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Category: Featured Interview

Featured interviews from SpeedwayMedia.com

  • Marco Andretti: Bad Luck Bites Early, Looking Forward to Long Beach

    Marco Andretti: Bad Luck Bites Early, Looking Forward to Long Beach

    [media-credit name=”LAT Photo” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Looking at the box scores, you could say it hasn’t been the best start of a season for Marco Andretti as he finished 14th at St. Petersburg and 11th at Barber. However, it doesn’t indicate how strong he has actually been.

    “I think so far we’ve just had a bit of bad luck,” Andretti says. “We’ve been on the wrong side of that.”

    The last race at Barber Motorsports Park is a perfect example as the team played it conservatively in qualifying, not getting as much speed as they would’ve liked to out of the car, qualifying 13th. In the race, Andretti looked strong in the middle of the race, before contact with EJ Viso caused the front wing to break.

    With this year marking the first year with the new chassis, it is a learning experience for everybody, but the 25-year-old says he likes the new chassis so far.

    “The racecar, driving it itself, has been a lot of fun,” the Nazareth, Pa. native says. “So far, we’ve been quicker every road course and it’s got a lot of more downforce. As a driver, a lot more grip, you like that. You can carry more speed so on the road courses; we’ve been quicker everywhere we’ve gone so it’s been a lot of fun.”

    From road courses to ovals, it has been all about making sure the cars drive well for the drivers while producing solid racing. That diversity of types of tracks is something Andretti enjoys about the series.

    “The beauty of the IndyCar series is it is that diverse – small oval, big oval, road course, street course,” he says. “I like the diversity and I think the diversity is key.”

    In continuing to work on tweaking the cars, IndyCar Series drivers took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for some testing.

    “On our own, it’s pretty similar (to the old car),” Andretti says. “But I think in traffic right now, their creating a lot turbulence and you lose a lot of grip so we’re trying to make that better.”

    At the end of testing on April 4th, Andretti topped the chart of nine drivers that took the track. Being victorious in this year’s running of the Indianapolis 500 is already on Andretti’s mind after previous success there.

    “That’s been my goal,” he says. “I’ve been on every step of the podium there, except the top one. So winning Indy would be great.”

    To go along with a win at Indy this year, Andretti added that he would like to stream together a couple of wins together.

    Beyond having a new chassis for this year, Andretti has a teammate as Andretti Autosport added James Hinchcliffe to their driver line-up for 2012. Andretti says so far working with Hinchcliffe has been fantastic.

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignright” width=”149″][/media-credit]“A solid guy like him, you just hit the ground running,” he says. “As far as the camaraderie goes, it’s just made it better. The three of us (Andretti, Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay) have been on the same page with one goal in mind, and that’s winning.”

    Hoping to find his way to victory lane, Andretti heads to Long Beach, a track that has been very good to the Andretti family.

    “My thoughts are to just show up and hopefully be competitive off the truck,” he says. “I’d love to bring home there for the team, but also for the family as it would mean a lot to us. I think it’s where dad (Michael Andretti) had his first and last win, so they’ve been very successful there. So I’m looking to show up to win.”

    Success there has been definitely evident for the Andrettis through the years as Mario Andretti won there four times while Michael Andretti won there twice. Andretti Autosport also looks for their third win in a row as a team there as Ryan Hunter-Reay won in 2010 while Mike Conway won last year.

    Coming from a family with as much success in the series as the Andrettis, it is very easy for Marco to call both his father and grandfather his racing heroes.

    “They are both my heroes and they were both the ones to beat in their eras,” he says. “So it’s tough to pick between the two of them.”

  • Erik Jones: Youngest Driver to Start an ARCA Racing Series Race

    Erik Jones: Youngest Driver to Start an ARCA Racing Series Race

    For the 2012 racing season, ARCA Racing Series officials made the decision to lower the age limit from 16 to 15. The new rules would allow drivers that were 15 years old and older to run short tracks, while waiting till they turned 18 to run the bigger tracks.

    Last month at Mobile International Speedway, 15-year-old Erik Jones took advantage of that as he drove the No. 55 Paragon Corvette Reproductions Chevrolet for Venturini Motorsports.

    “To be able to go and take advantage of the lower age limit, definitely was a cool experience to be able to be the first one to do that,” Jones says, adding that it’s great to be able to start young and do well.

    The day didn’t work out as Jones would’ve planned as mechanical issues would result in a 29th place finish.

    “It was a great learning experience to get used to working with Venturini Motorsports,” Jones, who qualified third for the event, says. “We learned a lot. I personally learned a lot about what I want personally in a racecar and this is a new style of racecar that I haven’t driven before. Just a lot of good experience, had a good run going before we broke. Definitely thought we were going to finish in the top three.”

    Jones is hoping to take what he learned at Mobile and apply it to Salem at the end of the month.

    “Salem is going to be a good race,” he says. “Venturini has always done well there so I’m hoping to go there and continue their tradition of doing well at Salem.  I’ve never been to Salem personally; I’ve heard a lot about it. It sounds like it’s got a lot of character so I always like going to a new race track and we’re really looking forward to it.”

    In years past, ARCA left the age limit at 16 as many felt letting drivers younger race was a bad idea. However, Jones says it works due to how they set it up.

    “There are definitely some drivers out there at (age) 15 that aren’t going to be ready to move into an ARCA car,” he explains. ”But they’ve got specific qualifications on that so I think they did a good job on lowering the age limit, but not allowing just any 15 year old to hop in these rides.”

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

    Getting him started in racing was his grandfather as Jones says his grandpa, “built a lot of motors, drag raced himself, and he is kind of a gearhead. My mom and dad helped get me into quarter midgets and still help me to this day. They’ve been a big part, too, in getting me started.”

    At the age of 13, he moved up to Late Models and continues to race at that level well racing in ARCA.

    “Late Models definitely teaches you a lot,” the 2011 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion says. “It teaches you to race with a higher horsepower car, and definitely a lot more experienced drivers. Racing with those guys, you learn a lot about how you need to race people, how to be aggressive and how to save your stuff when you don’t need to be aggressive. There are so many things you learn in Late Models that I don’t think you could learn in other places.”

    It seems only fitting that it would be Venturini Motorsports being the first team to take advantage of the new rule based on their driver development program that has helped develop many drivers. Jones is well aware of the team’s history as Venturini Motorsports enters its 30th year of competition.

    “It’s cool to drive for a team that has as much as success and been around as long as Venturini Motorsports,” Jones says. “It’s definitely an honor to say the least.”

    Jones adds that working with Venturini Motorsports is a good learning experience as he gets to learn about working within a big organization and having teammates.

    “To come into a program like that and be able to learn so much, so quick, it’s very beneficial to my racing career,” he adds.

    Going down the road in the future, Jones hopes to be at the Sprint Cup level.

    “I think every driver would say that they’d like to see themselves in a Sprint Cup racecar racing for somebody,” he says. “Obviously I would like to see myself there. I believe we’ve put ourselves in the right situation to have a good shot at that. Hopefully we can get myself up to the Cup Series and be able to race for a living.

    Outside of racing, Jones enjoys listening to music, scuba diving and playing guitar.

  • J.R. Fitzpatrick Set to Tackle Martinsville Paperclip This Weekend

    J.R. Fitzpatrick Set to Tackle Martinsville Paperclip This Weekend

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]A couple weeks before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, fans learned that J.R. Fitzpatrick had struck a deal to drive for TurnOne Racing this season. However, it wasn’t just a quick last minute deal.

    “Stacy and I had been talking well over a year, putting this deal together,” Fitzpatrick says. “Even though we still got a couple gaps to go for the remaining parts of the year to be able to run full season here.”

    The opening race at Daytona didn’t go as Fitzpatrick would’ve hoped as he finished 34th due to debris hitting the radiator.

    “It’s just unfortunate that we didn’t have a truck that was very fast by itself, so obviously we had to start at the back,” he says. “It worked really well, it sucked up in the draft really well. I think if we would’ve missed the wreck, we would’ve been good.

    “I hung around the back, tried to stay away from all the wrecks, but ended up involved in one. So you go to front, you go to the back, I don’t know. Its just a big chess game. So our strategy didn’t work.”

    Now focus shifts to this weekend at Martinsville Speedway where Fitzpatrick is hoping to have a good finish.

    “The track is exciting,” he says. “Obviously it’s a little more familiar to what I’m used to, in terms of short track racing. Even though it’s definitely a lot bigger than tracks at home, it’s definitely something I’m comfortable on. I’ve already been there twice.

    In his last two starts on the paperclip, despite running strong, he finished 21st both times due to being caught up in wrecks. However, so far this weekend things look good as he was 15th in final practice and tested well.

    “We tested extremely well so I think going into the race this weekend, I think we have one of the best trucks ever,” he says. “So looking forward to it.”

    Hoping the rest of the season goes well, Fitzpatrick is hoping to finish in the top 10 in points.

    He got started in racing at the age of six running a Jr. Late Model at Sauble Beach. Then he was 13 years old, he moved to Delaware Speedway and got a late model.

    Fitzpatrick then moved up to the CASCAR Super Series, where he finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings in 2004 at the age of 16. At the age of 17, he scored his first win and got three top-fives and five top-10 finishes.

    [media-credit name=”TurnOne Racing” align=”alignright” width=”301″][/media-credit]Then in 2006, he became the youngest Canadian National Series Champion winning the CASCAR Championship with a win, five podium finishes and two pole awards at the age of 18.

    Between 2006 and 2007, NASCAR took over the series, renaming it the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Since then, Fitzpatrick has scored six wins, 22 top fives and 36 top 10s in 54 starts while finishing as high as second in 2010.

    Heading into this year, he is hoping to win the championship.

    “I haven’t been able to piece that together,” he says. “Last couple of years, I’ve been second, third in points, due to mechanical failure. I think now with the new stuff that we’ve got, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem anymore.”

    The first race on the schedule is Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Mosport), which is set to happen on May 20th.

    “We’re going for the win,” he says. “I think there’s only two of us that are two time winners at that place and we’re both going to be at that race so it’s going to be exciting. That’s one of my favourite tracks and to be one of the guys everybody watches every week when we go there, it’s kind of a cool feeling. Having new road course equipment, it makes that program better. So I think we’re going to be a threat to win one.”

    When he is not racing at the NASCAR ranks, you can still find Fitzpatrick racing somewhere as he often goes go-karting.

    “It’s a lot of fun,” he says. “When I’m not working on a car or doing anything of that nature, I go out with a bunch of people and go-kart whenever I can. The place I normally go to, I know inside and out, so it’s a lot of fun.”

    Looking forward 10 years down the road, he says he can’t plan that far ahead, but still wants to be racing.

  • Paulie Harraka Takes Martinsville Truck High Tech

    Paulie Harraka Takes Martinsville Truck High Tech

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Scott Hunter” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]Paulie Harraka is not only competing in the Camping World Truck Series and finishing his senior year at Duke but, this weekend, the Rookie of the Year candidate will be taking his Truck high tech at Martinsville.

    The native New Jersey driver has a new sponsor partner for his No. 5 Wauters Motorsport Ford F-150, the high tech company MC10. This company reshapes electronics to create thin systems that stretch, bend and flex, including body-worn sensors for high quality data collection.

    “We’re really excited,” Harraka said. “MC10 is certainly a company that is at the fore front of high tech development and has such wide reaching applications.”

    “When you think about what you could do if you could take all these electronics that we use and make them flexible, you realize there are applications pretty much everywhere.”

    MC10, a new company based in Boston, was looking for an innovative marketing platform for their products. After meeting Harraka, they decided that NASCAR would indeed match their company’s needs and agreed to go racing with him at Martinsville, including using him as a bit of a guinea pig for their products.

    “MC10 sensors have huge capabilities, from measuring heart rate to anything that we have a way to measure,” Harraka said. “I’ll actually have a sample of their electronics on me during the race.”

    “So, the possibilities are almost endless,” Harraka continued. “I know this is the beginning of a long partnership.”

    The partnership between MC10 and Harraka actually began at a conference and flourished from there. Although the company was not familiar with NASCAR, it was not a ‘hard sell’ once they reviewed the statistics of the reach of the sport and the loyalty of the fan base.

    “When I was up at the Sports Analytics Conference, I met with the CEO of MC10 and he expressed an interest,” Harraka continued. “We explored ways that MC10 technology is applicable to NASCAR.”

    “When they began to see how their technology applied to the sport of racing, that’s how the discussion turned to how to promote this,” Harraka said. “And the sponsorship discussion began.”

    “While the CEO was not generally a fan of the sport himself, people are generally familiar with the sport and how big the fan base is, how loyal the fan base is and what the reach is,” Harraka continued. “You can bring somebody in and they get it pretty quickly.”

    Marrying his business savvy with his racing acumen has been just one of the elements that has made Harraka unique in the NASCAR racing world. And through his education and connections made at Duke, the young driver has been committed to exposing new corporations to the sport.

    “One of the hallmarks of what we’ve done is to bring in a lot of business partners,” Harraka said. “And without a doubt, this is a unique way to approach motorsports.”

    “On one hand, it’s a great way to raise capital initially,” Harraka continued. “But on the other hand, the big pro to it is to bring these different businesses, with all their accolades, from marketing to venture capitalists, in to learn about NASCAR.”

    “They understand very quickly the opportunities and ways to bring their businesses into the sport,” Harraka said. “It’s unique and the payoff is just starting.”

    With his new sponsor in hand and planning to attend the upcoming race at Martinsville, Harraka cannot wait to get back to racing after the month-long break since Daytona.

    “Daytona was kind of a tease and then you have a lot of time off,” Harraka said. “I would much rather be racing every weekend.”

    “But the guys have been hard at work building trucks and getting us ready,” Harraka continued. “After Martinsville, we have a week off but then we go to Rockingham and then, boom, we head to Kansas.”

    “So, we go into a little stretch of racing, which is exciting,” Harraka said. “I’m excited to get into the meat of the racing season starting at Martinsville.”

    Harraka acknowledged that nothing he learned on the high banks of the superspeedway of Daytona will apply to the paper-clip shaped track at Martinsville. Yet he also feels that he will be returning to his roots, racing on a short track.

    “Daytona is most certainly a unique place,” Harraka said. “But all that we learn at Daytona really only applies there and Talladega, so Martinsville will be a completely different animal.”

    “But it is definitely one that is more in my element and where I have my experience base,” Harraka continued. “So, I’m excited to get back to a nice little half mile.”

    Harraka has no different expectations for his upcoming race weekend than he ever does when he gets behind the wheel. He expects to be in victory circle at the end of the race.

    “I expect us to run well,” Harraka said. “I expect that we can run up front and lead laps and that we can bring home a good finish.”

    “We’re going to the race track to win and I really do believe that we can come home with a great finish.”

    While Harraka may be confident about his race expectations, he is reserving judgment on one Martinsville tradition. He is just not sure about having one of those infamous Martinsville hot dogs.

    “We’ll see,” Harraka said. “I’m not sure how my stomach will do with those. So, I make no predictions there.”

    Most of all, Harraka looks forward to returning to racing with his new sponsor MC10 on the race truck and cheering him on in the pits.

    “I think everyone in this sport recognizes that the best thing for our sport is to bring in more companies that haven’t been involved in our sport,” Harraka said. “To expose them to the power of NASCAR is just exciting.”

    “To go outside the reach of a normal motorsports sponsorship and bring in a company totally outside of that to show the value of the sport is great for them,” Harraka continued. “And it’s great for us and for the sport as a whole.”

    “I expect that the relationship will grow into a lot of partnerships moving forward,” Harraka said. “We already have some cool things cooking post-Martinsville.”

  • Jeb Burton: Famous Last Name But Just A Regular Guy

    Jeb Burton: Famous Last Name But Just A Regular Guy

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Jeb Burton Racing Facebook Page” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]As the son of Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton and nephew of NASCAR Cup driver Jeff Burton, the teenager Jeb Burton most certainly bears that famous last name. But in spite of that, the young up and coming racer says he is “just a regular guy.”

    “I have a full-time job at a transmission shop,” Burton said. “It’s 30 hours a week but it’s still a pretty good job.”

    “I work like most everybody does, getting up and going to it every Monday morning and being stressed just like they are.”

    Burton also says he is pretty much of a ‘regular guy’ when it comes to his hobbies and what he likes to do when he is away from the hustle and bustle of the transmission shop.

    “I like to hunt and fish and go to the lake,” Burton said. “That’s what I do when I’m not working.”

    This weekend, however, the young man will be trading in his ‘regular guy’ status to follow in the footsteps of his famous racing family names.

    In fact, Jeb Burton will be making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, piloting the No. 27 State Water Heaters Chevrolet for Hillman Racing, in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway on March 31st.

    “I’m really excited,” Burton said. “I just want to go out there and keep my nose clean at Martinsville and hopefully come out with a top ten finish.”

    “I don’t want to tear anything up so I don’t cost us any money,” Burton continued. “And I want to finish top-10 or top-12 every race and not tear things up.”

    “Anything can happen when you don’t tear stuff up and run well.”

    In this instance, Burton’s famous last name definitely helped in putting his Truck racing deal together. After much investigation, Jeb and his father settled on a deal to race for Mike Hillman with veteran crew chief Trip Bruce and State Water Heaters on the hood of the race truck.

    “My dad went down to Charlotte to look at ARCA teams and some K&N East teams and realized that it didn’t cost much more to run trucks,” Burton said. “So, we went after our sponsor State Water Heaters. They’ve been helping Dad for the last couple of years and they seem really interested.”

    “We got with Mike Hillman and he was parting with Bob Germain and had a bunch of good equipment and thought it would be good for us to come with him,” Burton continued. “I started working with him, worked with him for a few days, and we’re all communicating well.”

    Burton is also communicating well with Trip Bruce, probably one of the most important member of the team as the youngster’s new crew chief. Burton is also looking forward to Bruce’s sharing his veteran knowledge of the sport, having crew chiefed for other drivers such as Johnny Benson and Kasey Kahne.

    “Me and Trip get along good,” Burton said. “We’ve only been to the race track twice together so we probably need to get a little better with that.”

    “It just takes time for him to find out what I want in the car and the adjustments he needs to make to make me go fast,” Burton continued. “I think me and Trip will work well together.”

    In spite of his ‘regular guy’ status, has the young driver learned any lessons from the other famous race car drivers with the same last name? Or does having that famous name sometimes become more of a hindrance than a help?

    “Dad gives me his input and help,” Burton said. “But me and Dad don’t see eye to eye on some things sometimes. So, he kind of stays out of it.”

    “I watch the races every Sunday and I see not only what my uncle does but what other people are doing, making mistakes and what they’re doing that is good,” Burton continued. “I just try to soak all that in.”

    “I’m sure Jeff and my Dad will talk to me a lot this week,” Burton continued. “I know they’re both probably excited about it for me.”

    Burton acknowledged that he has another mentor, to whom he often turns on and off the track. And this mentor will be in his ear for his Martinsville Truck debut.

    “I’ve got a good buddy who is my crew chief in my late model car and me and him get along great,” Burton said. “There is good chemistry there.”

    “He’s probably going to spot for me because he’s my spotter in my late model car,” Burton continued. “He keeps me calm on the radio.”

    “He believes in me and I believe in him,” Burton said. “When you have somebody that’s spotting for you and you don’t know him well, they make think you’re just not driving well. He knows I’m driving the wheels off it.”

    “That’s another reason I like him so much,” Burton continued. “He knows I can get it done and he believes in me.”

    “That’s a big part of this sport.”

    Burton also acknowledged that his late model racing experience will serve him well as he prepares for his Truck Series debut.

    “Definitely late models have prepared me best for Trucks,” Burton said. “I tried ARCA and ran one race and on the first lap I got wrecked going down the back straightaway. That wasn’t a very good race.”

    “The late models have definitely trained me,” Burton continued. “It’s a tough division to run in and win races. There’s a lot of good drivers.”

    Burton will most certainly be experiencing plenty of good drivers as he kicks off his Truck season with his new team at a track that is right in his back yard. In spite of that, however, the young driver is not claiming any home field advantage.

    “I think every race is a home race because it’s on national television,” Burton said. “I’m not going to think about that kind of pressure.”

    “I just need to work on getting the truck handling right and then the rest will fall into place.”

    While Burton has his focus completely on this weekend’s racing, he is also hoping that he can parlay a good run into racing more than just the next few that he has been promised. Currently, Burton is scheduled to compete in five races after Martinsville, including Rockingham, Kansas, Charlotte, Dover and Texas.

    “We’ve just got the next five right now and then we have to find some more opportunities with sponsors,” Burton said. “I think State Water Heaters, once they see us run well, they’ll probably continue sponsoring us.”

    And as with all young racers today, whether with famous racing last names or just ‘regular guys’, Burton took the opportunity to pitch all of his social media ties, as well as thank his fans.

    “You all can follow me on my Facebook racing page,” Burton said. “Or you can follow me on Twitter @JebBurtonRacing.”

    “If it weren’t for the fans following me, I wouldn’t get to do what I love to do,” Burton said.

  • Trevor Bayne: It’s appreciating the good days, not getting down on bad days

    Trevor Bayne: It’s appreciating the good days, not getting down on bad days

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]“Winning doesn’t come easy when you get to these top levels. To me, it’s been taking it in, appreciating the good days, not getting down on the bad days. It’s such an up and down sport. It’s really a roller coaster. You also got to ride the momentum when you have it and stay behind your guys and work hard together. It’s all about chemistry and having a team behind you that believes in you.”

    For Trevor Bayne, this season has been a roller coaster ride along with the question as to how many races he is going to be able to compete in this season.

    In the Nationwide Series so far this year, Bayne has finished in the top-11 in every race this year.

    “I think that’s about all you can ask for with the limited amount of people and cars we have because we weren’t preparing on running of the races,” he says while sitting third in points, 29 points behind Elliott Sadler.

    Bayne’s Roush-Fenway Racing (RFR) knew coming into this year they would be running a limited schedule because of the lack of sponsorship they currently had.  Bayne says it’s tough. He adds that it used to be if you ran well, you’d be able to find that sponsorship.

    “Now its about relationship, who you know and that’s makes it tough,” the 21-year-old says. “We’ve done a great job on and off the track and we should have something going on.

    “It’d be great to get with a company, work with them and represent them to have some kind of long-term security in this sport. So being with a company and growing their brand is what helps you stay in this sport for a long time and that’s what I want to do.”

    Bayne is trying to put the money together for this season, launching a campaign where fans can sponsor him in August at Bristol Motor Speedway. He says it started due to a guy from his hometown in Knoxville, Tennesse.

    “He has a couple different websites and a couple different companies.  He’s kind of an innovator and investor,” he explains. “He came up with the idea and decided to put it on the car,”

    Fans can go to and for a $20 sponsorship, they can get their name on the car and a certificate they can print saying they sponsored. If they want their photo on the car, then they can sponsor Bayne for $99.

    “It’s taken off pretty really well,” Bayne says. “A lot of people have gone on and put their name on the car, their picture on the car and I think it’s a great idea. We would love to do as many races as we can do by getting funded by the fans so the more people give, the more I get to race and the more track I get to go to and run for the championship.”

    Bayne started in racing at the age of five as both his grandparents were racers.  One involved with cars and one involved with boats.

    “My family knew speed,” he tells the story. “I actually got my first dirt bike when I was three years old and started riding around with training wheels, and when I turned four, took the training wheels off. When I turned five, I got my first go-kart, went to the race track and just fell in love with it. From the first time I went there, I knew that’s what I wanted to do and I never looked back from that.”

    He has continued to move up the racing ladder, one of the toughest challenges he has found is finding that opportunity.

    “I’ve always been very blessed, always came across the right people at the right time and the opportunity has been there,” he says. “For a lot of people, they don’t get that. Some of the best racecar drivers don’t get the chance cause they don’t come across the right people. So I’m blessed, but it’s still an issue.”

    Bayne adds that it is still about finding that opportunity to connect with the sponsors, saying that “Every driver thinks they’re the best – it’s just convincing everybody else of that to get the support around you and behind you so you can go to the race track and show it.”

    After racing the first 28 races of the 2010 Nationwide Series season for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010, he caught the eye of Jack Roush and joined RFR in October of 2010. While racing for Roush, he has also had the opportunity to form a good friendship with teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    “We push each other,” he says. “Ricky is one of the best young drivers there is so having him as a teammate, it pushes me and I think that’s the same return for him. When one of us qualifies top three and the other qualifies 10th, we know we got to get on our game. We both feel like we can get it done and we want to push each other as hard as we can. We have fun while we’re doing it. It’s cool that we can stay friends and not get too competitive.”

    Jack Roush then helped Bayne land a limited schedule Sprint Cup Series ride with Wood Brothers Racing.

    “I love the Wood Brothers,” Bayne says. “I couldn’t ask for a better organization, or family to drive for. It seems weird calling them an organization cause they’re so much just a family.”

    In just his second Cup race with the Wood Brothers in 2011, Bayne set the world on fire, winning the Daytona 500.

    “I wish I could’ve soaked it in more because it happened so fast, I didn’t realize what was going on,” he says. “I was in such a whirlwind there so I didn’t get to soak it all in. I think slowly it’s kind of coming to me that we actually that.”

    Bayne says looking at pictures of everybody smiling in victory lane, the moment is still surreal.

    “That was the coolest thing that I could ever do in my career, even if I win another Daytona 500 or a championship,” he says. “I think that was the biggest shock I could have ever made and just do it with the Wood Brothers and their family and just the way it came together was just so picture perfect.”

    Going back and forth between the two organizations has given Bayne a look at the best of both worlds.

    Looking down the road five years in advance, Bayne says he sees himself as either a Sprint Cup Series Champion or at least contending to the make the Chase, but it all “depends on the opportunity, where I’m at, the sponsorship and how much I get to race.”

    Whether Bayne is at the track or away from it, he stands by his belief for God and before going to Daytona this year, he took a trip to Africa to help the people there and says it was incredible.

    “It’s just unbelievable the joy that they had,” he says. “The joy that they had, the peace, the smiles on their faces even though they’re living in shacks, mud huts. We got to do a lot of outreach and ministry stuff and led about nine people to Jesus. I felt like it was a really successful trip. I really felt like God was behind us on it and I enjoyed it a lot.”

  • Michael McDowell Races to California on a Wing and a Prayer

    Michael McDowell Races to California on a Wing and a Prayer

    [media-credit name=”Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR ” align=”alignright” width=”218″][/media-credit]NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Michael McDowell is headed across the country, on a wing and a prayer, to Auto Club Speedway for this weekend’s race festivities.

    McDowell will be piloting his No. 98 Ford Fusion for Phil Parson/Curb-Agajanian Racing in California, thanks to a faith-based partnership with the Christian radio network K-LOVE and Curb Records.

    This unique sponsorship mixes McDowell’s passion for his faith, K-LOVE’s commitment to outreach, and Curb Records support of several Christian recording artists.

    “This year, we’ve been fortunate enough to get Curb Records and K-LOVE, a syndicated Christian radio network, to come on board,” McDowell said. “The cool thing about these partnerships is that there are things that I want to be involved, in not just from a racing standpoint but also personally.”

    As with all sponsorship opportunities, the partnership started with an introduction that expanded into a solid relationship. For McDowell, the K-LOVE introduction was made by his friends at Motor Racing Outreach and grew from there.

    “On the K-LOVE side of things, they invited my wife and I to come on the K-LOVE cruise,” McDowell said. “Right before Daytona, they have a Christian cruise, like a music cruise, to the Bahamas.”

    “There happened to be an opportunity where K-LOVE wanted to be involved in NASCAR, not just from the racing perspective but also from the outreach perspective,” McDowell continued. “So, the other partners that came on board with K-LOVE made the sponsorship possible.”

    “It’s cool how it all comes together.”

    The partnership officially started this season at Daytona, where McDowell, working with friend and fellow Christian Trevor Bayne, raced his way into the show.

    “The reach that we had in Daytona was huge,” McDowell said. “I got to work with my buddy Trevor Bayne a lot and we got a lot of exposure.”

    “Because of that K-LOVE has seen a huge response to their sponsorship and message,” McDowell continued. “They will actually have a K-LOVE booth set up in the fan zone at several of the upcoming races.”

    This past weekend in Bristol, McDowell and his team launched a new promotion with his sponsors. The campaign is called “Let It Start With Me” and is dedicated to bringing the gospel message to the NASCAR community.

    “One of Curb Record’s artists No Other Name had a single called “Let It Start With Me,” McDowell said.  “The message behind it is instead of waiting for someone else to do it or get behind a cause, it should start with me.”

    “Let me be the one that goes out and does it.”

    McDowell and his team are now set to head to the other side of the country to race at Auto Club Speedway in California. And he admits that they need prayers to cope with the intense travel schedule, especially with such a small team.

    “You go from Daytona, which got rain delayed so you’re already behind the eight ball,” McDowell said. “We only have five or six guys in the shop so when we lose a day, we lose a lot.”

    “Then we went to Phoenix and Vegas without coming home and then to Bristol,” McDowell continued. “And now off we go to California.”

    “So, it’s pretty crazy.”

    In addition to his faith, McDowell’s family, including his wife and three year old son, are also helping to cope with the rigorous racing schedule. And the driver announced that he has additional plans to add to his brood.

    “My wife and I travel together with our three year old son to all the races,” McDowell said. “For us, we drive to all the races ourselves in the motor home.”

    “My wife is expecting and is due in October,” McDowell continued. “And we are also still in the process of adopting two children from Honduras. That too is an opportunity to share that there are kids out there that need adopted and need a family to care for them.”

    From his family to the race track, McDowell is blending his faith and sponsorship in unique ways that are most personal to him.

    “This is so different from anything I’ve done in the past,” McDowell said. “This is something that I’m passion about, Christian music and outreach in particular.”

    “To be able to partner with other like-minded groups is huge for me,” McDowell continued. “It’s natural and no one has to twist my arm to show up.”

    “For me, this is who I am, what I believe in and what I’m passionate about,” McDowell said.

    “It’s where I want to be with it.”

  • Chad Hackenbracht Gets Off to a Good Start Early in ARCA Season

    Chad Hackenbracht Gets Off to a Good Start Early in ARCA Season

    [media-credit name=”CGH Motorsports” align=”alignleft” width=”280″][/media-credit]While watching a race from Daytona on television, Chad Hackenbracht became interested in racing and told his parents he wanted to race.

    “They told me to brush it off over a couple of weeks,” he tells the story. “After a couple of months, I said ‘What’s going on? Am I going to race?’.”

    His parents told him to come up with some possible options to go racing in, to which he responded go-karts and four wheelers. His parents turned both of those options down.

    “My mom said no to four-wheelers,” he continues. “My dad said no to the go-karts just because they don’t have seat belts. So when you wreck, the object is to get away as far as possible from the kart by flying out of it.”

    The end result was the family buying a quarter midget to race in the Mid Western Quarter Midget Association to begin his career.

    Flash forward to the present day and Hackenbracht is now a competitor in the ARCA Racing Series for CGH Motorsports, currently sitting third in points.

    With points leader Cale Gale not expected to compete in all the races this season, Hackenbracht currently sits second of the full-time series drivers, 10 points behind Brennan Poole.

    “So far, we’ve run really well,” he says. “Daytona is sort of a crapshoot and we were running pretty good, got shuffled out to the outside. But we came out with a clean racecar, ready to go to Talladega.”

    Last weekend at Mobile, Gale scored another second place finish while Cale Gale went on to win the race.

    “We’re really satisfied with that so far,” he says. “Can’t really ask for too much more.”

    He is also on track with his expectations for 2012 as he expects to run in the top five while contending for the championship.

    Before they can get to that point, he is hoping that a sponsor comes on board.

    “Right now, we don’t know what races we’re going to and what races we’re not going to,” he comments.  “So it’s kind of tough and nerve-wracking as a driver not knowing where you’re going to race.”

    That’s why it’s important to get off to a good start, but also so that way they’re not in a hole.

    “When you’re trying to work your way up in points from 40th, it just makes for a long year,” he says. “It takes a lot more to get up front if you don’t start at the beginning of the season.”

    If things come together, Hackenbracht and team are ready to head to Salem Speedway next month.

    “If we go there, I picture a win because every time we’ve been there the past few times, we’ve run top five and had the fastest car all day long,” he says. “We have just had something mechanical happen. So expectation is definitely a win and top five qualifying, but hopefully we can come out of there with a good finish and maybe the points lead.”

    A lot of people looked to Hackenbracht and CGH Motorsports to have a successful 2012 season based on last year.

    Last season, he scored three top fives and 10 top 10s on his way to finishing eighth in points and impressing many people near the end of the season due to being a small, family-based team. Hackenbracht doesn’t consider it being a bad position to be in.

    “It’s not too tough when you have the right people, and I think we definitely do,” he says. “We’re definitely a small organization – we’ve only got three full-time guys. Kevin Reed came over from Venturini (Motorsports) and he’s done really well. He’s definitely stepped up our program. It’s not really tough to run against any so-called big name teams because once you get out there, it’s up to the driver. If you have the ability, then you’re going to be able to run with them.”

    Hackenbracht says one of the biggest lessons he learned last year was patience.

    “You’ve got 200 laps on these short tracks and you don’t need to going all out racing somebody for three or four laps, wearing out your equipment on lap 100,” he explains. “You don’t really have to use your equipment because it gets really hectic there at the end and that’s where you start getting the runs and able to go for the win with about 50 to go.”

    The patience factor is something he has in common with his racing hero – Mark Martin.

    “He’s a real clean racer and everyone sort of respects him and there’s not too much controversy surrounding him,” he says.

    For more information on Chad Hackenbracht and CGH Motorsports, please visit ChadHackenbracht.com and CGHMotorsports.com. 

  • Austin Dillon: Gaining Experience, Going After Rookie of the Year

    Austin Dillon: Gaining Experience, Going After Rookie of the Year

    [media-credit name=”Sal Sigala Jr.” align=”alignleft” width=”301″][/media-credit]As Austin Dillon continues up the racing ladder, this year marked an important year as he made the move from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to the NASCAR Nationwide Series. So far this year, he sits fourth in points, 30 points behind teammate Elliott Sadler.

    “I’m very happy to the start of the season,” he told me before Bristol. “We went to all three races running every lap and we just keep gaining on it each week. The experience level is lacking and once we get that figured out and how to adjust these cars, we’ll be fine.”

    In the first four races of the season, the 21-year-old has finished fifth, fourth, seventh and 12th. The success he has had so far has impressed a lot of people, including Denny Hamlin.

    “I feel like they’re both kind of living up to expectations,” Hamlin said of Dillon and Cole Whitt during his media availability at Bristol. “They’re doing kind of exactly what you would hope that they would do, not what you necessarily thought they would do. I think they’re doing a very, very good job. I’ve watched them a little bit and it just seemed like they’ve both got the talent to make it. You can see it right from the beginning. Some drivers have the speed and can go and not tear up equipment right from the beginning and it looks like those two especially have that and that’s what can make you successful not just at that level, but the following one.”

    Coming into Bristol this weekend, Dillon knew it was going to be wild.

    “We run pretty well once we get into the race,” he said. “We’ll work hard tomorrow. It’s going to be a pretty wild race.”

    Dillon started the race in the ninth position and ran just outside the top 10 most of the time, picking up valuable experience.

    In continuing to gain experience, Dillon expects to do well this year.

    “We want to win rookie of the year, that’s our first goal,” he said. “If we have a shot at the championship at homestead, then we want to win it.” He added that the main goal is to keep themselves up there while winning some races.

    Teammate Elliott Sadler has already won two races, including Bristol this weekend, which shows the strength of the organization.

    “Our Nationwide program is very fast right now,” he said. “We’re being able to show speed each week. We’re still pushing hard where we want to be. Everybody wants to be better each and every week.”

    He adds that the Cup side of RCR looks strong also with how Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Paul Menard have been running.

    Dillon says that having teammates with experience like Sadler and Harvick, he’s able to learn from them.

    Dillon, grandson of car owner Richard Childress, has been around racing his entire life. The first time he got in the race car was in a bandolero on a quarter mile behind Charlotte Motor Speedway at the age of 15.

    As the season goes, there are many tracks that the series will be going to, including two of Dillon’s favorites.

    “I’ve won at Iowa and that’s one of my favorite places that I enjoy, and racing at Michigan,” he said. “We’ve been close there.

    Last season, Dillon had a great season as he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship. Right now though, the focus is on the Nationwide Series.

    “I’m sure there’ll be one day that we’ll be able to look back on our season and really cherish everything that we were able to accomplish last year,” he said.

  • Ryan Reed: Inspiring People Through Journey, One Lap at a Time

    Ryan Reed: Inspiring People Through Journey, One Lap at a Time

    [media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignleft” width=”133″][/media-credit]When Ryan Reed was 17 years old, everything was going great in his life.

    “I was pretty full of myself, was doing well and winning races, on cloud-nine,” he says.

    Then in February of 2011, Reed was diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D).

    “When I was diagnosed, I was really humbled, especially when they told me I wasn’t going to be able to race again,” he says. “I was devastated and really just, I thought I was invincible and then to learn that my dream was going to be taken away.”

    Reed says it was heartbreaking at the time and caused him to grow up quickly.

    “I thought I could sit there, pout and throw a tantrum till I got my way,” he continues. “Then I realized that’s not going to beat this. I need to – I got to take a step back and think about it. I just decided that if there was anything I could do to put myself back behind the wheel of a race car, then that’s what I was going to do.”

    He started learning more about the disease, finding other athletes who continued in their sport after being diagnosed.

    “I learned how common it was so I knew there’s got to be a race car driver with this,” he says. “The only driver I could find was Charlie Kimball and he’s an IndyCar driver, so I was like, ‘Well, there’s no reason I can’t do it’ so I found out more about him.”

    He then learned of Kimball’s doctor Ann Peters and got in contact with her.

    “I had a doctor at the time, but I just wanted to talk to Ann to see what she had to say,” she says. “So I went in there, not expecting anything and she wanted to have me as her patient.”

    Through a conversation with Peters, he discovered that if he worked at it, he would have a future in racing.

    “She just said you need to do what I tell you and be diligent with it and this isn’t ever going to quick, get easier – you may learn how to control it, but that’s just about it,” he says. “It’s never going to go away and I was like okay.”

    Since then, Reed has learned how to handle the disease and has a continued to move up the racing ladder.

    Earlier this year at Daytona International Speedway, the 18-year-old competed in his first ARCA Racing Series event with Venturini Motorsports.

    [media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]“It’s been really fun,” he says of the season so far. “Daytona, we had a really good run going, ran second most of the day, then just ran out of fuel with just under 10 to go. I mean, what do you do then? Daytona kind of the gamble anyways.”

    Last week, he finished 12th after being spun late in the race and now sits sixth in points, 55 points behind leader Cale Gale.

    “Seemed like we had a good strategy and with 30 to go, we had new tires,” he says. “We were working our way to top 10, passing someone for 11th or 12th and had a really good car, and got spun out. That kind of ruined our day. We were able to battle our way back up to 12th, but that didn’t show our effort from the whole day and the whole weekend. We qualified fifth and felt like we had one of the cars to beat.”

    The deal came together with Venturini Motorsports after he raced a late model race at Martinsville Speedway.

    “When I was 15, I started racing super late models on the west coast and had a really successful year,” the Bakersfield, California native says. “We decided we wanted to go try to race late models on the east coast because if you can go to the east coast and make a name in late model racing, then you’ve really done something. So we packed up, I moved out there.

    “I was racing a late model at Martinsville and I qualified 10th my first time there, which 80 plus cars show up every year to try and qualify for 43 spots. Billy Venturini was there, saw it and came over and said, ‘I wanna talk to you about driving one of my cars next year’ and the rest is history.”

    So far the experience at Venturini Motorsports has been wonderful.

    “Bill and Billy were drivers themselves behind the wheel and it’s really cool to be with a group rich in history behind the wheel,” he says. “It feels like family to me. They’re so welcoming. Anytime I have a problem on and off the track, their open arms and ready to listen. They’ve just been great to work with and I really feel like this year is going to be a really positive experience with them.”

    The 2012 season marks an important year for Venturini Motorsports as it’s their 30th anniversary. Reed says that for this year, he would like to win a championship for them, well winning some races and scoring top-five finishes.

    “They’ve had a lot of history and great drivers come through their program,” he adds.

    Five years down the road, he hopes to be competing at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series level.

    “I mean, there’s no question in my mind,” he comments. “That’s where I wanna be and I’m not going to settle for anything less. It’s not an easy road and I definitely didn’t pick an easy sport to break into and be successful at so I know all the challenges. NASCAR has been supportive, especially of the disease. They’ve already cleared me medical wise to race in the Sprint Cup Series so I feel like if I have no restrictions. If I want this, I can go out and get this.”

    Reed got started in racing at a young age through his father.

    “I come from a racing family,” he says. “My dad raced forever, since he was a little kid. He got me into go-karts when I was four and been there ever since.”

    Due to the influence of his father on the racing side, he says that his racing hero is his father.

    “I’ve watched my dad and just his style of racing and his approach to the sport,” he says. “It’s just always meant a lot to me and helped me through the years.

    “There’s a lot of guys that I look up to – Kyle Busch, on the track, he’s so impressive. We watched him at Daytona do what no one else has ever done in the Budweiser Shootout. There’s quite a few guys I look up to and just try and learn the positives.”

    In 2009, Reed won the Legends Division Track Championship at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The following season, he became the Super Late Model Division Rookie of the Year while becoming the youngest winner in the division when he scored one win.

    In 2011, Reed raced a variety of cars, including the Pro Allstars Series, NASCAR Whelen All American and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East

    As Reed has continued his career, he has turned the disease into a positive.

    “I’ve really been fortunate to be an advocate for JDRF and having my own foundation to really turn it into a positive,” he says.

    JDRF is the world’s largest funding provider for research towards curing, treating and preventing T1D and its complications.

    Reed formed Ryan’s Mission, a non-profit organization to help build awareness, become a role model and positively touch the lives of others.

    If given the chance, Reed says that he wouldn’t change anything that has happened.

    “It’s not really something that I’d think about changing now,” he says. “I’ve been able to do a lot of positive with it and really positively touch so many lives that it’s hard to say that if I had to chance to undo this, I would.”