Taking time off is one of the hardest decisions to make, especially as a young man with a bright, gleaming future ahead of him in the sport. C.J. Faison is that very driver. On the other hand, not being a part of NASCAR does not mean the dream is over. The dream is only beginning for C.J. Faison.
Faison is not the only driver struggling to find sponsors in today’s NASCAR. Some drivers who have been a key ingredient for the success of the sport have had issues finding sponsors since the economic recession. For example, in 2011, Jeff Gordon’s primary sponsor DuPont (now Axalta Coating Systems) cut back from nearly a full season of sponsorship to 14 races. After negotiations with Walmart fell through, the AARP Foundation, through its Drive to End Hunger program, picked up the bulk of the season. The quest to find sponsors is grim outside of the premier series.
But, this is not knocking C.J. Faison to the canvas. After all, Faison has been racing since he was four and a half years old. “My father raced, and he was a pretty good driver who taught me a lot of important fundamentals,” he commented.
With that being said, Faison is not going to stop until he is at the top level.
Many young people do not realize how much potential they have. Just because it does not happen at 20, does not mean it cannot be done at 25. In the state our country is in, it is going to take persistence, talent, marketability and connections.
As far as Faison’s plans for the remainder of the 2014 season, he is planning to run the No. 45 Dirt Modified for Ellis Motorsports.
“In addition, I also have a brand new dirt late model that I’m building and I hope to race a handful of races with that as well,” he added.
Does Faison plan to return to NASCAR in the future?
“I have mostly taken 2014 to back up and regroup with racing and grow my businesses,” Faison said. “I would like to make a return to NASCAR soon.”
This young man has the heart and determination to make his dreams come true. We know that it is certainly possible. In a 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Dover International Speedway, Faison led the most laps, however, disaster struck with 12 to go, as Faison cut a right-front tire, slamming the outside retaining wall. It was a heartbreaking moment to come that close to winning your first race in NASCAR.
A veteran driver like Tony Stewart is going to have a tremendous amount of respect for C.J. Faison, a man who worked his way up the hard way. Now, as long as Faison does not block Tony Stewart in any way, I think these two have the potential to be great friends, and competitors on the race track.
