Eliason received assistance, support and guidance from a long list of car owners and sprint car insiders, including Mike Dodds, Alan Bradway, Harley Van Dyke, Rod Tiner, Larry Antaya, Matt Britt and Brian Matherly, as he honed his skills while racing primarily on the West Coast.
In 2018, Eliason realized his childhood dream when he was hired to drive Dennis Roth’s No 83 sprint car on the World of Outlaws circuit. However, what promised to be a storybook season turned into a struggle as the wheels came off the deal during mid-August.
“I was driving for Dennis Roth at the time and there was kind of a falling apart in Knoxville at the Nationals. Everybody decided to go different routes,” Eliason recalled. “The crew chief was taking a NASCAR job back in North Carolina and another crew guy was staying back and wasn’t going to California after the Nationals. It left me with nothing.”
With help from a few of his friends, Eliason eventually got back on track, but he knew he needed to begin searching for a new ride.
“I knew who Kevin (Rudeen) was. I always knew he was a big supporter of racing and I saw his name on a bunch cars,” Eliason said. “Long story short, I called Kevin to see what his plans were for next year. I’d heard Joey (Saldana) might be done full time in it, so I decided to call him. I left him a voice mail that I was interested.
“I didn’t hear back from him for a week or two and then he texted me and said they weren’t sure what they were doing, but if they change, I would be one of the drivers he would consider putting in his car.”
Eliason and Rudeen finally met on Sept. 15, 2018, at California’s Calistoga Speedway.
“I had never actually talked to Kevin until we ran the Outlaws show at Calistoga. I was driving for Roth with Britt as my crew chief and we ended up winning that night. As I was rolling to the scales, Kevin came up and said he’d be calling me on Monday and that I had a future there that he wanted to talk to me about. That’s how it all started.”
Eliason has driven for Rudeen Racing since the start of 2019. Rudeen is a former snowmobile racer and part-time sprint car driver who built a successful business portfolio by developing multi-family and commercial properties in the Northwest. He’s also part of the group that recently bought Washington’s Skagit Speedway.
It’s interesting that Rudeen’s team has focused on the All Star schedule the past three seasons.
“Ultimately, we are not yet on the level to run full time with the Outlaws,” Eliason admitted. “I think we still have a lot to learn. We have a young crew chief (Tyler Tessemaker) and I have yet to see all of the tracks we are going to. So as a driver, I know we are competitive but we’re not competitive in a style that we can run a 95-plus race schedule and say, ‘Yeah, we have a good shot at winning a championship.’
“That’s a big factor and another factor is that Kevin has become good friends with Tony (Stewart, series owner) and he sponsors the series, he helps the series, he likes what Tony does. Kevin likes the way the series is because it’s a smaller schedule. He also has the Rayce Rudeen Foundation race every year. It’s an All Star event and he appreciates that they are willing to do a charity race with him.”
For Eliason, it’s time to get back to work. After all, he has two full-time jobs.