Ryan Gifford Confident As 2014 Drive for Diversity Contender

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February 8, 2014

NASCAR Drive for Diversity (D4D) recently announced its 2014 class of young, up and coming multicultural and female drivers and one of the headliners of the group is Ryan Gifford.

Gifford, a 24 year old from Tennessee, made history in 2010 by becoming the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East pole position. He also scored his first East win at Richmond last year, as well as making his Nationwide debut for Richard Childress Racing.

“First of all, it’s awesome to be back with the team,” Gifford said as he returns to his same Rev Racing team from last season. “It’s rare to get this opportunity this many times and I’m looking forward to having a really good year.”

“I think we’re going to bring back most of the same guys on the team and I’ll have the same crew chief Mark Green,” Gifford continued. “We had a good run last year and I really like all my guys.”

“They work their guts out for me and I think that’s what it takes.”

“I know Mark’s really excited and they’ve put a lot of work into the cars over the winter,” Gifford continued. “Really for me, I’m excited to have new cars coming together. And when I go to the shop and see everyone working, I think it will be a really cool year.”

While Gifford admits that he learned many lessons from last year, the biggest lesson learned sounds easier said than done.

“I’ve learned just to be confident in myself really,” Gifford said. “To know that I can go out there and be fast and know I’m capable of doing it this year, which means everything to me.”

“I want to go out and win the championship this year.”

Gifford has also learned a great deal about the tracks on which he has competed. This has been especially challenging for the young D4D competitor as his background has primarily been on the local dirt tracks.

“For me, my best tracks where I feel most comfortable are the companion races and the faster tracks,” Gifford said. “I don’t have a lot of experience on pavement even though I’ve driven in the K&N Series for four years.”

“Before that, I raced all dirt,” Gifford continued. “So, all those kinds of race tracks compare more to the dirt than the little, slower short tracks that we go to. I think the slower places are the ones I struggle at more.”

“But last year, I did really well there too so I think this year will be fun,” Gifford said. “I know I still have a lot to learn but I’ve learned some of them the hard way. I think I’ve got a little experience under my belt and I’m ready to go for it.”

While Gifford will most certainly be concentrating on asphalt racing, his heart and roots remain in dirt and he will continue to race late models whenever possible.

“I think I’m looking at about 15 races this year,” Gifford said. “So, it will be exciting to fit all that into the schedule and try and make everything work.”

“But I’m really excited to be able to do all that and it really helps to stay in the seat when we have two or three weeks off.”

How does the young D4D competitor intend to balance the rigors of racing so often and on so many different surfaces?

“I think just staying in the race car is the biggest thing that helps me balance it all,” Gifford said. “And staying in different kinds of race cars helps me adapt.”

“I need to be a really versatile driver so that part will keep me mentally focused and not thinking about other things,” Gifford continued. “Aside from that, I stay busy at the shop and every now and then I try to squeeze in a work out to try to keep myself in shape. That keeps me comfortable when I’m in a race car.”

Gifford has been significantly influenced by Richard Childress Racing, from the choice of his racing idol to his two best friends in the sport.

“In the past, my racing idol has always been Dale Earnhardt but then, once I moved here, I’ve gotten to know the Dillon brothers and they are kind of like my brothers now,” Gifford said. “They have let me live with them for a couple of years and they’re really good friends.”

“Seeing them go up through the ranks and handle everything has been really cool and I really look up to both of them.”

Fans of the up and coming racer may also be surprised with his day job and his ability to work on his own race cars.

“I still work at the shop and I still work on Austin and Ty’s cars,” Gifford said. “That’s pretty much my during the week job.”

“Even K&N racing is still not the big time yet so you have to do what you can to pay the bills,” Gifford continued. “It’s a lot of fun to work on those cars.”

“I can pretty much build a race car from the ground up so I’m for sure a gear head,” Gifford said. “I’ve always had to work on my own race cars and to build them and keep them up so, I’ve learned pretty much every angle of the sport that I can, including building the cars and servicing them.”

“I think that’s a cool fact for fans to know.”

But what Gifford really wants fans to know is how he intends to approach his 2014 Drive for Diversity K&N Pro Series season.

“If I could choose one word to describe how I feel about the year and participating in the Drive for the Diversity Program it would be confident,” Gifford said. “I’m really excited for this year and can’t wait to get started.”

Violence — The Missing Part in NASCAR?

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SM Staff

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February 7, 2014

crash_dis2_yeazell — Photo Credit: David Yeazell

When the powers that be began to announce what we already know—that NASCAR was going to change the Chase to have excitement equal a “seventh game moment,” but that won’t happen unless there is violence. Americans love violence. They left baseball because there wasn’t enough violence and sided with the NFL. It’s complicated, but the truth rings true.

I’m an old man, but I have a twenty something son. He loves the NFL and cheers when a defensive player nearly decapitates the quarterback if it’s on his team. He loves the WWE. He loves to see the big guy throw the other “rassler” out of the ring. He ignores baseball because the only time anything exciting happens is when the catcher blocks the plate and has a collision or a fight erupts. He loves the dunk, but hates games where teams play and no one gets hit in the mouth or no one talks trash. Richard Sherman’s tirade with Erin Anderson was talked about for a long time while the game was not. That’s why most of the things NASCAR changed will not be enough to bring the multitudes back to the sport.

It’s been a long litany of changes. After the lull of the mid 2000’s, NASCAR thought a change in who won the championship would bring back the excitement. Those of us lifers thought it was silly to have a ten-race playoff. Immediately, one driver dominated the proceedings. Bristol changed its usual excitement by changing the track which was the hottest ticket in sports. No longer is that the case. Tracks that had good racing were replaced with tracks that historically did not have good races. Dominant teams continued to dominate. Where once there were many winners, two teams won nearly half of the races. One manufacturer dominated and the others floundered.

And yet, we fiddle with a championship that really is not the problem with the lack of attendance and enthusiasm. We want violence. We want to see only one lane at Bristol where a faster car has to bump the guy holding up out of the way, We want the “big one” at Daytona and Talladega. We want to see the underdog win. We want to see the participants get hacked like Richard Sherman. We want more YouTube video of the confrontation between Tony Stewart and Joey Logano posted than another ho-hum runaway by any number of drivers. We want more Martinsvilles and fewer races at Kansas, California, Chicago, and New Hampshire. We want more violence.

Many of us are racing purists that want to see a good race, but the masses want that violence. So many still remember the late Dale Earnhardt, who raced like it was his last and made sure that they knew he was coming to the front, even to the point that he was willing to move the one in front of him to get him out of the way. That’s the violence I’m talking about. The NASCAR that kept growing didn’t need a new points system, a Lucky Dog, or a double file restart. They only needed competition and just a little bit of violence. NASCAR is trying to bring back that excitement, but it’s missing the point. Instead of making constant changes, competition needs to be addressed. Maybe, we should quit making the championship the end-all, and maybe putting less emphasis on these drivers being gentlemen. The sponsors want their drivers to be a corporate spokesman, but at what cost?

Tracks are removing seats and fans continue to stay away from the tracks and the television screens. Maybe the competition should be evaluated and the emphasis on the championship should be addressed. I’ll give credit for those that be for trying, but only when NASCAR addresses that thirst for violence, will it be worthwhile. The requirement to do that is to re-think the series, and it appears that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Don Biederman Memorial Champ Dwayne Baker headed to Florida Speedweeks

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SM Staff

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February 7, 2014

baker2014 — Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin

Earlier this week, Dwayne Baker unveiled his paint scheme that he will run later this month at New Smyrna. The Stayner, Ontario native will head to Florida to take part in the World Series of Asphalt.

While Baker has made the trip to Florida before, this will be the first time that he compete in a Super Late Model. Baker purchased the car from three-time CRA Super Champion champion Johnny Van Doorn.

Last season, Baker had a stellar year as he finished third in Sunset Speedway’s Limited Late Model standings, as well as scoring his second straight Autumn Colours Classic 75 lap LLM victory and his first ever Garry Reynolds Memorial victory.

Beyond that, Baker also ran some OSCAAR Super Late Model races, scoring two victories – including the prestigious Don Biederman Memorial.

For his trip down south, he will have support from Zancor Homes, G.D. Coates Suzuki, Knightworks Designs, Clearview Heating, and Baker Performance Parts.