Wayne Sharpe Receives 2024 Mount Airy Wall of Fame Honor, Discusses Career in Motorsports

Wayne Sharpe Receives 2024 Mount Airy Wall of Fame Honor, Discusses Career in Motorsports

By Rhonda Beck, WISNC Creations/BeckRacingMedia

10-4-2024

Wayne Sharpe, of Anderson, S.C., was in Mount Airy, N.C. the weekend of September 13-14, 2024, where he received the honor of being one of the newest inductees onto the Mount Airy Moonshine & Racer’s Reunion Wall of Fame. Sharpe also will be attending the upcoming pioneer racing shows in the area. Charles Craig’s is planned for October 12, 2024 in Gastonia, N.C. but Phil Combs’ at the Combs Family Museum in Shelby, N.C. has been rescheduled for next spring due to the devastation of the hurricane that hit the area. Sharpe recently built a throwback car, which is similar to one that he used to drive on historic tracks near Charlotte, N.C., like Metrolina Speedway and the old and new Concord speedways. He is planning to have it ready to bring to those events. As a late model racer on both dirt and asphalt and the first professional to make a living driving a Legends car on tour, Sharpe took some time last week to reflect on the Mount Airy honor and other highlights of his career.

Rhonda Beck: First off, Wayne, congratulations on your Mount Airy Wall of Fame honor. That was really neat with the dinner on Friday and then signing autographs the next day. Your dad (Jimmy Sharpe) was there too, and a few other people came. Anything to say about getting that award?

Wayne Sharpe: Yeah, thank you very much. It was an honor to get the award, and it was really, really special to get it with my dad there. Because I feel like there was no way I would have gotten to where I did in racing if it hadn’t been for my dad. And it was an honor too to have my two daughters and their families there. Plus, it was just nice to be recognized because we weren’t one of the big teams, but we put a lot into it. It was nice to get recognized for all the work and effort we put into racing. I’m very, very fortunate I have my name on that Wall of Fame with some of the names that are up there. I’m very humbled.

RB: Well, you were part of a group of racers that raced at some of those memorable tracks around here, be it Metrolina or Old Concord and others. I actually looked through J.J. Grice’s “The Chronicle of Metrolina Speedway” book, and then he showed me a little excerpt—maybe you’ve already seen it—of your first start at Old Concord Speedway in his newest book, “The Chronicle of Old Concord Speedway.” That’s where Hayward Plyler asked you why you were starting in the sportsman division and of course he was the winningest driver at Old Concord. Anything to say about that specific memory?

WS: Well, it was kind of a shock because I didn’t expect it. I got out after warm-ups in an old ’64 Chevelle compared to what everybody else was running and it was my first race.? I felt like, “I’ll do the best that I can,” and knew that I was starting in the top division. I should have probably started in a lower division, like Hayward said, but I didn’t want to. I just wanted to do the best I could with the best that there was, and he gave me kind of a hard time about it. But I’m glad he did because it made me get prepared.

RB: A good motivator, for sure. Do you remember what happened in that first race specifically?

WS: I don’t know a whole lot, except I think that I got in everybody’s way and I think I ended up messing something up on the car. I actually had a ‘69 Camaro that I ran on the streets, and I got caught drag racing. And that’s how I got started in racing. I got caught drag racing and I lost my license, and we bought a ’64 Chevelle roller that didn’t have any motor or transmission or anything in it. Dad and I talked about it, and he told me, “If you’re going to race, you need to get on a racetrack.” Because I had been racing on the streets for a good while then. And I shouldn’t have been, but I had been. So we took the motor and transmission out of that car--out of my ’69 Camaro--and put it in the Chevelle and got it ready to race and that’s when we went there. It was a good 355 motor that my dad had built, but it wasn’t built for lap after lap after lap like that. He built it to go like for 10 seconds.

RB: And now you live in Anderson, S.C., but back then you lived in Charlotte. That was at Old Concord Speedway but what were the main tracks you were at? Because you went on to race at the New Concord Speedway too, correct?

WS: Yeah, I raced there too for at least four years when it was dirt, and then when it was asphalt, I raced there another four or five years. But I never really got ahold of the asphalt good because every time I would get going good on asphalt, something would happen. But we did pretty good on dirt. We won a pretty good race up there. Mike Duvall ran second, Doug Osteen ran third and Randy Morrison was fourth. I feel real fortunate that I got to do that. Right when we started getting our feet on the ground in the dirt, they paved it and that threw a monkey wrench in our plans.

RB: Henry Furr did that?

WS: That’s right. Henry Furr. I think he had some deal with NASCAR to bring a big race in or something and that’s when he paved the track and then he put tri-oval on the backstretch and it ultimately became a half mile. And I liked the track. I really liked racing on the asphalt, but I think dirt was always my favorite.

RB: I think I heard some of those similar stories from Chuck Piazza and Billy Scott. They ran at those places, and they did a little asphalt as well. And now you live in Anderson, and you just went to see that Anderson Speedway race where they had dirt cars on asphalt. Do you have comment about that? And Skip Arp won.

WS: Ah yeah, that was a good race too. I really enjoyed that race. I was kind of surprised that the cars ran on the racetrack as fast as they did. I was a little disappointed in the turnout on the cars. I thought there would be more cars there, especially for what they were paying. It paid $12,000 to win. But a real, big congratulations for Skip Arp. He drove a good race. He had to have some asphalt experience to race the way he did. I think he ran the racetrack pretty good.

RB: And it looked like the crowd was pretty big too.

WS: Oh, the track was standing room only. There was hardly any room for anybody else to get in that place. The grandstands. Everywhere was just packed. I couldn’t believe the crowd. It was really, really a big crowd.

RB: How long have you lived in Anderson, S.C.? You’re married. You have a wife and a couple of kids?

WS: We’ve been here for about 18 years now. When I quit racing, my wife had told me—we had just built a new house in Charlotte in Steele Creek—but my wife told me, she said, “Can we move to Anderson where my family lives? I’ve always been around your family when you raced and you’re not racing now. But would you mind doing that?” I said, “Sure. But we just built this house.” But it sold to the first couple that came to look at it. I had it up for sale for one week and the first people that came to look at it wanted it, and they wanted to close then. They wanted to close as soon as they could. And I was like, “Oh my gosh. What have I done?” Because I really liked the house. But my wife needed to spend some time with her family. But everybody’s passed away now, except for her nieces and nephews. Everyone we moved down here to see, they’ve all passed away. But we like it down here. We like the area. We’re right here at the base of the mountains.

RB: Nice. Getting back to when you were inducted, you were put on the Wall of Fame with people like Chuck Piazza, who ran at some of the same racetracks that you did. Bill and Sheila Blair, along with Phil from the Town of Mount Airy, did lots of work to put on that show too. Do you have comments about any of the people who were inducted and involved with the Mount Airy show?

WS: Well, as far as the people that was inducted--Ashley Ness, he’s from around Pennsboro and he’s a famous person in that area with that dirt racing up there. And John Holman--he’s is a really nice guy. He’s got a big history in racing. But Chuck Piazza--that guy’s just so amazing. And at his age. I remember back when he was racing back in the ‘70s and the man was really good. It was just an honor to be standing beside that man because he was so good. And as far as Bill and Sheila Blair, they do such a great job up there. Every year I look forward to going up there. I was so shocked when Bill called me and told me I was going to be inducted. I’m like, “I’m not good enough to be inducted with these other people.” And he said, “Yeah you are.” I mean we were from a time when you had to do everything. You could buy stuff, but you had to make the parts work because hardly ever could you just bolt things on and have them function right away. It was a lot more work back then. And the guys I raced against were a lot rougher at times, especially me being young. They put a lot of pressure on me about how young I was.

RB: I can imagine that. And you seem like you’re really good at fabricating and putting cars together and now you’re almost done restoring a car that Trent Franklin and Charlie Craig helped with too. What made you want to do that and anything to say about that process?

WS: Well, we were already going to some of the shows at Charlie Craig’s and Phil Combs’ and some other racing shows. And at Mount Airy, people kept coming up to me and asking me, “Why don’t you build one of your racecars?” ‘Cause I tried to find my original racecar and couldn’t. I hunted for three years and never did find it. I was chasing, doing this and doing that and never did find the car. And as I said, my dad is certainly a big part of my racing and my life. And with his age, he’s not going to be around forever. I wanted to do something that could honor him and honor our racing as a father and son team. So I said, “Well, I’ll find one and we’ll build it.” So we talked about it and everything and dad can’t do a whole lot physical which I’m sure that you know. But he’s helped some and he’s spent some money on it.? He’s on his pension and his Social Security and neither one of us have a lot of money to spend on it, but we spent a lot more on the car than we thought we would. It’s been so much fun doing the car and all. That’s the biggest push on it right there was building that car with my dad. I wanted to do something to share with him. I’m looking so forward to showing the car at Phil’s and Charlie’s and taking him and spending time with him there doing that. Because it’s such an exciting thing for him. I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when I’m talking to him about it; he’s so excited about it. And that’s what it’s all about for me right there.

RB: Awesome. And like Bill and Sheila Blair, Charlie and Phil are part of a group who know a lot of history and want to honor pioneers, especially from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. Do you have anything more to say about those two shows? I know Phil’s is rescheduled due to the hurricane and we’ll see about Charlie’s.

WS: We’ll see. Whatever the dates are, I plan on having the car and trailer at both shows. But I do want to say something about Phil Combs and Charlie Craig and Bill and Sheila Blair and some others who helped me. Those people are so special for carrying on the racing traditions for the pioneers of racing. That is so special of them to do that, ‘cause we couldn’t do what we do if it weren’t for them. It’s such a special deal. I really do appreciate all of them. And Charlie, ever since I went to his first show, he was such a special person. And Trent Franklin too. We’ve become pretty good friends. But I wanted to get Charlie in on lettering that car. Originally, he was supposed to do the whole car but then when he got sick, he couldn’t do it and he’s the one who suggested that I call Trent. I knew Trent, but I hadn’t talked to him about doing the car. And if Charlie had done one letter on the car, that would be very special to me. But he did get to do more than that. So I am very, very honored. And I also want to mention that Tim Sigmon from Denver, N.C. and Jason Porter from Easley, S.C. both played big parts in building this car.

RB: That’s really great. And that Charlie could do something on this car too. A couple of years ago when J.J. Grice and I did all that writing for the 50th anniversary of the Shrine 100 at Carolina Speedway, it was neat to talk to Charlie and hear all his history.? I had talked to Humpy Wheeler about some of that as well. But Charlie is certainly a great historian with a lot of knowledge. So when you were racing back then, did you have a favorite track?

WS: I think Metrolina was probably mine. It was my home track because I was from Charlotte. It was always a very special track to me because I always considered it as a home track. I just loved going to Metrolina Speedway. I loved the long straightaways on it. It was a fast track. It was one of those tracks that you had to drive. I mean you had to drive it, or you couldn’t get around it. And I liked Concord too, but I think Metrolina was probably my favorite track. Probably did a lot better at Concord, but later on you had to have good equipment. And you had to get sponsors and everything, that’s for sure.

RB: I also saw a picture of you--and it’s neat to see the old newspaper clippings--at Charlotte Motor Speedway where you won in a Legends car.

WS: I was the first professional that actually made a living off driving a Legends car in the Legends Series. I won a lot of races. I won four championships, and I raced a lot. They said I won about 200 races, I think. When I was racing in Legends in like ’94 and ’95, there actually was a tour. So we followed the tour and we raced every weekend and two or three times a week usually, and we traveled a lot. We stayed on the road a lot. When I was hired to drive that car, I was told that I had to park my late model because I wouldn’t have time to race it; I was racing Legends on the road. We lived in a motor home, and we’d be gone weeks at a time. But I ended up getting hurt at Southside Speedway on June 24th of ‘94 and that was a bad time. They said I actually died—they had to do a tracheotomy and all on me. But the good Lord I have to thank, because I’m here.

RB: Did you race more after that?

WS: I did. They told me I would be lucky to even function in life after that. The head neurologist told me that. But six weeks later I raced again, and I think I placed seventh my first time at Charlotte and then I come back the next week and won. And that was on the front stretch where all the big races were put on at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the televised Shootout Series. For the big races, they were on Sports South, ESPN, ESPN 2, and TNN and they were syndicated. So I got a lot of exposure in the Legends Series and that’s how I ended up with that corporate sponsor. I had two sponsors when I raced in Legends. The first was Scenic View Chalets in Gatlinburg, Tenn. and then I was hired to drive the Brown & Sharpe sponsored #160 car. That is the car that I traveled with to race on the tour. Brown & Sharpe is a Metrology Company (precision measuring equipment) out of Rhode Island. They were the oldest and largest metrology company in the world at the time and that is where my #160 came from. It was their idea to make the car look like a police car and I questioned the blue light. I said, “You mean I have to have a blue light on the car?” And I said, “Why?” He said, “Well, we want the car to look like an old police car simply because we’re the oldest and largest metrology company in the world. We feel like we police the industry.” It ended up being very special for the kids and all. I was really happy with that.

RB: And that’s another neat thing about racing. Just the fans and the different generations and how you meet people. I also wanted to ask you about a couple specific guys who were around at Metrolina. I was looking in J.J.’s book and saw a picture of Scott Bloomquist. Did you race him there?

WS: I’m trying to remember. I think I remember him driving the 18 car when I was there a couple races. I can’t say for sure, but it seems like it was back then that so many cars showed up at Metrolina and Concord. You had no idea who would show up, especially at some of these big races at Concord like the NDRA Stroh’s 300. You had drivers coming in from Australia and all over the United States. You just never knew who was going to be there. Even on a weekly basis you had no idea who was going to be there because it was such a big-hyped track. It’s kind of like going to Cherokee Speedway at Gaffney. But I think I remember Scott coming in; I just don’t remember a whole lot about it, to be honest with you. It must have been a bigger race.

RB: I was flipping through the Metrolina book, and it was in the early ‘90s and Ray Cook won a race. There was a picture of when Dan Breuer went up on the wall and Scott was talking about the track being dry. But I saw his picture in there. And all those different guys back then, like Jack Pennington, Rodney Combs, Mike Duvall, and Dale Earnhardt. You raced with all those guys, right?

WS: Oh yeah. I guess one of my biggest memories of racing Metrolina was when I was racing Dale. I was actually having the car lettered, and they were doing the 84 Lumber on both sides and I asked ‘em, “Will this be dry for me to race tonight?” And the woman said, “Well, not really. I wouldn’t race it tonight.” And I said, “Well, I really wanna race.” She got through and she said, “It’s your decision; whatever you want to do.” So we loaded the car real fast and got to Metrolina Speedway and I got in the car outside the track. ?I already had my firesuit on and was where you sign in on the backstretch outside the track.? And I heard on the intercom, “Wayne Sharpe is coming in on the backstretch over there. He better get on in here. We’re getting ready to start the late models.” Well, they knew we didn’t run any heat races. But we got in there, and I backed the car off the trailer and went through the pits two times around the track and went back in and went to the rear of the field. And I couldn’t do anything wrong that night. Everything was right. The car was right. I couldn’t mess up. I just felt like, “Wow! This car is fast tonight.” Anyway, I think it was Phil Hall I passed with a few laps to go for fourth place and then Dale Earnhardt was third and I think he was driving for Butch Trexler. I think they said Furr flew him in for a special appearance or something. I think Buddy Smith won the race and I’m not sure who was second. But Dale was third and I was fourth and I talked to Dale then at the payout window after the race and he said, “You were coming pretty fast.” I said, “Well, this is one race that I just wish had another lap.” Because I got to fourth and to me that was very special. Because I never got to race against Dale that much, but that night there I just wish I could have a little more time on the laps. I couldn’t quite get around him. I knew if I did get around him, he was so good that I’d have to be really, really good to stay in front of him. He was that good. He could have got back around me in a lap. Because he did that to me a couple times. He passed me one time. I had no idea he could pass me where he passed me. I told him after the race, “I had no idea you were going to get by me. How’d you do that?” He said, “Well, you left me just enough room.” He might have moved me over a little bit, but he didn’t wreck me. He was that good that he didn’t wreck me.

RB: That’s cool. That’s really nice to have those memories. Not many people can say that, that they raced like that with him or with any of those other legendary guys. Do you remember any others that you enjoyed racing with, like Mike Duvall or Freddy Smith? Did you have any fun times with them?

WS: Oh yeah, Duvall, Freddy, Stick Elliott, Hayward Plyler, Doug Osteen, Bennett Clontz, Billy Scott, Chuck Piazza. I raced with all those people, all those guys. Fulmer Lance, Buck Simmons, C.L. Pritchett. I mean there were some big names back then and some really fast guys. I think probably one of my favorite drivers back then was Freddy Smith. Freddy was such a nice person and Grassy, his dad. He was too. They were such a nice family. He tried to help me and actually the Barry Wright car, the first tube chassis car I had, came from Freddy Smith. And one of my engines that I had, that I actually won with and beat Duvall and Osteen up there one night, that actually came from Grassy Smith. All the parts came from Grassy, so to me that was real special. Just being around those guys was so special back then.

RB: A couple of the guys they are going to honor at Phil’s show this year are Barry Wright and Ricky Weeks and since you said something about Barry, do you have any other words about him or Ricky Weeks? Ricky just went into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame too.

WS: I was so tickled for Ricky Weeks when he got inducted into that NDLMHOF. He definitely deserved it because he’s done so much in racing and he and Myra are just nice people. And he’s like everybody else; he’s just such a good person. And Myra is too. Another person that I admire a lot is Bill Morgan. He and I are pretty good friends. He’s also in the Hall of Fame. He has like 749 wins, but he has stuff on my car I’ve got here. The engine and transmission came from him. So he’s helped me a lot on this car too. Got a lot of input, a lot of technical input to build that car. And I respect Ricky Weeks a lot. And I respect Rick Gosnell a lot.? It’s humbled me to know those guys.

RB: Well, you’re part of that whole group. Earlier, you talked about Ashley Ness. He was also inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. I see that they’re working on Pennsboro Speedway, trying to get that reopened and Ashley also does that West Virginia Heritage Festival. He Tony Hammett, Bob Markos, and other photographers and writers were so involved with different media and promotion of races over the years. And Greg Fielden too, who was inducted into the NDLMHOF in August. Last year Ernie Elkins was inducted and was known for publishing the “Racing News.” Were there any publications back then that you liked, if it was the “Racing News” or others?

WS: Oh, I used to love the “Racing News.” I used to be looking for it. I had a small business right up the street down from Holman Moody. And we used to work on the “Racing News” van and Corvette. But Ernie and Clint (Elkins) and all them--I know when I won that race, Ernie called me over and I went over there and I got a tour of the “Racing News” facility and I got to go to the “Concord Tribune” on a tour of all that. I was really honored to do that. But the “Racing News.” I looked so forward to seeing that every week. Every week. It was just such a good paper. I hate it’s gone.

RB: And were there any tracks you never got to race at, that you wish you would have been able to go to?

WS: I never had the money to do it, but my dream was--when I was younger and started racing, when I started getting faster--I really wanted to run the NDRA circuit. I wanted to travel that circuit and run that. Because I liked racing with those kind of guys. That’s what I told my dad, and he said, “We don’t have that type of equipment to run with those guys.” I said, “Well Dad, we raced a lot of them anyway.” But we were racing Charlotte and Concord and raced them anyway. I liked running with the best. That’s what I wanted to do. If I’d had the money to do it, I would have run the NDRA circuit and traveled with it. Now they have the Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws. I would have loved to run the World of Outlaws circuit. And I wanted to drive a sprint car. I always wanted to try it, a full-blown sprint car. I just thought I would have liked that. The type of racing I like to do and the way I feel inside, I just felt like that would fit me.

RB: Ricky Weeks said he enjoyed the one time that he was in the sprint car. As far as other series, I think it’s good that Jason Smoot and his crew have the Blue Ridge Outlaws. I have covered a lot of Carolina Clash and Ultimate Super late models too and they’re good super late model regional series. But others, like the Blue Ridge, allow a few more people to race, especially if they cannot afford the big super motors. Did you go to any of those races or enjoy watching them?

WS: Yeah, I’ve been to a good many of the Blue Ridge Outlaw races, especially when Tim Sigmon had East Lincoln. I used to go there and watch them all the time. I think it’s a good series and like you said, it does give people a chance to race. Because they wouldn’t have a chance because the big supers have gotten so out of hand moneywise. Just the shock packages cost as much as our car used to cost years ago. It’s gotten out of hand. Tires, shocks. I just bought five gallons of fuel for my car today and it was $70 for five gallons. And I’m like, “Gosh darn. We used to pay $4, $5 a gallon, but now it’s like $14 a gallon.” But I had to have it, so I went down and worked on my racecar pretty much all day today. I always complain that I have to do everything myself, but I will say this--it was pretty nice to go to my shop today by myself and not have to answer to anybody down there. Just me. Do things the way I want to do them at the speed I wanted to do them. I got everything done I wanted to do today because I was kind of settin’ goals for myself. But when I need help, I need help. And sometimes I need help and don’t have help and have to figure out how to do it.? But it is what it is. Nobody makes me do what I’m doing. It’s my choice.

RB: So have you and your wife and daughters had any other hobbies or travels that you’ve liked to do over the years?

WS: Well, my wife is a retired travel agent. And actually, when I married her, I asked her, “If you had a choice, what would you do for a living that you’ve never got to do? What’s your dream job?” And she told me that she wanted to be a travel agent. And she was working at a temp agency at that time, and I had a fire suit and a helmet that I had been in a crash in--I can’t remember the specifics about it--and I had a man that called me wanting to buy it. And I said, “You can’t wear it.” And he said, “I don’t want to wear it. I just want it in my collection.” So anyway, we made a deal where he paid me more money than he probably should have, and I met him at a bank in Mint Hill, N.C. I went straight from that bank to Lucas Travel School and I paid for school for my wife to go to. And then I went to the job where she was working at and I walked in and the lady who was her boss, I asked her, “Where’s Cheryl at?” And she said, “She’s back in the break room. She’s got a headache, and she went back there to see if she could get rid of it.” So I went back to the break room and she had her head down on her arms and everything and didn’t know I was in the room. I had the receipt folded up in my hand and she looked up and said, “What are you doing here?” And I said, “I just wanted to come by and see you a little bit. How are you doing? They said you had a headache.” She said, “I did. I’m trying to get rid of it.” I said, “Well, here.” And I held my hand out. She said, “What is that?” And I said, “I wanted to get something for you. Hold your hand out.” She said, “You’ve probably got a bug or something.” I said, “No. I ain’t got no bug. Hold your hand out.” So she finally held her hand out and I put the folded up piece of paper in her hand and she said, “What does this mean?” And I said, “Well look at it.” And she seen Lucas Travel School, that it was paid for. And also I said, “I quit your job. I turned in your notice for your job here too.” She said, “What?” I said, “I turned in your notice. I quit your job for you too.” She said, “You did what?” So we went up front into her boss’s office and she said, “Did Wayne quit my job? Did you know about it?” She said, “No, I didn’t know about it.” So that’s how she got into the travel business. We traveled as much as we could even when I wasn’t racing. We always enjoyed that a lot. And my daughters enjoyed it too. Actually, one of them became a travel agent too.

RB: That’s a neat story. I like to do a lot of traveling too.

WS: People still call her, but she says she’s retired now. But she talks about the river cruises, like the historic river boats. We were going to Alaska for our 25th anniversary but that’s when I got sick. We had already paid for it but had to cancel it. Didn’t get to go. That’s her passion.

RB: That’s really cool. Finally, do you have anything more you’d like to say about having been involved in racing when you were?

WS: I am so fortunate that I got to race at the time I got to race. It was a really hard time in racing. ?You had to earn it, you had to work for it, and the people that I got to race with--I feel so fortunate now. I think about the drivers and the people that actually are gone now. I was talking to Bill Morgan not long ago and I told him, “I couldn’t believe the drivers that I got to race with and the time that I got to race.” To me it was the best time in racing, I think, especially short track racing. Ran back when the NASCAR Cup series was called the Grand Nationals. Ran in Sportsman and knew a lot of those people. I made so many friends and a lot of them are still my friends, the ones that are still alive. Even when I ran the Legends Series, I raced against Dave Marcis once at the Dells in Wisconsin. I passed him on the last lap for the win. And it was important to spend time with my father because I never spent much time with my father until I was about 13, 14 years old. My parents divorced when I was 13. They were back and forth, and I was an only child, and I was here and I was there. I never knew what was going to happen. So that’s probably the main reason why I enjoy all the time with my father now, because I never got to spend a whole lot of time with my father when I was young. He was a truck driver. He pushed a truck up and down the road. He has 3 million miles safe driving. He logged a lot of miles in a truck. And he worked his tail off and came in on Friday afternoon and, of course, I had the car loaded ready to go to Metrolina Speedway. Of course, I had some help; I had others that helped me. But that’s probably the best thing I can say right there. The time that I got to race and the people I got to race with. That time in motorsports there were really good people I got to race with and be around and I feel very fortunate for that.

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