David Bryant takes his turn around the Rockingham Speedway during practice for the Polar Bear 150 on Wednesday. Bryant is the car chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Track owner Andy Hillenburg felt the speedway’s third major race was a good way to kick off the new year.
“It’s fun to start on Jan. 1, and I felt we needed some type of holiday event,” Hillenburg said. “It’s a novelty race since we’re having a race take place in the winter, but I think it’s a cool idea. The kids think it’s fun and everyone is talking about it. The race has taken its own identity.”
Qualifying will run from 10 to 11 a.m., which will determine the starting lineup for the race, which will begin at 1 p.m.
According to Charles Hudson, the director of public relations, there will be seven cars at a time on the track with the cars going four laps around it.
The driver with the best speed will be awarded a Pole award from R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company. The prize money for the winner of the 150 race is $5,000. Hudson said he expects about 75 racers to compete.
“It’s a variety of cars, which is a cool thing,” Hudson said. “This series is a lot different. This is throwback series with a throwback race and throwback cars. They’re late model American made cars from the early 70’s to late 80’s. These are the type of cars, you will see at most of the short tracks around the country.”
The cars will be running under the Frank Kimmel Street Stock Series. Kimmel was a nine-time ARCA champion, who Hillenburg said he has known for a long time. They both are from Indiana and Hillenburg competed against Kimmel in the ARCA series for 15 years.
“It was his idea and with me having the race, it has turned into a good relationship,” Hillenburg said.
Hudson stated with so many racers competing today it’s hard to know who is the favorite. During an open test session back on Dec. 13 at the Rock, Hudson said the two fastest cars belonged to Jason Weatherwood and Clint Watkins. However, he added there were just 10 or 15 cars competing that day.
Florida native Bryan Silas knows a thing or two about competing at the Rock. Silas will be the only driver to have raced in all three of the major races at the track. Silas has already raced in the Carolina 500 and American 200. He came up short in the prior two races, but the veteran ARCA driver hopes the third time is the charm.
“I can’t wait to race, and I know it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Silas said. “Every time I race here is a different experience. The key for me is just being patient around the track.”
David Bryant from Concord isn’t a name many race fans recognize, but those in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series know him as the car chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motor Sports. He joined Earnhardt Jr. after being the car chief for four years for Sprint Cup champion Jimmy Johnson.
“It’s probably the best job in the world,” Bryant said. “I get to do something I really like.”
What Bryant isn’t pleased about is the economic hardship involved in NASCAR. Teams are continuing to fold or merge with the results being many crew members being laid off.
“It really stinks,” Bryant said. “I think close to 2,000 people are out of a job, and it’s really unfortunate. That’s all they ever done. I joked with some people in the middle of the year about what would happen if we lost ours. I never had a real job, and I don’t know what I would do. A lot of good people are out of work, but hopefully things will turn around.”
Before he gets back to work, Bryant will try to finish first at The Rock. Although Bryant has won three championships in his racing career, this is the first time he has been behind the wheel in 10 years.
“I’ve been learning to how to drive again,” Bryant said. “The car is really good and I just got to pick it up. But this should be an exciting experience.”
According to Hillenburg, the chance for all the drivers to race at The Rock will be an unique experience.
“These are guys who race all over the country, work during the week and race on Friday and Saturday,” Hillenburg said. “They don’t get a chance to run in a big major speedway. This is their Indianapolis 500 or Daytona 500, and they’re all pumped to be here.”
Contact sports reporter Corey Davis at 997-3111, ext. 44; e-mail cdavis@yourdailyjournal.com
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