You guys, it’s Wednesday. That means I have some information to share with you about the most recent winners I posed with in victory lane. Who’s pumped?? Or, let’s don’t make this more than it really is… but at least admit that you’re a little curious, right?
Some of you (none of you) may be wondering how this post comes to pass? Well, first, I go to a race track (usually on a weekend) for an event. Then somebody wins, or if there are a few features, a couple of people win. And then comes the hard part…getting the interview with said winner(s). This is tough because the track or pits after victory lane is no place to try and get an interview. In my opinion there are a couple reasons for this:
1) The winner is tired, he (or she!) just worked his (or her!) butt off all night, and so did their team, to park it in VL. I just think they deserve to enjoy their victory.
2) They just got bombarded with photos and microphones in victory lane for the past 15 minutes. I don’t think they want me in their face as well.
3) I’m tired too! I just changed out of my heels so I could walk back across the track without falling in front of anyone who might still be around. And usually I need a beer (or vodka).
So anyway here’s the scenario at this point: somebody has won, and I have questions. Here’s how I usually try to resolve the situation: FACEBOOK AND TWITTER STALKING. Sometimes this works (Shane Clanton) and sometimes this doesn’t (ARE YOU READING THIS SHELDON HAUDENSCHILD???) and sometimes the people just don’t have social media accounts and I don’t have their address (Joe Kelley… I don’t know where you live. This is likely a good thing for all parties involved).
So the next step is basically shameless begging. In the event of my special edition of this post tomorrow, I’ll explain how sometimes this process can be easier from the get-go, but here’s the usual run-down: If I’m not already a Facebook friend, I usually (creepily) attempt to add the winner with a friend request. Then, I’ll make my case for them answering a few questions for me. I usually try to mention that it’s not going to hurt, it’s not going to be any hard questions. If the Facebook thing backfires, I’ll try a private message on Twitter, if they have it. If that doesn’t work, I HAVE resorted to calling them out publicly on Twitter. I’m not proud of it, but I’m basically a reporter here and I never wanna let down the public!! (Also I should note that I’m not delusional… I know I’m not a reporter and I know the public already probably knows some of the information I “report”… but writing my blog is fun for me and I want that interview, dammit!) So then after all that … I wait. Some people get back to me right away! But in some cases (ED LYNCH JR!) I’m still waiting. I understand, I know these guys are busy, so I don’t take it personally. But then, if they agree, as they say—we’re off to the races :)
So, now I’ve basically ruined the magic for this and you know all my secrets. Suppose we should get to the interviews from Friday night Fab 4 racing at Lernerville Speedway, from this past Friday July 17th. I got two feature winners to answer my questions, so that’s basically a 50% success rate for the process detailed above. In heart surgery, that’s bad odds, but if it was a baseball batting average it would be high… so it’s all relative. I’ll take what I can get. What more do you want from me? I’m a dirt track trophy queen for goodness sake.
Class: Super Late Model-- #H1 Jared Miley (67 career feature wins)
How old are you?
28
How long have you been racing?
10 years
Who are your sponsors?
Colussy Chevrolet, Rocket Chassis, Broughers Machine Shop, HoosierBob Mid-Atlantic, Sunoco Race Fuels, fullyinjected.com, Octane Graphix, Schaffers Racing Oil, Integra Shocks
What is your favorite color?
Carbon Fiber
Who is your favorite fictional character?
The Punisher
Who is your hero?
My wife – I have been with her for 13 years. We got married a year and a half ago. She is my biggest supporter and constantly pushes me to be best at everything I do and supports me 100% with racing, working on the cars, and the fact I am out of town 4 days a week working in West Vriginia away from her. She does everything for me and never asks for anything in return. I am blessed to have her, so she is my hero. And I’m know I’m hers.
What else do you want the public at large to know?
We’re really looking for an opportunity to be able to step up to a national touring series in the near future, after racing regionally for the past several seasons and picking up wins at many different tracks we feel like we’re more than ready and able to jump up to the next level. We’ve run very well against national competition when they come to our area and we would love to be able to travel and race at that level on a regular basis.
What’s your favorite racing memory?
1st career feature win in just my second start driving a race car! (Limited late model at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway)
Any advice or wisdom you want to impart?
Pursue your dreams and never give up!
Class: Modified-- #6 Mat Williamson (32 career modified wins? He’s not sure. “Someone else does the counting for me hahaha”-he says)
How old are you?
25
How long have you been racing?
Since I was 4, started in karts then modifieds when I was 14
Who are your sponsors?
FOX shocks, Bicknell Racing Products, and S and W service centre
What is your favorite color?
Red
Who is your favorite fictional character?
Jax from Sons of Anarchy
Who is your hero?
My hero would be my dad.
Words of advice?
Words of advice for anyone trying to make it in racing would be to just keep trying, a lot of people will tell you no along the way but you can’t give up.
So those are my Friday guys. Up next: my post from the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville. And for my next race? Cancel your plans-- I'm hoping to make it to Sportsman's Speedway in Knox sometime in the next month.
<3/ Miss Dirt Dog
