YOUNG LIONS? WHAT ABOUT US OLD LIONS?
By Jeremy Troiano
(Executive Editor’s Note: The views expressed in this column are the views and opinions of the author of the article. His views are not necessarily those of LegendsNation.com, its sponsors or other contributors.)
Interesting news here on LegendsNation.com. Finally, the Lowe’s Motor Speedway Summer Shootout will add another class, the Young Lions. Personally, I think this is a great idea. With 50 and sometimes 60 or more Semi-Pro cars out there each and every week trying to make the 26-car feature, it can be pretty tough on some of those kids, no matter what age they are, to go home after running only one heat and a last-chance race each week.
Isn’t sometimes “not making a race” part of racing? Yes it is. There isn’t anything for NEXTEL Cup drivers, Pro Cup Drivers, World Of Outlaw drivers or anyone else that goes to try and make a race and doesn’t.
But the Summer Shootout at Lowe’s Motor Speedway is a different animal. It’s widely considered one of the biggest series of events in all of Legends Car racing. Other than the Nationals events, and maybe a couple of “big time” special races during the year, going to, racing in and even winning at the Summer Shootout at LMS is about as prestigious as it gets. Why? Because at the Summer Shootout at LMS, the best-of-the-best come to race.
Because of that though, there are plenty of drivers, especially in the Legends Division, that are hoping to make a name for themselves. There are plenty of drivers that hope that one day, they will be competing on the same track, except in a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup car, Busch car, or Craftsman Truck. There are plenty of Jordan Andersons, Darrell Wallaces, Zach Stroupes, Thomas Hartensvelds, Max Greshams, Matt Stovers and other drivers just like them that hope to one-day be professional racecar drivers and are using the Legends as a stepping stone to that goal.
And where do they start? They start in the highly competitive Semi-Pro Division, where everyone starts until they are good enough to move up to Pro. But there comes the problem. There are so many good drivers in Semi-Pro, they can’t all win, and therefore, they can’t all move up to Pro. That leaves Semi-Pro a heavy car-count class, with more people coming in each year than moving up to Pro.
Now, LMS is introducing the Young Lions class to help slim the field down. Now, if you are in Semi-Pro and between the ages of 12 and 16, the Young Lions will be the place for you.
But here is what I want to know… where do the Old Lions race? And I ask this, based upon my own experience in the Semi-Pro Division at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Two summers ago, I got to fulfill a racing dream of mine to compete in Legends Cars. I split a full-season of Summer Shootout competition with my teammate, Matthew Dillner. I ran five weeks, Matthew ran five weeks.
I came into the year in Semi-Pros, the entry levels for someone who hadn’t race in Legends cars before. However, because of my age at the time (27), I ended up being one of the oldest Semi-Pro drivers out there.
Don’t get me wrong, I had fun and I learned a lot. I even made one “A-feature,” during my five-week run, coming in the third week, where I qualified through finishing second in the “B-feature.” That, in and of
itself, was an accomplishment that I’m still proud of, considering the caliber of Semi-Pro drivers that show up every week every year at the Summer Shootout.
However, here is what always goes through my mind: I’m 27 and I’m not aspiring to be a professional racecar driver. I just want to go out there, be competitive, learn as I go, and most importantly, have fun.
But where do I fit in?
There were just three options: Semi-Pro for everyone just getting into Legends car racing under the age of 40, Pro for those that are very good, no matter their age, and Masters for those who are over 40 years old, no matter how good they are.
Most of the people that race in the Semi-Pro division at LMS during the Shootout are out there to do what I want to do, have fun, but also to help future their racing career. My career isn’t going much past racing in Legends cars, Redneck Racing Series cars, and maybe the occasional one race or two racers here in more entry-level stuff. I’m not looking for NASCAR, Pro Cup or anyone else to run in to have a career. I’ve already got one. In sit behind a desk and write little op-ed pieces like the one you are reading.
The author spent one Summer Shootout racing the #51 Legends car in the Semi-Pro Division. (LN photo)
Legends car racing is a tough thing to master. (Harold Hinson / LMS photo)
I just don’t fit in with the Semi-Pro class. I don’t want to go out there and race with a bunch of 13 to 21 year old drivers that are more skilled than me, and that are using the Shootout as a platform to the future. I want to run with a bunch of real beginners that are looking to go out there and race and simply have fun. Other racers whose future dreams rest on where to eat after the shootout is done, not who they’ll drive for in the NASCAR ranks.
I don’t want to get in the way. I don’t want to ruin what might be a good show put on by a bunch of drivers that will one-day fight for Cup or Busch rides. I don’t want to go out there and get spanked by little kids.
In the end, I just think there is a void. There is a void for those that want to race Legends cars to what they were really made for… fun, affordable, and for anyone just looking to have fun.
Racing in the Semi-Pro class was tough for the author (#51), because there were plenty of drivers out there (like the #1 of Jake Crum) who was fighting to make it into the feature and into a brighter future of racing.
Maybe the introduction of the Young Lions class at LMS will help solve some of this problem and give people like myself and other late 20s or those in their 30s that want to just race for fun have more opportunities to do so. Maybe, there needs to be another division, the Old Lions, created for those not looking to make racing a living, and more for those just beginning, that aren’t very good, and that are a little bit older, but not quite in the 40s and ready for Masters.
Never thought I’d call myself old, but at age 29, I’d be the first to sign up. And OL stickers will be slapped right on the front of my car.
Then I’ll figure out where to eat where after the race.
