisory council to provide input. Most importantly, a lot of the ideas are generated by one on one conversations that I have and our team has with fans on race weekend.”

    As track president, what are the things that you most look forward to on race-weekend?

    “There are many but I really like seeing the place come to life. Each day during the week something new is happening. People are arriving to set up the midway or the TV compound or something in the infield. Then, campers start arriving, followed by the drivers and teams. Then, it’s time to get into the on-track schedule and the fans are arriving. Each day builds and I really enjoy the energy that builds with it.”

    What do you believe is the one factor that keeps bringing fans back to Richmond each year?

    “One factor is probably difficult to chose, but I will say the short track racing action that is produced here! I think the fact that we’ve been doing NASCAR racing here for more than 60 years is a great advantage.”

    Kyle Busch has been super successful in the Spring Races at RIR, do you believe his fans are attracted to the track because of his dominance and do you think he can make it five straight Spring Race victories?

    “I think he is off to a tremendous start of the season and has certainly rebounded from a tough season-opening race in Daytona. Yes, I do believe he can make it five; however, I do think there are some unknowns with the new Gen-6 car, so I think everyone will be on a bit of a learning curve. I think his fans appreciate him for who he is and he wins. We had a great turnout of his fans recently at an event in the DC area, and I could definitely see their appreciation for “their” driver.”

    Truck Series fans love short-track racing and many of them would like to see the Trucks back at RIR, do you see that as an option for your track in the coming years?

    “I would never say never. I love the Camping World Truck Series, but you have to have a lot of things align on the scheduling and ticket sales side to make it all work.”

    As the race weekend grows closer, are your ticket sales where you would like them to be for the race weekend?

    “There continues to be room for growth, but I like our plan and I like our momentum being a week out. There are some great wins that we’ve experienced in some our ticket initiatives, for example, we implemented tent camping for the first time, and it is sold out; we’ve launched a car corral for car clubs for the first time and it has sold out. We’ll keep building every day.”

    What are a few of things that you are most anticipating for race weekend?

    “For me, it’s getting around to see and talk to the fans. I look forward to hearing their stories and putting on a good show for them. Our satisfaction comes in knowing we executed a great event. I think the other thing is seeing all the hard work and dedication our team puts in to staging these events come to life.”

    Is there anything you want the fans to know regarding the upcoming races at RIR?

    “I want people who have never been here before to come check us out, and for our fans who are attending or returning to have a good time. I want everyone who is coming to prepare for a great weekend of racing and take advantage of our mobile app and the information on our website to help them enjoy the weekend. We have a lot of new initiatives here this race, and I hope everyone enjoys what they see. And, as a reminder, we have three days of racing for this event, April 25-27, and go to rir.com for ticket and event information!”

    If you don’t attend the races at Richmond next weekend, you’ll be missing out on a great show. The track always puts on a great race weekend for the fans and this year’s races will be as thrilling as always. You can keep up with the happenings at Richmond next weekend on twitter if you follow Dennis on twitter (@RIRPrez) and follow the Richmond International Raceway (@RIRInsider). Get ready race fans because NASCAR will be invading Richmond very soon for some classic short-track racing.

  • NASCAR BTS: Fabian Hall Fulfills Dream of Cooking for Aric Almirola and Petty Race Team

    NASCAR BTS: Fabian Hall Fulfills Dream of Cooking for Aric Almirola and Petty Race Team

    This edition of NASCAR ‘Behind the Scenes’ focuses on Fabian Hall, Army Staff Sergeant, cancer survivor, and aspiring chef, who had his dream come true thanks to Petty Motorsports, Aric Almriola and Eckrich.

    This past weekend, Hall was surprised with the opportunity to be the chef at Texas Motor Speedway for Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Almirola’s sponsor Eckrich, part of the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, made the dream come true thanks to their corporate partnership with Operation Homefront.

    Eckrich gave Hall the opportunity to not only accompany the Petty race team to Texas for the NASCAR weekend, but also set him up with a new grilling set so that he could prepare meals for the team. And this was all revealed to Hall in a surprise trip to a local grocery store.

    “We went to Kroger’s and saw all this stuff set up by Eckrich and all of a sudden, here comes the race car around the corner,” Hall said of how he first learned about his opportunity to cook trackside. “I was surprised.”

    “After that, they told me what was in store for the whole race weekend and then we shopped for what I would be cooking for the team all weekend,” Hall continued. “It was a thrill ride for me.”

    “It was really cool to be able to surprise Fabian,” Aric Almirola, driver of the famed No. 43 said. “I drove the show car around the corner and of course revved the engine when I got up to him.”

    “He has done a lot for our country and it was really great to give back to him,” Almirola continued. “He was very surprised and really got a kick out of the car being there.”

    While Hall enjoys NASCAR, he is primarily a fan of the automobile.

    “I’m a car fan period,” Hall said. “If it’s got wheels on it, I’ll watch it.”

    While Hall has heard of many of the NASCAR stars, he admitted to not following a particular driver or team. This past race weekend, his first ever at the track in person, may just have changed all of that for this warrior chef.

    “I’ve heard of a lot of the drivers but don’t follow any one driver,” Hall said. “I like the sound of the engines and how they are driving. so I just watch the sport because of my love of the cars and the enthusiasm I get from watching the cars.”

    “I’ve never really followed just one driver but I’m definitely keeping my eyes on Aric from here on out.”

    “This was my first time at the track,” Hall said. “I was pretty amazing, especially when you get to hear that caliber of car and the engines revved up.”

    While Hall was having a great time ogling all those fast cars, he also had a job to do. And this aspiring chef cooked up a storm for Almirola, the ‘King’ Richard Petty and the No. 43 team.

    “The first meal I did was a beer brine for the sausages,” Hall said. “I did a vegetable medley with peppers, onions, and squash on the grill with that and some nice white rice to go with it.”

    “I also did a beer brine barbecue sauce to finish it off,” Hall continued. “The second day, I did a mac and cheese casserole with several different cheeses, sausage, peppers and garlic.”

    “I grilled all that off together and did some bacon as well,” Hall said. “I covered it all with cheese and when the team opened it up and saw it, it was like they were in Disneyland.”

    “It was pretty awesome.”

    Hall admitted that what has meant most to him was the encouragement and positive comments that he got from the team about his cooking.

    “He is a great cook!” Almirola said. “He made dinner for the team on Friday and Saturday and it was delicious.”

    “I’ve gotten a lot of text messages letting me know how much the team enjoyed my food,” Hall said. “I could see the look on their faces of the crew members that they enjoyed it.”

    “They said that two top chefs came in and cooked for them before but they said my food beat their food,” Hall continued. “That was a great thing to hear and take in.”

    “To know that after so many years of being in the Army and learning so many different things and then to go to school and to be able to cook on the same caliber as someone I’ve seen on TV cooking, that was a good feeling.”

    Hall has honed his culinary skills from the time he was a young boy, cooking at the feet of his grandmother.  He then continued to cook in the Army, prior to being diagnosed with cancer and having to undergo serious treatment.

    “I’m from east Texas and that’s a little country area, where either you’re hauling logs or working on cars,” Hall said. “I worked on cars but also watched my grandmother in the kitchen.”

    “When I was 14 years old, I decided I was hungry and fixed a roast and stuck with it ever since,” Hall continued. “When I joined the military, they gave me the choice of either being a mechanic or a cook and of course I chose the lesser of the greasy jobs.”

    “I think I did my grandmother justice because not only have I taken her recipes and done elegant dishes but I’ve used the techniques that I learned from her in school and in the Army,” Hall said. “My service in the military and the time I spent learning things, from Germany to here at San Antonio receiving my treatment for cancer, I’ve done my profession well in tribute to her.”

    Hall shared that what surprised him most about being at the track and cooking for the race team was just how family-oriented the team was. And of course, he was tremendously  impressed by the head of that Petty race team family, the ‘King’ himself.

    “Richard Petty is one of the most humble guys,” Hall said. “You can tell he is a country boy and we got along well.”

    “I loved hanging out with him and him coming by and sneaking his finger into my food,” Hall continued. “That final dessert he tasted, you could tell he liked my food.”

    “He could not put that plate down of the apple ala mode,” Hall said. “A lot of people were surprised that I did that dessert being that I only had a grill to cook on.”

    “But I still made apple ala mode and they were surprised that I pulled it off.”

    For Hall, cooking for Richard Petty and company was most assuredly one of the biggest blessings that he has experienced in his life. Yet he has kept it all in perspective, especially after his experiences in the Army and with battling cancer.

    “To me, it was an add-on to God blessing me to still be here,” Hall said. “When I went through my chemotherapy, there were low points and I thought I was not going to make it.”

    “My mother and my family came in and helped push me along and kept me motivated,” Hall continued. “They would pray with me and for me and that kept me grounded to my roots in church.”

    “When you have something like that to ground you, you can’t go wrong,” Hall said. “Family, church and prayer helped me a lot.”

    “So, I was not expecting to be there for this race experience,” Hall continued. “And now that I have, it’s just another blessing.”

    “God blessed me to be able to do it and I’m looking forward to many more opportunities to bless other people’s stomachs and mouths,” Hall said. “I feel like what I do is a blessing and I’m going to keep on sharing that blessing with everyone else.”

    Petty driver Aric Almirola echoed Hall’s sentiments about his time at the track.

    “He is a great example of perseverance,” Almirola said. “He went overseas and fought for our country and then came back and fought for his life.”

    “To see someone go through all of that and still have a positive outlook on life is really inspiring,” Almirola continued. “I’m just glad to work with a company like Eckrich that supports charities like Operation Homefront and really gives back to the community.”

    “We wouldn’t be able to race every weekend if it weren’t for people like Fabian who give up everything to fight for our freedom,” Almirola said. “So anytime you can give back, even in a small way, is huge.”