Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 3, 1995 TAG: 9508030032
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BASSETT LENGTH: Medium
Whenever the green flag dropped at Martinsville Speedway, young Ray got the chills. When he returned home at night he would dream he would someday steer a stock car to victory. Those memories and a love of racing continue to motivate Young.
"When I was a kid I would tell my stepfather 'I'm going to do it,'" Young said recently. "When I went home at night I would see myself doing it. The first time I stepped behind the wheel of a car it was like deja vu, I have done this before.''
But Ray Young's ascension into the world of Late Model Stock Car racing has not always been a dreamy one. Young didn't have the money to begin the sport as a teen-ager, which meant he got a late start.
In 1986 Young began his racing career, at the relatively old age of 21, as a Go-Kart racer. Three years and roughly 250 victories later, Young finished third in the national World Kart Association point standings. He hasn't slowed down since.
In 1989 Young crashed onto the stock car racing scene. He ran four races at Franklin County Speedway, and won them all. After being told that track officials were going to slow him down, Young made the expected response, "I didn't know racers were supposed to slow down.''
Since then Young has called New River Valley Speedway home, and it has proved to be a comfortable one. He captured the Street Stock track championship in 1991 and the Limited Sportsman title in 1992. In 1993 Young ran a sporadic Late Model Stock schedule but was named the track's Rookie of the Year. (He'll point out that was more by default: he was the only rookie racing late models that year.)
Last year, his first as a full-time driver in the late model division, Young excelled. He finished third in the points standings, captured his first race and won the coveted Curtis Turner Hard Charger Award.
This season has been no different. Young is third in the race for the track championship, but he is only 16 points out of the top spot. Young's success hasn't come easily. Just like the kid who didn't have the money to race as a youth, the 31-year-old Young has been forced to earn everything he has gotten.
He didn't get his first full-time late model ride until Larry Dunn, whose shop is based in Salem, called after the 1993 season.
"It meant everything to get the full-time ride in a good car,'' Young said. "I appreciate it, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to take care of the car.''
Fortunately, Young's wife, Lynn, has been involved in racing her entire life and is understanding of the time and effort it takes to put a competitive car on the track. Truth be known, Lynn Young has a lot to do with her husband's ability to compete.
Ray Young obtained his primary sponsorship from Don Boaz and Packaging Products Inc. in Martinsville. It was Lynn Young who made Boaz aware of her husband and his aspirations, as she cut his hair.
After hearing the couple's pitch, Packaging Products Inc. signed on as Ray Young's primary sponsor and helped provide him with the financial means to compete.
Lynn's father, noted engine builder Donnie Minter, constructs Ray's engines.
Making the demanding world of auto racing even tougher for Young is simple geography. Young lives in Bassett, Dunn's autoshop is based in Salem and the speedway is located in Radford.
"I get up at 6 a.m. and work until 4 p.m.,'' Young said. "Then I go work at the shop two or three days a week, which means I don't get in until around midnight.''
The Youngs' first child, 2-week-old Ashton Trey, "likes to keep me up at night,'' Young said with a laugh. "Sometimes you get tired and wonder if its worth it, but you have to get your second wind. [Ashton] makes me that much more determined to make the most of my chance while I can. I want to be able to give him things.''
The chance Young refers to is moving to the Busch Grand National circuit, stock car racing's second grandest stage. Young is trying to reach that goal by the age of 35.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB