It won’t be long before Sun Peaks-based NASCAR racer Jason White is back on the track. When SPIN caught up with White last week, he was in London, Ont. with his team getting everything finalized before the flag drops at his first race in June.
“It’s a big buildup,” said White. “I’m out here for a few days just helping out. It’s a lot of work but we’re ready for it. We’ll see how it goes.”
The first race is set for June 5 at the Delaware Speedway in London, Ont.
Having recently inked a three-year contract with A&W, White and the RZ Racing Team are relieved that they can just focus on the race.
“With signing our long-term contract with A&W, it’s given us a lot of breathing room in the sense that we have time to organize a little bit more and we don’t have to worry about the marketing side of things and doing the promotion. We don’t have to worry about our next race; we have a commitment now,” said White.
And when it comes to performance, White said the team’s goal is simple—snag a spot in the ever-elusive top 10.
“We want to shift gears a little bit, set the bar a bit higher. We want to be a top 10 contender, and we think that if we do that, then the top five will come and hopefully, in the not too distant future, we’ll have a win.”
In stock car racing, the car is as important as the driver behind the wheel. In fact, part of the team’s struggle on the ranks last season was due to mechanical woes. In preparation, the crew is doing motor and body work to get the #21 A&W Impala in tip-top shape.
The car isn’t the only one getting spruced up. The team’s home track in Vernon, formerly the Sun Valley Speedway, is now the Motoplex Speedway and Event Park. This track is what White and his team considers their home track, but White has one other reason why.
Since most of the races are in Eastern Canada, White’s two young children only get to witness him race in Vernon.
The Motoplex Speedway was where his son Ryder saw his first ever NASCAR race. “Last year, he was at Vernon. He really likes race cars.”
“My wife usually comes to one or two races with me in the East,” he said. “It’s gonna be a busy summer for me and hopefully I can get my family to a couple races anyways,” said White.
The July 31 race at the Motoplex Speedway is one of 13 races this season for White. The 2010 NASCAR races run until September.
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