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  • My First NASCAR Experience

    My First NASCAR Experience

    I never imagined my first NASCAR experience would be in Columbus, Ohio; I always thought it would be one of the big venues, like Daytona, Charlotte, or Indianapolis.

    Well, my assumptions were wrong, and I’m happy they were.

    The K&N Pro Series East visited Columbus Motor Speedway Saturday night, which is only an hour and a half away from my house. So, my parents and I loaded up and drove down. Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve only been to one other track, and that was Attica. Nothing would be the same, I knew.

    This was completely different. This was asphalt.

    As the woman behind the Pit Pass counter made me sign a waiver, my signature went wayward; hand trembling, I could hardly contain myself. I received a weird look from the lady as she put my wrist band on, possibly wondering if I was going to pass out. With a smile and a nod, I was asking myself the same thing.

    We claimed our seats with Sharpie-marked masking tape, then we traveled to the pits. Being in the pits is my favorite part of each trip to a track. The crews make everything possible. Even better, you got to see the drivers up close, how they presented themselves outside of the car. To me, that’s an important aspect of a racer, what they’re like away from the track. Seeing these hopefuls relax and laugh was refreshing. Eye-opening.

    After a blur of pictures and chatting, qualifying for the main event began. We ran to turns one and two, where an old chainlink fence separated everyone from the catch fence for safety. I shut my eyes and listened.

    The car’s growl grew louder and hungrier as it neared, searching for the speed it needed. Since I wasn’t visually taking it in, my body panicked, that heart in my chest smashing against its chamber. In an instant, the noise was all I could hear, feel, taste. The air vibrated with something I couldn’t recognize. A wall of sudden wind hit me, wanting to push me away from this sheet metal-wrapped monster.

    Everything died as the growl weakened with distance. With my eyes back open, I couldn’t believe what I had faced in a few seconds. To some, it was just a qualifying session. For me, my curiosity, my passion, it was much, much more than that.

    The times shook out to put Ben Kennedy on the pole, Cale Conley starting second. My mom and I dove into the pits again while my dad went to get something to drink. (He had a close encounter with Bill Elliott, who was standing next to him during qualifying, and he needed to calm down a bit. Honestly, I have never seen him freak out so much in my life, but I completely understood.) Everyone was so calm, laidback. Whatever possessed them to chill was what I needed; my nerves were all jumpy, heart rate sky-high.

    All the roaming stopped, and we ended up back in our seats to watch the Columbus Modifieds duke it out for 30 laps. It was the perfect pre-show to the main event, getting everyone in the stands anxious. When that carnage cleared, the K&N drivers lined their cars on the frontstretch, and fans got to jump into the arena and receive an autograph from their favorite driver. This was perfect for those who couldn’t afford a pit pass. The venue got points for fan-friendliness in my book.

    Everyone settled in the stands, and the pace laps began. This was going to be 150 laps of great racing and a dash of magic. The fans around me sensed it, also. My stomach clenched uneasily.

    Anticipation thickened the air. It smelled like burning tires and sounded like thunder.

    The track caught a spark and cracked into flames when the green flag waved. An announcer’s livid commentary faded to the back of my mind. All I wanted was to take this in. This was my first asphalt race. It will be impressed into my skull forever.

    Cale Conley dominated and captured the win, and there were a few cautions. I heard a few people mention afterwards that the race lacked excitement. They could say whatever they wanted; I thought the total opposite. Sides were scraped, donuts were imprinted, and dents were made. Just because the event didn’t have eight cautions didn’t mean it was boring; real racing happened. That’s what mattered to me.

    We watched the crews take cars apart for a bit, but it was time to go. Buckling up, I let out a sigh. For a small town girl, it was a long, thrilling day.

    All the connections I made. Every heart attack I nearly had watching the drivers come out of turn four. Each picture I snapped. I loved how it made me feel.

    It might not have been the Daytona 500 or The Brickyard 400, but it was my first NASCAR experience. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

  • Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

    Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: kylelarsonracing.com” align=”alignright” width=”157″][/media-credit]Making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway, one young driver just wanted to learn and finish the race.

    But Kyle Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Mobile App, finished top ten and simply “felt like a super star.”

    “That was a big surprise,” Larson said. “I didn’t get much practice there so I didn’t really know how I was going to do.”

    “And with me blowing a motor up and not having much practice, as well as being a go or go homer, I didn’t push it too hard in qualifying,” Larson continued. “I just wanted to spend the first part of the race figuring out how the truck handled and how the air moved around.”

    “Once I learned some stuff, I could really race and I could start picking off people,” Larson said. “And then I found myself in the top ten, so I was really excited about it.”

    “I felt like a super star.”

    With a top-ten in his Truck debut, Larson also garnered a fair amount of attention, particularly from the media. But the young driver took it all in stride.

    “I don’t pay too much attention about it,” Larson said. “The spot light’s been on me for quite a while now.”

    “I just try to go out and race because that’s my job and I love doing it,” Larson continued. “I just want to go out and win. And if I keep winning, the spot light will be even better.”

    Although Larson seemingly sprang onto the NASCAR scene, he has been driving since the age of seven. And he has an extremely impressive racing resume.

    “I started racing outlaw karts when I was seven,” Larson said. “They’re 400 pound go karts with 500 cc engines. So, they have way too much power for how much they weigh.”

    “I did that for about seven or eight years and moved into 360 and 410 sprint cars on dirt when I was 14,” Larson continued. “I won a couple races the first two years and my fourth year I won the championship and last year was my first year racing nationally in USAC in all their divisions.”

    “I also ran some outlaw races and I’m the only other driver besides I think Tony Stewart to win in all the open wheel national touring series all in one year,” Larson said. “I swept the four crown last year at Eldora Speedway and I did it my first try. That was cool to do.”

    “Last year I won a lot of big races so last year stands out to me because of that.”

    Larson has also been part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, running in the K&N Pro Series East under the auspices of Rev Racing. And the young racer credits much of his success so far to that program.

    “It’s helped me a lot,” Larson said. “My mom’s Japanese so that’s how I’m in the diversity program.”

    “I run for Rev Racing and we’ve been pretty good all year,” Larson continued. “We got a win at Gresham a couple weeks ago.”

    “We just got to make the right calls for the race,” Larson said. “That’s our biggest problem we’ve had this year, not keeping up with the race track because it changes so much.”

    “I think if we work on that, we’ll be better and win some more races.”

    While Larson enjoys driving all types of race cars, his favorite being the winged sprint car, he sees himself racing in NASCAR’s highest levels. And ultimately, he would like to own his own race team.

    “Hopefully the route I’m going will take me to the Sprint Cup Series some day,” Larson said. “That’s my goal and that’s what I want to do.”

    “I want to race with Stewart and Gordon and Kahne and all those guys every week,” Larson continued. “And I’d like someday to own my own team like Kahne and Tony do.”

    “That’s my goal is to get to the Sprint Cup Series so I can help young kids coming up.”

    Larson aspires to be like two drivers in the Cup Series currently, but for very different reasons.

    “As far as a driver, I’d like to be like Kyle Busch because he wins, not a whole lot this year, but he’s a talented driver and he always gives 110%,” Larson said. “As far as off the track goes, I think I need to be like Jimmie Johnson.”

    “He’s really good with the fans and really good with the sponsors too,” Larson continued. “I’d like to be a driver like Kyle and like Jimmie off the track.”

    But for now, the young up and comer just hopes he can do some more truck racing, which of course is dependent on sponsorship.

    “Yeah, sponsors mean a lot as far as getting rides,” Larson said. “I’ve been lucky being with Chip Ganassi Racing and he helped out a lot with this year and also with the truck race at Kentucky.”

    “He has been a great help to me and hopefully we can find some more sponsors to get some more races,” Larson continued. “It’s tough to do with the economy being so bad.”

    “They’ve talked about a few more races but it all depends on if we get a sponsor,” Larson said. “If it were up to me, I’d be racing every weekend in that truck.”

    “I had a lot of fun.”

    Larson’s family also had a great time watching him race in his first ever Truck race. Although his parents still live in his native California, they have taken off this summer to watch their son and to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

    “Right now, my mom and dad are with me at these races, hanging out,” Larson said. “My dad just retired so he has some time now to come watch me.”

    “They were really happy after the Truck race,” Larson continued. “My dad’s a crier so he was up in the stands tearing up.”

    “They were really excited and happy that I did good in my first start.”

    For fans who want to get to know the young Larson, he has two surprises to share. The first is his passions off the track and the other is his interesting exercise regimen, or lack thereof.

    “These past few weeks, I raced every day,” Larson said. “I don’t get a lot of free time but when I do, I’m out fishing.”

    “During the winter, I like to go snowboarding when I can,” Larson continued. “I’m not good at it but I like going down the mountain.”

    “I’m also really skinny but I love to eat,” Larson continued. “And no, I don’t work out at all.”

    “I worked out a few times this year with Rev Racing but then I started racing so I didn’t have time,” Larson said. “I don’t get tired though.”

    “That’s what I think people would find surprising about me,” Larson said. “I never get winded. I think it’s just because I stay calm.”

    Finally, the young racer is simply enjoying his time in the sun, especially during his Truck debut.

    “That’s really the first time I’ve ever raced with all that media around,” Larson said. “So that was cool to get interviewed.”

    “I really did feel like a super star.”

     

  • Brett Moffitt Heads to Bristol with Former Mentor and New Race Team

    Brett Moffitt Heads to Bristol with Former Mentor and New Race Team

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: hometracks.nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Young up and coming racer Brett Moffitt has had an interesting journey, from his racing start under the tutelage of four-time K&N Pro Series champion Andy Santerre to racing for some of the biggest teams in the sport, including Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.

    But as he kicks off his 2012 K&N Pro Series East season in Bristol, Moffitt is back where he belongs, under the familiar wing of Santerre and with a whole new race team Hattori Racing Enterprises. Moffitt will pilot the No. 11 Toyota Camry and will join teammate Sergio Pena in the Shigeaki Hattori stable.

    “Ever since I drove for Andy (Santerre) in 2009, Andy and my dad have been in constant communication,” Moffitt said. “Andy’s been a big help to my career over the past three years.”

    “So, when this opportunity came up, Andy told Shigeaki Hattori that he knew should drive his second car and luckily that was me.”

    While Moffitt may seem a bit devoted to his old mentor, he knows that Santerre not only has the experience behind him but also has the strength of the new HRE race team with him as well.

    “Working for Andy Santerre is just really great,” Moffitt said. “He’s been there. He’s driven race cars, he’s won races and he’s won championships.”

    “So, he knows what it takes,” Moffitt continued. “Being able to work for him is really great for a driver because he understands everything you say. He’s always looking out for your best interests as a driver.”

    Moffitt has had an eventful three years since debuting as a 16 year old with Andy Santerre in the K&N East Series. Since then, he has had seven wins, four pole positions, 20 top-5 and 25 top-10 finishes and has never finished worse than 3rd in the championship standings.

    “After I left Andy last time, I went to Joe Gibbs Racing for a year,” Moffitt said. “I ran in the K&N East Series for them. We were really competitive for them and ended up second in the points.”

    “After that, I went to Michael Waltrip Racing,” Moffitt continued. “That was a huge step for my career.”

    “MWR made me feel important as a driver,” Moffitt said. “I came in every day and worked on the cars and in the shop.”

    “They put a big emphasis on my physical training and I’m still associated with them,” Moffitt continued. “I still have a trainer with them so I go there every day and still work out. That’s always a good connection to still maintain.”

    With his return to his mentor Andy Santerre, as well as his new assignment with Hattori Racing Enterprises, Moffitt is excited to get his 2012 race season underway. He just recently finished up testing at Bristol, the first race of the season for the K&N Pro Series East.

    “The test went really well,” Moffitt said. “From the first time we unloaded, we had to work on them a little bit but by the end of the day, we were pretty comfortable.”

    “We have a couple things we are working with back at the shop and hopefully when we come back to the track, we will be ready to have a good race,” Moffitt continued. “The car was real fast and I’m really looking forward to the race.”

    Moffitt has been only been guaranteed eight races with HRE Racing. The remainder of the season’s racing will be dependent on sponsorship, as is so often the case.

    “This year Hattori approached me as a driver,” Moffitt said. “They weren’t looking for a driver with a lot of money, just one that they could win races and win championships with.”

    “Right now, I’m only guaranteed eight races, with the first race at Bristol on March 17th,” Moffitt said.” That’s where the sponsorship comes into play.”

    “We’re still out there searching so hopefully we’re able to find something by then,” Moffitt continued. “But we’re just going to take the first eight and try to be the best we can. Hopefully we’ll find a sponsor and be able to finish it out.”

    Moffitt is also looking forward to working with his new teammate at Hattori Racing Enterprises. He will be paired with fellow Santerre protégé Sergio Pena.

    “Me and Sergio have always gotten along real well,” Moffitt said. “So, it’s going to be a really fun year.  We’re both obviously proven race winners so I think it will be a good year for the team this year.”

    In addition to mentor Santerre and teammate Pena, Moffitt is also looking forward to working with Dave McCarty, his new crew chief. McCarty has over 20 years experience in all kinds of racing, from the Nationwide Series to Trucks, ARCA, ASA and the K&N Pro Series East.

    “Me and my new crew chief Dave McCarty have spent time getting to know each other,” Moffitt said. “Dave was Darrell Wallace’s crew chief last year at Revolution Racing. Andy felt like he would be a good match up for me so he brought him over.”

    Moffitt has been working intensely on establishing that all important chemistry with his new crew chief, as well as their bond on and off the track.

    “We’ve just been working together in the shop,” Moffitt said of his new crew chief. “He’s been bossing me around telling me what to do. I say ‘yes sir’ and do it. We have a lot of fun but when it’s time to get things done, we get things done.”

    Owner Shigeaki Hattori, as well as HRE General Manager Andy Santerre are equally as excited about having Moffitt with their team as he is to race with them.

    “People in an organization are the key to the organization’s success,” Hattori said. “If you hire the right people with knowledge and experience, success will follow.”

    “I am excited to have Brett at HRE,” Santerre said. “He is an incredible driving talent and has matured behind the wheel in the last few years. He is more than capable of winning the championship.”

    With the confidence of his owner and manager firmly in his corner, Moffitt simply cannot wait to get back to the race track, beginning at Bristol

    “I feel like I’ve proven myself as being able to win races and be up front,” Moffitt said. “I’m just looking forward to racing. I love racing and being competitive.”

    “That’s what drives me.”

  • Todd Peck Looks to Leave a Legacy in Iowa Truck Series Debut

    Todd Peck Looks to Leave a Legacy in Iowa Truck Series Debut

    Todd Peck intends to leave a legacy, both professional and personal, in his debut Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway this weekend.

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit peckmotorsports.com” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Peck is a family legacy race car driver, as the son of Dr. Mike Peck and the nephew of Tom Peck, both of whom raced their central Pennsylvania family team in the Nationwide Series. Peck’s family team has more than 50 top-10 finishes in five full seasons under their belts.

    “Most people get into racing after growing up at the race track and I’m no exception,” Peck said. “My uncle raced dirt in central Pennsylvania for years and progressed into the Busch Series where he and my dad as a team owner had a partnership, racing there for ten years through the mid 90’s.”

    “When you’re a kid growing up, you get hooked and you get the bug and your destiny is in the race car,” Peck continued. “That’s all you want to do.”

    Peck, hailing from Hanover, PA whose claim to fame is being the home of Utz Potato Chips, started racing go karts at age 14 years. He has continued working his way up the rungs of racing, including 15 starts in the K&N Pro Series East and running currently in the Super Cup Stock Car Series.

    This will, however, be the legacy driver’s first ever Truck Series race, as well as his first time ever at Iowa Speedway. He will be piloting the No. 96 Chevrolet race truck for his family-owned team and is clearly using this debut run to attract not only attention, but potential sponsors as well.

    “I can’t wait to get to Iowa and debut our team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” Peck said. “We’ve been working toward this weekend since we made the decision at the beginning of the year to race a truck.”

    “This is our maiden voyage.”

    But even more important than his Truck debut is the personal legacy that Peck hopes to leave, racing in tribute to the Arthritis Foundation’s campaign, ‘Kids Get Arthritis Too.’ It is personal for Peck, who himself was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis (JA) at the age of 15 years old.

    “At that age, you don’t think of kids having arthritis,” Peck said. “It’s an old people’s disease that my grandparents have.”

    “But there are over 300,000 kids diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis and it’s not as uncommon as you’d think,” Peck continued. “Being as I’ve struggled with it, once we were given the opportunity to perform on the big stage of the Truck Series, it was a no brainer to be involved.”

    Peck actually unveiled his race truck at the national JA Conference in Washington, DC last week. Kids, struggling with the same disease that he does, signed their names all over the truck that he will race.

    “We did the unveiling at the national JA conference and that was awesome,” Peck said. “Well over five thousand people attended the conference and it was really cool to see the kids’ reaction and excitement.”

    “We spent the weekend talking to the kids and their families, sharing stories and inspirational messages,” Peck continued. “Our message was that even though you have JA you can work with it and do what you want to do.”

    Peck and his team will also be hosting JA youth and their families at each and every race in which he will compete. In fact, two children with JA and their families will be present for Peck’s Iowa debut.

    “For all the races we have, we’ll be hosting families at the track and around the garage area,” Peck said. “We’ll let them get up close and personal to the racing and I’m looking forward to that as well.”

    While Peck was touched by every child with JA and their stories, he was especially moved by the story of two children in particular.

    Because of complications from their arthritis, these two children were unable to attend the conference. So, their friends made cardboard cut outs of them, using their head shots, pasted them on bodies and laminated them so they could not only be ‘present’ at the event, but to also get ‘their pictures’ taken with the race truck.

    “We decided that if they couldn’t be at the conference with the truck, we were going to take them to Iowa for the race,” Peck said. “So we are putting their pictures on the dash of the truck for that race.”

    With the children from the Arthritis Foundation on the truck and his family standing behind him as part of his race team, Peck hopes to leave his own legacy in the Coca Cola 200 at Iowa Speedway. At present, however, Peck is not quite sure what that legacy will be.

    “I have tried to give myself expectations on one hand,” Peck said. “And I’ve tried to keep myself from having expectations on the other hand.”

    “We tested and I was extremely pleased with the Truck,” Peck continued. “But just to get the ball rolling and get out there, part of me says I need to stay realistic, qualify and run hard to get a foot hold for the next race.”

    “But the other part of me, the racer, knows that once the green flag drops, it will be about three seconds into the race that I’ll forget about that, put it into kill mode and away we go,” Peck continued. “No matter what I expect, once the green flag drops, it’s an all or nothing deal.”

  • Chase Elliott Competes With The Big Boys For A Good Cause

    Chase Elliott Competes With The Big Boys For A Good Cause

    Chase Elliott, son of Cup champion Bill Elliott, was prepared to race at Richmond International Raceway in the K&N Pro Series East Race for the first time in his young career.

    But the youngster got the chance to do something even more special, compete with the ‘big boys’ of the racing world at Denny Hamlin’s Charity Race, the Denny Hamlin Shootout.

    Elliott was tapped to drive Brandon Butler’s Late Model, filling in for Kasey Kahne who is still recovering from additional knee surgery.  The up and coming driver not only got to compete against some of his idols, like Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip and newcomer Travis Pastrana, but also got to challenge his own dear old dad.

    Because of his inexperience, having never even competed in a Whelen All-American late model race car before, Chase Elliott started in the back of the field just behind father Bill.  This starting position turned out to be one of the luckiest as much of the field was involved in a major crash in the first lap of the race.

    While Chase went low to escape the wreck, right behind his father, Bill Elliott did get clipped from behind, doing major damage to his race car.

    “I thought I was a goner when they were barreling down from the wall,” Chase said to his dad. “But they hit you instead.”

    “Well I’m glad I could be of assistance to you there, son,” father Bill Elliott quipped quickly.

    After the major wreck, Matt McCall and Max Gresham brought the field to the restart green flag.  They were quickly challenged by Cup contender Kyle Busch, who not only led but dominated the competition, as he so often does.

    At the half-way mark of the race, however, Chase Elliott had worked his way forward to claim the 12th position.  He even managed to get past one of his biggest racing idols Tony Stewart.

    “He let me go,” Elliott said of his pass around Smoke.

    Elliott continued to move forward, cracking the top ten and finally claiming a third place finish behind Denny Hamlin, race host, and Michael Waltrip.

    Ever the racer, however, Elliott was hoping for an even better finish.

    “On that last restart if we hadn’t have gone three-wide off in Turn One, I think we could have been battling for the win,” Elliott said. “I had a blast. To be able to run with great drivers and I am looking forward to hopefully being able to do it again sometime.”

    Elliott also played a role in raising money for several charities, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Richmond. Race founder and winner Denny Hamlin said that 10 percent of this year’s race proceeds will be given to assist the victims of the recent tornados.

    While Elliott celebrated his unexpectedly good finish in the Hamlin charity race, he was still smarting a bit from his K&N Pro Series East race prior to the charity event. After a sixth place qualifying effort in the East Series Blue Ox 150, Elliott struggled throughout the bulk of the race.

    In addition to the fact that he had never been to the .75 mile, D-shaped oval track at Richmond, he also had to battle a rain delay, as well as a tight No. 9 HendrickCars.com race car. On Lap 75 when the caution flag flew, Elliott had dropped to 14th on the track and came out 25th after a pit stop for a track bar adjustment.

    Elliott was never able to advance much further and he finished the race 24th.

    “We just need more time to figure these cars out,” Elliott said. “We will get it.”

    “I thought the car was good in practice,” Elliott continued. “But we had no drive-up off the corner when it came time for the race.”

    Elliott will next compete in the K&N Pro Series East race at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on June 4th. This will also be the fifteen year old Elliott’s debut at that historic track.

  • Chase Elliott, Johanna Long and Dakoda Armstrong Prove Racing is a Family Affair

    Chase Elliott, Johanna Long and Dakoda Armstrong Prove Racing is a Family Affair

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Up and coming NASCAR racers like Chase Elliott, Johanna Long and Dakoda Armstrong may have loads of talent but they also have one other thing in common, the love and support of their family. And each one of them has proven that racing is truly a family affair.

    Thanks to the coaching of his NASCAR champion father Awesome Bill Elliott and the unfailing support of mom Cindy, Chase Elliott is already proving that racing for him is filled with family. The young racer also recently signed with one of NASCAR’s most famous team families, Hendrick Motorsports.

    Elliott raced this past weekend at Greenville Pickens Speedway in one of NASCAR’s developmental series under the banner of HMS. With that start, Chase officially became the youngest driver ever to start a K&N Pro Series East race at the tender age of 15 years.

    Elliott followed in his most popular father’s footsteps from the moment he pulled into the historic race track in South Carolina. Fans lined up well into Turn Four to get the youngster’s autograph and the line remained until the session finally had to be ended so the race could start.

    Elliott, in his No. 9 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, qualified for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 in the 26th position. His qualifying lap, at a speed of 85.531 miles per hour, was a definite improvement over his practice time but he still started the race deep within the field.

    Elliott had to not only pick his way through the field gradually but also had to overcome a spin on lap 97 to soldier forward. With 23 laps to go, the young driver, with his father in his ear as spotter, manhandled his way to eighth, eventually finishing the race in the fourth spot.

    Ever the competitor, just like his father, Chase Elliott had this to say after his debut.

    “The weekend wasn’t quite what we wanted it to be,” Elliott said. “But it ended up being a pretty good night for the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.”

    “Having the support of your family and friends for any first time event in your life is always special,” Elliott continued. “I have been fortunate to have the support of a lot of family and friends that have been with me each step of the way.”   

    Just as family has been critical to Chase Elliott’s rise in the sport, so has the family of Johanna Long been instrumental in her move up as a rookie in the Camping World Truck Series this year. She too is following in the steps of her racing father, Donald, who raced in the NASCAR All-Pro Division back in the day.

    Long, at age 18, admits that she is struggling a bit to get that handle on her No. 20 Panhandle Grading and Paving Toyota Tundra truck. In the first three Truck races, she has finished 32nd, 20th and 31st respectively.

    “It’s going,” Long said of her Truck run to date. “We’ve had a lot of bad luck but every time we go to the race track we’ve been learning a lot.”

    “I’m learning and learning and learning.”

    Long was very excited to race this past weekend at Martinsville in the Kroger 250 this past weekend. She was able to harness her excitement to get her best finish to date, bringing her truck to the finish line in one piece and in the 18th position.

    But she still goes back to crediting her family for putting her in the position to pursue her racing dreams.

    “My mom and my dad and my grandparents and my uncle, they all own my team,” Long said. “They are a big part of my career.”

    “They have given me a great opportunity and I can’t thank them enough,” Long continued. “My mom and dad come to every single race and they would not miss it for the world. It’s really neat for them to come and experience this with me.”

    At age 19, Dakoda Armstrong may be the eldest of this group of up and coming racers, but he too got to where he is today thanks to the nurturing of his family, in his case from down on the farm. Thanks to his family’s support, Armstrong recently signed with ThorSport Racing to run a third team to current powerhouse Truck racers Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton.

    Armstrong will run the No. 98 Chevy Silverado for a select number of races this year. Armstrong will also continue his ARCA racing, where last year he won the Rookie of the Year honors.

    Armstrong credits his family with jump starting his racing career. He grew up on a farm in the Midwest, born in New Castle, Indiana.

    “When I was younger, we had cattle and we actually had to sell them so we could go racing,” Armstrong said.

    The investment paid off and this racer’s family farming avocation has even led him to several sponsorship deals, specifically with ethanol coming into the sport and the greening of NASCAR.

    “It’s kind of funny how it worked out,” Armstrong said. “My dad’s farming career and my racing career are starting to mesh right now.”

    “It’s been really neat and it’s a great experience for my family,” Armstrong said of his racing. “They really love it.”

    Regardless of their ages or current racing series, there is no doubt that all three of these up and coming NASCAR future stars have succeeded in moving forward in their young careers thanks to the love, support and nurturing of their families.

    And there is also no doubt that the parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles of Chase Elliott, Johanna Long and Dakoda Armstrong could not be more proud.