Like father, like son in this racing family
All-Star Showdown
 |
Race Trax:
News:
- Busch claims All-Star pole
- Biffle plans to stay at Roush
- Jarrett prepares for farewell ride
- Edwards picked to win All-Star race
Video:
Analysis:
- Spencer: What's next for Busch?
- What makes Charlotte special?
- McReynolds: Family affair
- Owens: The uprising
- Power Rankings: Who's on top?
Photo galleries:
Blog:
Fantasy:
Can you dig it?
Luckily for me, immediately following final Sprint Cup practice, I will leave Martinsville and be able to be there for his race. In fact, dear ol' Dad is going to be his spotter! With our NASCAR on FOX schedule, I won't get to make a lot of his races, but the good news is I will definitely be there for his first.
He has raced in the Allison Legacy Series the last two years with a fair amount of success, and being 16 years old now, we felt it was time to move up to another series. We've chosen this series and the great news is that just this week, we were able to secure a new sponsor for the year for him and the team.
Sculley Boat Builders is his sponsor — a high-end custom boat builder located off the coast of North Carolina. They are pretty pumped up about this program with Brandon. They are really going to do a full-court press to promote their new relationship with him. Trust me, it's a very huge relief from dad/car owner that we finally got this sponsorship deal done this week!
We had committed to the race season for Brandon with or without a sponsor. We are no different than a Cup, Nationwide or Truck series team. The sponsorship allows us to do more things, like use a chassis dyno, that hopefully will make our performance even better.
There's no question today that at 16 years old, Brandon has the focus, dedication, talent and aspirations to be a race-car driver. I judge him on his talent not as a dad but as a racer. I definitely am not bold enough to sit here and tell you that I have the next Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson. We don't know that yet.
I have repeatedly told him, "You don't have to do this. You aren't living my dream. Live your own." But I also told him that if he was going to follow this path, he was going to give me 100 percent and he was going to keep his education going. And let's be clear — 100 percent doesn't mean win races and win champions. It means giving me 100 percent when you are working on the car, with the car, with your team and driving the car. That's all I ask.
Brandon started racing Bandolero cars back in 1999 when he was only 8 years old through to 2005. He won the national championship in 2005, which is like their Daytona 500. Then we moved to the Allison Legacy Series and ran the full season there in 2006 and 2007. Brandon was Rookie of the Year in 2006. He won three races and finished third in the final points last year.
I have to say, there is such a fine line between moving these kids too fast and too slow. If I'm guilty of anything, I am like Goodyear — I am going to err on the conservative side. So if I'm guilty of anything, it would be moving him too slow. I think sometimes these kids don't move at their pace, but they move at their dad's pace.
The biggest thing I have told Brandon is whether he is driving for us or Joe Gibbs or Jack Roush or whomever, I just want him to be successful. I want to make sure that wherever he is racing, it's in an environment where everything is right. Even if you have everything in place, and it doesn't matter if you are talking about Sprint Cup or the UARA series, it's still pretty hard to beat these guys. If you don't have everything in place, you aren't going to beat these guys. As I told him, if we don't do it this way, you are the one that looks like you can't drive a race car.
FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.
"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.
advertisement
