In 2010, Weiss and his family-run team opted to chase the WISSOTA championship.
“It started that we ran WISSOTA races just kind of here and there and never ran for a championship,” he said. “That year we decided we were ready to make that our goal and we ran about 80 or 90 races, including Speedweeks in Florida. That was the only year that we set out to go win the WISSOTA championship. The other years by mid-season we were standing so good in the points that it was kind of dumb not to go for it.
“WISSOTA has a lot strong competitors. Even guys like Jimmy Mars will come up and race with them. A lot of it is that you don’t qualify. When you show up at a race track and you don’t draw good, it can end your night pretty quickly,” Weiss continued. “If you have to start eighth and someone like Jimmy is on the pole, it’s pretty hard to track him down. That’s how we grew up and that’s where we came from, and I’ll never talk bad about those drivers because there are a lot of good, good drivers up there who could be running a series like the Outlaws.”
Weiss eventually began venturing farther from home, testing his talent and equipment against late model racing’s top stars.
“When we went back to Bloomquist cars in 2018, we ran some of the bigger shows to see where we stood with them and if we were capable of running a touring series,” Weiss recalled. “When we won the North/South 100 at Florence (Ky.) Speedway that was kind of an eye-opener for us and I said, ‘I think we’re ready.’ We set our goals high and decided we were going to run the Outlaws series.”
Weiss and his team, led by veteran crew chief Shawn Gage, spend about 70 percent of their time at Bloomquist’s race shop in Tennessee, avoiding many of the obstacles of operating a racing operation from his Canadian home.
“All of the parts are in U.S. dollars and everything has to go across that imaginary line. You’ve got to pay the duties and taxes when it comes across the border,” Weiss said. “And everything is at least a week away. At Scott’s shop if you need one little part you pick up the phone and it’s $2 in shipping. If you need that same part in Canada, it’s a week away and it’s probably $25 in shipping, which is probably more than the actual part.
“Then, when it gets cold, there is a lot more than just bringing the hauler home. You’ve got to winterize it and you’ve got to take anything that can freeze out of the trailer.”
With 13 podium finishes, 30 top-10s results and an average finish of 7.6, 2019 was far more than a typical “rookie” season for Weiss.
“We definitely exceeded our expectations, but we were really trying to get that first win out of the way. That was the only thing on the list that we didn’t get to check off last year,” Weiss explained. “Our goal was to finish in the top five and win rookie of the year. I know that was setting the bar pretty high, but we thought our program was capable of doing it. Finishing third definitely was an eye-opener and exceeded our expectations.”
During the offseason, Drydene Performance Products joined Weiss Racing as the primary sponsor of the No. 7 car.
“We are trying to do the best we can for them,” Weiss said. “We are fortunate that Scott (Bloomquist) and Chris (Madden) were able to get them as well, so in addition to Team Zero we made Team Drydene out of it.
“For the last two years, all we’ve been missing was that one big sponsor, one person to believe in us. They came on board and that’s stepped up our team from a top-10 finish wherever we go, to a top five. We are very fortunate to have them and we are going to do our best to represent them. I think the results are going to show.”
Remember that one bit of unfinished business from last season? It certainly didn’t take Weiss long this season to finally win his first World of Outlaws feature as he drove to victory in the second race of the year at New Mexico’s Vado Speedway Park.
“It was relieving to know it’s finally out of the way. The first one is always tough to get. We’re finally able to say we won a World of Outlaws race and check it off our bucket list,” Weiss said. “Now, we’ve got to keeping trying to win more. Hopefully, we’ll get more than one, maybe we’ll get half a dozen. We are pretty pumped about what we have for equipment this year, the sponsors that have come on board and the engine program from Vic Hill. Everything has fallen into place and we should be able to do some great things this year.”