Andy Gregg: Nationals Passion
Andy Gregg
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
(Eric Arnold) The word “passion” is used a lot in dirt track racing. This past year at the 54th FVP Knoxville Nationals a young man from Placerville, California loaded up his team to come to Knoxville Raceway for the first time, EVER. His PASSION was to get here to Knoxville and race, but he didn’t expect to win the 2014 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year title. His story is one of those cool back stories of the Nationals that you don’t always get to hear about. Sure we all know Donny Schatz won and Brian Brown finished second, but what about those other stories like Ryan Bunton making the Nationals A-Main for the first time, or a California guy with a dream to race at the famed half-mile black zook clay oval? They deserve some recognition too. Andy Gregg had a dream two years in the making to get to Knoxville and he successfully pulled it off. The week after the Knoxville Nationals Andy was interviewed on the Winged Nation program on MRN Radio. Here is a nice winter time back story as we reflect on the 2014 season. Thanks to MRN and Winged Nation hosts Steve Post and Kendra Jacobs for the content transcribed in this interview.
SP: What does it mean to win the Rookie of the Year?
Andy: It meant a lot for us just to make that 34 hour tow to go out there and race. To be honest the Rookie of the Year thing wasn’t even on our radar especially when I noticed there was 15 rookies total and I was just thinking, oh man, let’s just go out there and have a good time. I was telling a lot of people that we might not be the fastest team but we’re going to be the happiest team for even having the opportunity to race there. It was awesome that we got to come home with the Rookie of the Year and also to bring it back to California.
KJ: What was the key factor for you guys to make the decision that you were going to attempt to run the Knoxville Nationals?
Andy: It was a culmination of a lot of things. I’ve been saying since I started racing that I always wanted to go there and check it out. I had never been there to see it, let alone race. I always wanted to go and it was a bucket list kind of thing. It took us about two years to prepare for it because we are a low budget team and all the logistics of it. I can’t just say, oh we’re going to go to Knoxville this year on June first. You have to make arrangements for lodging, your entry fees, and all that. If we had blown a motor the week before we had left, I was going to be out $2,000 just in things you can’t get your money back on the week before the race, so it was a huge, huge, thing for us to be able to do and it took two years to plan it out for our team.
SP: Did all the planning work out, were there things that you didn’t expect, or that surprised you?
Andy: As far as expectations went, there were things that surprised us. Before the 360 Nationals, we made our goal to get into the B-Main and we met that goal. I was surprised how the air worked on the car because we’re not used to that in California on the little bull rings. I’ll be the first to admit, I felt like when we were in traffic, I was subpar and I was embarrassed about how I drove the car in traffic. But when we were in clean air I felt like we were as good as anybody that I would compare myself to. In the 410 we went out really late in qualifying and I was bummed out and I thought we can’t draw a pill to save our lives, and we ripped off tenth quick. That helped get my confidence back and I said OK, I’m a better driver than I’m giving myself credit for because obviously when there is nobody else on the track I was able to out qualify a lot of very good cars that went out when the track was in better condition. But then when I get back out on the track in the air I got frustrated because I couldn’t figure that out and so it makes me want to come back really bad next year. I would do anything to run some weekly shows there during the year. If I had to sell… something to get back there to run some weekly shows I would love to do that because I want to be better there in the air.
KJ: So this was your first trip ever to Knoxville? Your first time seeing the track? What was your first impression of the track?
Andy: We ended up getting to Knoxville a day early because we weren’t sure how long it would take us to travel there. So the first night we had to take the race car out of the trailer and sleep on the floor of the trailer where the car sits because we didn’t make arrangements to have anywhere to sleep that night. So in the morning we got up and went to the track and we walked around the whole racetrack. Just walked around it! And the hair on the back of my neck just stood up as we walked into turn one and through two and down the backstretch. I’m like this is really happening you know and I can’t believe we are here and it was kind of weird because you spend two years preparing and planning for the event and then it comes and goes so quick. It’s really hard to describe and I’ve been telling a lot of people here in California that there is nothing like it. Until you race it or go see it, you don’t understand. All of our tracks, we could put sideways in the infield of Knoxville. We could put Placerville Speedway 3 or 4 times sideways in the infield, going from front stretch to backstretch, that’s how small the tracks are I run on a weekly basis.
SP: What’s been the reaction to winning the Rookie of the Year? Are a lot of people in California happy for you?
Andy: Oh yeah! There’s been a lot of people happy for us and it’s kind of taken a little while for me to be honest, for it to just sink in a little bit, because it just happens so quick and I was like oh man, we’re Rookie of the Year! Everybody has just been so excited and eager to hear how it went so that’s been real exciting to see how the fans have reached out. And maybe fans that weren’t mine before or maybe they still really aren’t my fans, but they know the importance and how significant it is to get Rookie of the Year. You only have one chance at it, ever. That’s been amazing, everybody reaching out to me.
KJ: Knoxville is also known for its atmosphere. Did you get the chance to enjoy any of the fun stuff while you were there?
Andy: I’m low key I would say. I didn’t make it to Dingus. I was just focusing on the racing side of it because that’s what we really came for. My wife came out too and I have to give her an “atta boy” because she is due October fourth so she is fairly pregnant. The camper I rented wasn’t big enough for the crew and her, so we had to go to Walmart and buy a tent. So her and I, we slept in a tent, and she never complained. As soon as we were done racing we would all go to the car wash and get back to the campsite around 1:00 in the morning and then play cards and break down the night. I just wanted to hang tight with her because I knew it wasn’t the most comfortable trip for her.
SP: How are things going for you in California this season?
Andy: Things are going good. We were fast this last weekend, we ran third and fifth. Last year we won seven races and this year we only won two. I’m really thankful how my season has been going, and happy with our performance but haven’t had much luck on our side. We can’t change our luck and go somewhere else because we only have two or three weekly tracks we can choose from. In California it feels like we are on an island here. If I got on Interstate 80 and started headed east, my first race track that would be a regular race track (for sprint cars) wouldn’t be until Nebraska. I’m happy with our season and have good partners with Mike’s Hard Lemonade on the 360 car and Miller Fortune on the 410 car so it’s been a great season even though we haven’t won as much as I would like.
KJ: So what happens next for Andy Gregg?
Andy: Because we did sacrifice a few races to run Knoxville we are not running for points at any track. There is one point race left at Chico and we’ll go there and try to get a good baseline for the Gold Cup coming up. The Outlaws run a different tire than we do out here so the promoter is letting us ran that tire and try to get a good baseline. We will hit Placerville a couple of more times. Then we will have the Fall Nationals in Chico, and then some King of West races, and the Trophy Cup which is one of the marquee events in California. And I will be experiencing being a Dad for the first time so that is exciting.
SP: How many races do you anticipate total you will run this season?
Andy: We will probably be in the 45 range. Out here the way we are set up with Chico and Placerville it’s easy to get a lot of races in on a small budget. I live in Placerville so it’s easy for me to make those races. Chico is about a two and half hour drive on Friday nights so I can manage a half day at work and still get to the track in plenty of time to race. I would imagine we will probably be in the 45 range when it’s over and done with, that’s typical for my team. Some of the other guys get closer to 60 or 70 races in, but for me I’m more than happy to get 40 to 45 by the season’s end.
There are teams with fancy motor coaches, and then there are guys like Andy Gregg and his wife Lynde who was willing to sleep in a tent to race at the Nationals. Lynde delivered a healthy baby boy named Jessie on October fourth. Congratulations!
Gregg finished fifteenth in the C-Main of the Nationals, best of the rookie class this past year to earn Rookie of the Year at the Nationals. On his preliminary night he timed tenth, finished seventh in his heat race, and tenth in the B-Main, earning enough points to get locked in the top 50 and bypass the non-qualifiers show on Saturday afternoon. In the 360 Nationals he finished nineteenth in the B-Main. He drove the Russell Motorsports yellow number 14R in the 360 Nationals and the GUTS Racing/Miller Fortune/Poor’s Equipment Repair clack number 53 in the 410 Nationals.
To end his season Gregg finished sixth in 410 points at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico despite missing a week to race at Knoxville. He ended up racing in 47 races total in 2014, with 2 wins and 19 top five’s (stats provided by Petersen Media). He went on to finish ninth at the Chico Fall Nationals and had a roller coaster ride at the Trophy Cup crashing on Thursday night, regrouped on Friday to finish fifth, and then had mechanical woes on Saturday night there but was able to start the feature before pulling in early.
“Knoxville was a great experience,” said Gregg. “I have been fortunate to have some great help over the years, and I really have to thank the guys who made the trip with me, and the people who aided our team in getting out there.”
Andy would like to thank Miller Fortune, Poor’s Equipment Repair, K&N, FK Rod Ends, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports, FK Shocks, Wilwood, Capitol Ace Hardware, 95.7 The Wolf, CTL Forrest Management, Nail Roofing, Meyers and Sons Drywall, Ervin Sales Group, Hansen Machine, K&T Fab, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Amerikote, and Hinchman for their support in 2014.
|