HARRISBURG, N.C. — It’s tough to beat a good plate of leftovers, especially as the summer picnic season shifts into high gear.
And leftovers should be shared, especially those of the digital variety — the ones relegated to a lone file folder once that specific SPEED SPORT Insider story has been written, edited and submitted for publication.
Here are some tasty leftovers from our recent conversations with aspiring NASCAR racer Connor Zilisch, longtime sprint car mechanic Gary “Deuce” Turrill, retired sprint car driver Paul McMahan and central Pennsylvania wheelman Freddie Rahmer.
SPEED SPORT: Of all the race cars you’ve driven this year, which was the most fun to drive?
Zilisch: “I’d say the IMSA LMP2 car because it’s so fast and it has so much downforce. The racing isn’t the most fun because it’s kind of tough to pass and you get spread out, but I love endurance racing. It’s such a unique kind of racing. If I were to pick a car to just go drive on a Saturday, the LMP2 car would definitely take the cake on that. It’s such a cool car to drive. It’s got the right amount of power, crazy amounts of downforce. It’s been a blast to learn those cars.”
SPEED SPORT: What’s one thing race car fans are surprised to learn about you?
Zilisch: “People are always surprised by how young I am. I feel like every time I meet someone, they ask me how old I am. Every time I say, ‘17,’ they look at me like I have four eyes and I’m an alien. It’s crazy to me that people don’t see the 17-year-old in me. They all think I’m 21, or in my 20s. I’ve been in this sport for a long time and I’ve been through a lot of different things. I went to Europe without my parents and I’ve learned to grow up really fast. It’s been a really cool journey.”
SPEED SPORT: What do you consider your greatest achievement in sprint car racing?
Turrill: “I guess building that whole DP Motorsports team, going from a clean sheet of paper to being the best for that season (1989), winning that many (43) races. I knew we were going to win with Doug Wolfgang, because he’s going to find a way to win races.
“That was probably my biggest achievement, but the two races I’m most proud of is taking that knowledge I gained from Doug and parlaying that into a second place at the Kings Royal and a second place at the Knoxville Nationals with Kenny Jacobs. Kenny Jacobs is an accomplished racer, but I don’t think he could have done it without me. That might sound like I’m bragging, but I’m not. I feel like I made that car fast enough for Kenny to drive it that fast.”
SPEED SPORT: What did you do after the DP Motorsports deal came apart?
Turrill: “Doug and I raced together again in 1990 for the Williams brothers. That started out to be ‘race anywhere you want.’ Then, when USA folded, ‘Oh, we’ve got to run the Outlaws.’ That’s what the Williams brothers wanted. Doug and I didn’t want to do that, but we did, because otherwise we didn’t have a job.
“We ran second in the points, we had 13 Outlaws wins, we won the Kings Royal and we did the alphabet at the Knoxville Nationals – that’s a story in itself.
“They ended up firing John Singer and hiring Ron Shaver to do motors. At the end of the year, we were fired, and I’m like, ‘Why do I do all this work, and sweat?’”
SPEED SPORT: Did you ever consider pursuing a NASCAR ride?
McMahan: “Back then, there was no way in hell they were going to hire some dirt-track guy to go race IndyCar or NASCAR. It was just a different time. Back then, I was fortunate to get an Outlaws ride at 25. Racing on pavement never crossed my mind. I knew there was no opportunity for a dirt-track guy to crossover. Nowadays, that’s the way it goes, but they are starting at age 12 in sprint cars.”
SPEED SPORT: Besides your father, who was your racing hero growing up?
■ Extra Side Dishes: Please pass the potato salad and the baked beans. … Carl Edwards’ career is not worthy of him being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The induction committee swung and missed on this one. … Sixty years ago, on May 24, 1964, Fireball Roberts suffered burns in a multi-car crash during the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Roberts succumb to his injuries on July 2. … Josef Newgarden is not finished adding Indy 500 victories to his résumé. … In an effort to produce more passing, Charlotte Motor Speedway is undergoing a ROVAL Redo. … Six senators have called on the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Formula 1 for rejecting Andretti Global’s bid to join the F-1 grid. The senators, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, argue that F-1 management may be violating antitrust law. … Ricky Stenhouse Jr. should’ve paid his $75,000 fine in pennies. … Racing lost a true promoter — and I lost a friend — with the May 28 passing of Eldora Speedway GM Jerry Gappens.
THIS ARTICLE IS REPOSTED FROM THE June 12 EDITION OF SPEED SPORT INSIDER
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