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Gibsonburg street stock racer Jason Drummond says there is a huge difference between short track racing and NASCAR racing.
“I think everybody can skip that NASCAR crap — they make too much money, anyways,” Drummond said. “It’s more fun at the local short tracks — it’s much better racing anyways.”
That doesn’t mean Drummond would turn down an opportunity to drive in a NASCAR circuit, if the finances were there.
“If someone wanted to fork over a few million dollars,” Drummond said. “It’s not really cheap. Even if you wanted to go up to the super late models and stuff like that, those cars are almost 100 grand. It’s pretty expensive.”
Still, Drummond, driving No. 77, gets the opportunity to run on NASCAR tracks and has raced against NASCAR drivers.
Drummond, his father Dan and brother, Dan, Jr., left Thursday for North Carolina where Jason participated in the Frank Kimmel Street Stock Nationals on the high banks of Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, two days after Thanksgiving.
Up to 99 cars were to run in the fourth annual Polar Bear 150, which originally ran on New Year’s Day but was moved to Thanksgiving weekend. Registered for this year’s race, along with Drummond, were Chuck Barnes, Sr., winner of the first two Polar Bear 150s, Frank Kimmel, and Bryan Silas, winner of the CARS Pro Cup portion of the American 200 earlier this month.
Sandusky Speedway, where Drummong and his father both once raced, also does a New Year’s Day street stock event called the Hangover Race, but Drummond likely won’t participate.
“The cars we race are a street stock, but you couldn’t legally race it in the street stock division at Sandusky,” Drummond said. “Our cars are pushing close to 700 horse (power) in the (Indiana-based Championship Racing Association) traveling series. With the traveling series, they’ve pretty much only ruled out cast iron blocks and cast iron heads and the weight rules, other than it’s pretty much you can do what you want.”
For Drummond, it is his fourth year racing in the Rockingham event. In 2007, he finished 19th of 67 racers, completing 154 laps. Last year, NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch finished in second in the Polar Bear Cup.
“It was a blast,” Busch told Rockingham Speedway’s Andy Cagle. “It was just as much fun as I thought it would be. It was old school racing – toss it in sideways and drive the hell out of it. We got every ounce out it. There at the end I think we lost a cylinder. I could definitely feel the power loss.”
NASCAR returns to Rockingham on April 15, 2012 for the Camping World Truck Series Good Sam Club Roadside Assistance 200. For Drummond, this year will be his fourth time on the historic one mile track, adding that it is “fun to race on.”
Drummond has also raced at Bristol Motor Speedway and hopes to soon get the opportunity race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Drummond, unlike many racers who began at a young age, got a late start. Now 37, he started racing at age 32, but his family has a history on the track.
“My dad (Dan) raced all his life. He used to run up at Sandusky and I’d take my daughter and we’d go up and watch him run the front-wheel drive cars up there. So, she thought it looked cool, so I got a car and one day I drove and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Jason said.
Jason watched his father race while he was growing up in Toledo. Jason graduated high school in Ida, Michigan, but now that he is racing and living in Gibsonburg, it his family helping him out.
He and his family own Curtice Auto Parts at 6840 North Genoa-Clay Center Road. CAP is his only sponsor, and his family are in charge of maintaining the two cars that he drives — one for the Kimmel Street Stocks and the other for CRA racing.
“It’s a fun time. My brother, my dad and I go along to all the races. It’s a family time. My other brother Dan helps with the car maintenance,” Jason said.
On the CRA circuit, it did not take long for Jason to achieve success. In 2009, he was awarded the Rookie of the Award for the CRA street stock division.
This year on the CRA circuit Drummond finished second in percentage of laps completed (90.2) and total laps completed (812), which shows resilience on the track.
Even at the very beginning of his career, in Sandusky, he achieved success. In 2007, he was on his way to a possible victory at Sandusky during a 12-lap feature for four-cylinder spectator stocks. He had been the fastest qualifier in 23.127 seconds and finished third in Heat No. 1 but took fourth in the feature.
Out of turn four of lap four, he, Jason Rowe and Jim Morrison were in the lead, but on lap six Rowe spun out on the front stretch but did not leave the race.
On the restart, Drummond passed Rowe in turn one to lead the lead on lap eight. Rowe took back the lead just in time to take second. Drummond fought back and took second place back on lap 10, but Drummond got loose near the end allowing Robert Callipare to finish second and Justin Cranmore finished third.
In 2006 at Sandusky, Drummond led the feature from the pole. The yellow was out on lap two when then 11-year-old Stephanie Beane spun off of lap four. A series of cautions would follow before the field settled down to green flag racing, but Cranmore got past Drummond for the victory and the Gibsonburg racer would finish third.
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