“We didn’t have any sponsorship for 2019, or hardly any sponsorship for 2019, but we planted a seed with TaxSlayer by doing one truck race at Martinsville and that turned into eight Xfinity races last year.”
In addition to having job security for the first time in his NASCAR career, Snider has taken advantage of working with and learning from Dale Jarrett, who like Snider’s car owner is a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.
Jarrett and Snider spoke at length in the days leading up to the Homestead-Miami race. Snider’s first two starts of 2021 were solid if unspectacular: a seventh on Daytona Int’l Speedway’s oval and a 13th-place result on the track’s road course. Snider considered Homestead-Miami to be among his stronger tracks, but any extras he could glean from Jarrett before the race were welcomed.
“He’s been a great asset,” Snider said of Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion. “His wisdom in racing is really untapped and he’s a great person to lean on. Really, just going from the mental side is what he helps me out with most.
“I think all the stuff that’s happened to me over the last few years has forced me not to give up. I try to just push through and see what’s next. I have my dad to thank, because he busts his butt to call people and try to help get me sponsors so I can race. It’s a team effort with Richard Childress Racing and I’m lucky to be the one behind the wheel.”
Two years ago, Snider had no wheel to get behind — at least in his home country.
Three Truck Series races comprised his entire schedule in the U.S., so Snider opted to gain seat time and life experience by competing in the Whelen Euro Series, NASCAR’s road course-heavy championship across the pond.
Competing in a stock car at circuits best known for Formula 1 — such as England’s Brands Hatch, Belgium’s Circuit Zolder and the Hockenheimring in Germany — Snider felt like he was a world away from the comforts of Charlotte, Daytona and Martinsville.
He nearly won at the Raceway Venray oval in the Netherlands, finishing second to Italy’s Vittorio Ghirelli. Snider was the only American in the field, a common occurrence on Euro Series race weekends.
“Racing in the Euro Series helped me put a bunch of pieces about road course racing together. I will say that road racing is something I enjoyed a lot when I was over there and even before I was in the Euro Series,” Snider said. “I definitely learned a lot over there and had a lot of fun running that series.”
The thing Snider didn’t want to learn, though, was that his career had peaked.
As his peers in the U.S. were competing for wins in NASCAR’s domestic series, Snider was duking it out with Finnish, Belgian and Italian drivers.
“There were times when I wondered,” Snider said, “‘Is this the best it’s going to get? Am I done (racing in the U.S.)?’”
The reprieve, partially funded by TaxSlayer, assuaged Snider’s concerns in short order. The company’s relationship with its driver continues to grow, especially since the Homestead-Miami win in February gave Snider’s resume the boost it needed.
Snider won’t hesitate to admit that sponsorship from partners like TaxSlayer and Louisiana Hot Sauce — which earned Snider the nickname “Sauce Boi” — didn’t simply extend his career, they built it in the first place.
“That (first TaxSlayer sponsorship) turned into a full season and it helped me get with Richard Childress Racing (on a full-time basis),” Snider said. “It’s a fantastic partnership that we have.”
Snider relishes the underdog role. As his results continue to improve, though, he’ll become a favorite to win on a regular basis. He’s appreciative of the chance to do it, too — especially in a family environment at Richard Childress Racing.
“I think we’re one of the best teams in the garage,” Snider said. “Just what I’ve seen and how I’ve grown as a driver, I think we’re going to be contenders for the rest of the year. Of course, everybody wants to say that.”
Every team also wants to be locked into the Xfinity Series playoffs, a luxury Snider didn’t think he’d get to enjoy for five months.
Snider’s ultimate goal is to be a NASCAR Cup Series driver. In the short-term, though, there’s only one thing he wants: a Xfinity Series title in November.
He’ll have his chance. And, he’ll go for it with the people he believes can help him reach new heights when the spotlight shines brightest.
“It takes a really good group of people to succeed in this sport,” Snider said. “All of the guys I have at the shop are some of the best in the business. Andy Street has been one of the top engineers in the sport for a long time. Danny Lawrence has been around the sport forever. There’s a lot of wisdom on this team.
“I wouldn’t want to be with any other group.”