Gainey and Zimmerman Celebrate in Victory Circle at NFS

Nevin Gainey wins in Emod at NFS

Emods

Thunderstock

Ego In Racing. When Too Much Of A Good Thing Is Just Too Much

  
*I am noting this article is about no one driver at all but just observations from many years and combined egos I've come across*


      Sigmund Freud was the first to really identify the three main parts of the psyche and define them into terms such as ego, super-ego, and id. They all three combine to determine how we interact with the outside world whether consciously or subconsciously. How we think of ourselves and how we react to situations in life are all tied in with your ego. Some of us react to situations in life differently than others and how we see ourselves is factored by your ego. In today's culture we look at ego and define it as a simple term and more of a negative than a positive and instead of the complex scientific study that it is. With the study of the ego there is a term that comes up called "ego strength" and it is what comes into play when contemplating a decisive action or more or less how you'll react to each and every situation. A strong ego strength is when a person isn't overwhelmed by their drives and can make an appropriate response to outside events and can make correct decisions. On the opposite end of the spectrum is a weak ego strength. This is where the person will exhibit impulsive behavior, be emotionally unstable, and have a weak self image.

Deep Dixie Racing Report 6/25/15

Videos: Feature Races and Deep Dixie Racing Report Interviews

Sportsman Feature

Super Street Feature

Chevrolet Performance 525 Super Late Model Series Puts Local Terry Smith in Victory Lane at Talladega Short Track

Terry Smith wins 525 Super Crates at TST

525 SUPERS

WINNER TERRY SMITH INTERVIEW

RONNIE JOHNSON

RYAN KING

ALL OTHER RACING, INCAR ACTION AND INTERVIEWS BELOW

Deep Dixie Racing Report 6/11/15

Justin Bridges: The All Star Gentle Giant

   Standing at a staggering 6 feet 5 inches, the sight of Justin Bridges can be slightly intimidating to someone from the outside, but to get to know him you realize he's humble, extremely funny, and in my case, a real smart alec. I always like to stop by and chat with Justin because giving each other a hard time and joking around is part and partial when I'm at the same track he's at. The formidable outside exterior of this big guy only hides an interior of a genuine, easygoing guy and one that will help any and everyone who stops by his pit for help. Whether asking for a part or setup advice, he's always there to help those who need it. He may give you a little bit of a hard time but it's always in good fun and he's well known for his humor and good natured ribbing. Speaking of ribs, besides racing cars and being a city councilman, he's an excellent grill master, learning from the one and only Myron Mixon, who is a legend in smoking and grilling himself. My love of food has made me get Justin to promise to cook something. His talent on the race track is equally impressive and after running the All Star Series this year he has become even better and more fierce with his level of competition.
   Justin was raised in racing and his dad, Sonny Bridges, was a crew member for Ken Reagan, father of Nascar driver David Reagan. Racing and travel was always part of Justin's life but unlike many others his life was tied into Nascar. He started going to Cordele Motor Speedway in 1989 when it was dirt with his grandparents to watch his cousins, Jimmy Borum and Darryl Robbins race in the hobby division. Afters years of racing, both men decided to retire from racing for the most part and at the same time Cordele was becoming asphalt. At around 20 years old Justin decided to buy a car and try his hand at racing so he bought a Camaro and hit the track following in his family's footsteps. His first time out he says he had no clue what he was doing and was pretty bad but looking at the glass half full he says "at least I didn't get lapped". The first 2 years were a struggle but the 3rd year got better when buddies, Eddie Brodick and Cody Hale, who he says are from "Booger Bottom", started helping. Soon after he started winning races and finally in 2009 won the points championship.
   Around 2010 he decided to try a new aproach and went to dirt at Cochran Motor Speedway for the first time. In his transition he says that the biggest difference was going from a heat race to a feature and deciding on how to get the stagger just right. It was definitely a learning experience and in 2011 he won his first dirt race at Cochran. At the end of the 2013 season a new up and coming series was coming along in the hobby division called the All Star Stock Car Series and Justin began hearing from other drivers like Michael Davis and Lance Floyd that they were going to be running so he decided he wanted to check it out. He liked the idea of traveling to different races, the level of competition, and having the best in the southeast running. The inaugural season of the series Justin just came as a fan to the All Star races but at the $10,000 to win race at Golden Isles last year, he knew for sure this was the series he wanted to be in. He saw in the pits the level of respect the guys had for each other, the family atmosphere, and the general positive attitude everyone had for each other. On the track he was impressed with as much money on the line no one ran over anyone. It was respect in the pits and on the track and watching Bradley Frakes go from the rear to the front for the win was the most impressive thing he had seen yet.
   His first All Star race was this year at North Florida Speedway and he said that when he got there for his first race, the sheer number of cars, an astounding 51 cars, was a little overwhelming. He didn't know if he would have a chance to make the feature but was determined to make a go at it and was successful. He started 14th and finished 12th and with the level of competition, it was a good feeling. At the last race for the series in Cochran Justin started 10th and in 2 laps made his way to 6th but halfway through he ran out of tearoffs and when he went to wipe his shield with his glove he only made things worse and going high into one of the corners 6 cars got by him in that one mistake. This hasn't deterred him though. It actually makes him look forward to the next race for the series on June 20th at Cochran again. He said it was actually a morale booster to know he can make the race and run with the guys there.
  For the rest of the season, Justin plans to runs every series race because his ultimate goal is to be high enough in the points to be locked into the race for $10000 to win at GIS at the end of the season. It has him looking forward to each and every race and always at the top of his game. He has a goal and wants to see it reached. Going from last year as a fan on the outside to this year as a driver on the inside of the series he says the level of competition is getting better and better and the drivers truly are as helpful and friendly as he saw from the outside last year. Going to different tracks with the series, in his thinking, is making better drivers of the series and something he hopes to continue to see for the future of the series with more tracks coming on board and a bigger schedule. When asked about what he thinks makes the series so successful his response was the drivers and how they bring a show to the fans and also because of the series owner, Leo Johnson.
   Seeing other series in racing, Justin says unlike many others, Leo is constantly walking through the pits, talking to the drivers, asking their input on how to make things better. He's always wanting feedback, always wanting to improve on the series where most series and race directors won't. He says Leo truly cares about his drivers and what they think and when a driver feels respected he will be loyal to a series. In Justin's affiliation with the series he says he plans to run with the series for many years to come and is extremely excited for the upcoming Golden Isles and Volusia races because they are tracks he's never raced at and loves the challenge of trying somewhere new. He, like many others in the series, are very loyal to running with the series and it truly is a family. Speaking as someone on the inside of the series I can tell you these guys are family. Justin knows this just like everyone else. The fans of the series have become family to Justin and the other drivers because they are just as dedicated and loyal as the drivers. Justin says that's what makes him come back to each and every race and as long as Leo is running it. His final words of the interview ring true for him and I think sums up what the other drivers and fans would say.... "As long as ya'll have a series, I'll be there". Come out and see Justin and all the other All Star drivers June 20th at Cochran Motor Speedway. It'll be a show you won't forget.

A Look at the All-Tech Raceway Contruction

 

WATCH VIDEO!!!!

Cruz Skinner: A New Hope In Racing

   Alabama has never been lacking in dirt racing talent which became extremely well know in the Allison Era and the Alabama Gang Era, and has continued trough the years, and carrying on that Alabama tradition is a young man so focused and so intent on seeing his dreams come true that you can't help but want to see him make all his dreams come true. Cruz Skinner at only 13 years old has quickly made a name for himself in the dirt track world. I began to notice when his name kept pooping up in all my social media and a friend from Alabama kept talking about him in such high regard. I already had liked the brightly colored number 11 since the number has always been lucky for me but the talent he had behind the wheel of that number 11 blew me away and the wins he was amassing with every trip to the track was becoming astonishing. I needed to talk to Cruz and get an idea on how he thinks and what drives him at such a young age. I was not let down. So young and so thoughtful in what and how he speaks it makes me wish he could be an ambassador for all young people in this sport. He doesn't speak in a way that makes you think he wants to tell you what he wants you to hear but more that he wants to be looked at respectfully by his peers and wants to make his family proud.
   Cruz came into racing like a lot of people do, by being born into it. His dad, Greg Skinner, a racer in his own day, and his granddad, G.T. Skinner, used to bring Cruz to the track since Cruz was born. Greg eventually retired from racing to focus on other more important aspects in life like his family and being a father and husband but racing never left him and he continued to go to the races as a fan with his father and little Cruz. Cruz remembers going to Green Valley, Talladega and Winchester as a small child and at that young age he first remembers watching and noticing how drivers would make their moves on the track. How they were passing each other and how they were moving up and down the track and it had him hooked. His first dirt track racing hero was and still is to this day, Ronnie Johnson. Ronnie wouldn't be up that way every week but when he was Cruz was paying attention and always noticed how Ronnie had patience on the track.
   At 5 years old his dad asked him if he wanted to race and I'll bet you can guess what his answer was. Cruz was then put into a go kart and his debut was to be at the Talladega go kart track but unfortunately a soccer accident left him with a broken arm and his first race had to be postponed for 6-8 weeks. Then one day in mid November, which happened to be the first cold day of the season, Cruz came to a different track and looking at the concession stand asked his dad if he could have an ice cream if he won. Note it was about 40 degrees that night. A deal was made that night and Cruz ended his first night with an ice cream and a trophy. Cruz continued to race for 5 years in karts and he and his dad decided it was time to move up. The next move was to the hot shot series which is a 6 cylinder car straight off the street and a roll cage added in. The first year was a lot of second and third place finishes and a learning curve, but the second year, Cruz hit his stride and won an astonding 26 races at Talladega and Green Valley and at that time they decided to buy a Honda Civic and race asphalt at Montgomery Speedway.
   To show just how much his dedication and his father's dedication to the sport is you should know they would go to Montgomery and race asphalt during the day and pack up and head to the dirt track in the same day. No complaining or whining from Cruz, just focusing on his dream and making it come true. After 2 years of Hot Shots they decided to move up yet again to where he is today. The crate late models. Cruz began with a few test sessions and realized it was much different going from a 6 cylinder to a crate late model but apparently it didn't take him long to catch on. The first crate race was at Talladega short track and ready to make his debut, Cruz started 6th, got to 3rd but jumped the cushion on the restart and fell back to 8th and drove his way all the way back to 3rd. How is that for someone so young and only his first time out in the crate? Pretty impressive if you ask me. His first ten races were learning curves but that 11th race brought that first win. The 11th race brought the number 11 his win. I'm a big believer in fate and that seemed like a fated night for sure for Skinner.
   Another major accomplishment for Cruz to add to his list is that he was selected by the state of Alabama for their "Click it or ticket" campaign. Putting Cruz on billboards and in commercials it has brought awareness to a whole new younger audience the importance of safety and being in one of the most dangerous sports there is, Cruz take the issue of safety seriously. He says he is extremely honored the great state of Alabama chose him to be their spokesperson. His Director of Public/ Media Relations, Mark Ponds, got Cruz involved with the campaign and it has hopefully saved someone's life. Cruz understands the outreach he can have to a younger crowd to try to get them to see how important it is to buckle up. It's a lot of responsibility but Cruz carries it so easily along with school and every other facet of his life. Going into high school this year he says school has always came first. Nothing in racing comes before getting his responsibilities with school done first and then it's off to the shop to clean and help with the car. It seems like it can be so hard for someone so young but listening to Cruz, he has everything in his life in the correct perspective and knows what must be done first.
   With the responsibilities of school there are others to help lighten the load in his racing. His dad has always been there to get the car ready and his crew chief U.B. McFadden makes sure the car is prepared and ready to go and Doug McKenzie and Tim Spears are also there for support. When I asked Cruz what racing has taught him, his response was "responsibility". It's taught him to manage his time and take care of his equipment and school work. A lot of his hero Ronnie Johnson has rubbeed off on him also. He says Ronnie is always classy and always knows how to handle himself on and off the track. Cruz has big dreams for his future and is concentrating with making that happen one step at a time. He runs the NeSmith weekly points series and it is his major focus to win the points right now and to run for the top of the NeSmith Young Gun Challenge which is set up by NeSmith for drivers 18 and under. He's currently running his 604 crate but also has a CT525 he can run. Checking this past weekend for Talladega, Cruz won his feature and is making good on those dreams each week.
  Cruz wants what a lot of young drivers want, to end up in Nascar and watching Cruz and talking with him, I feel pretty certain he will not stop until he makes it to the top. He has everything you want to see in Nascar, loads of talent, the knowledge that he is representing himself and his sponsors at all times, and the ability to know how to juggle life's demands. So many young people out there constantly in trouble or with no idea of responsibility and here we have someone at the young age of 13 who takes care of business at school, at the races, and respresents an entire state in one of the most important campaigns the state runs. He is truly amazing and if you get a chance go out and check him out at the races and know that when he hits the track he is keeping the Alabama racing legend alive and here is someone who has a dream and will work harder than anyone to see it comes true. I hope everything comes true for you Cruz and with your tenacity I know that one day I will be seeing your name racing on the high banks of Nascar. You keep hope alive in a younger generation for me and  for many others, and I hope you always do. We all are rooting for you. There is no limit to this kid and we can all take a lesson from him in hope, determination and where our dreams can take us.

Deep Dixie Racing Report 6/4/15

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