Only a small percentage of people reach the pinnacle of their career, and even fewer walk away on their own terms after cresting the summit.
But sprint car racer Jason Meyers, of Clovis, Calif., did just that prior to the 2012 season when he retired as a full-time World of Outlaws competitor after claiming back-to-back series championships.
His announcement shocked the sport.
“Those who know me and are friends know my long-term plan was when my kids started school was to change careers,” he said. “That time came and I made that decision.”
Later that year, news broke that Chris Luck, who was a sponsor before becoming a partner with Meyers and Guy Stockbridge in Elite Racing, was arrested for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of millions of dollars. Luck was eventually sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $33 million in restitution.
“That was something we never saw coming,” said Meyers. “We had a great group. Unfortunately, there were some things going on in Chris’ life. We found out the same way everyone else found out. The lesson in life there is that people aren’t always as they appear.”
Meyers’ decision to exit the sport as a full-time competitor — he raced part time mostly in his home state of California for a couple of years before hanging up his helmet — was questioned publicly. His reasoning of focusing on family and building a business was undercut by the connection to Luck.
“Going back and thinking about that time, it was difficult that something somebody else did was tarnishing the great things the team, not just me, but all kinds of people on our team, did,” he said. “When you have an association with somebody that does wrong, that’s never a good feeling. It was unfortunate.
“It was shitty timing. There was no spin to put on that to make it different. It was disappointing that there was a little bit of tarnish on all that we accomplished.”
Meyers trudged through the mud being thrown and he eventually became as successful on a job site as he was in the cockpit of a sprint car. In 2016, he and his wife, Robyn, created Meyers Constructors, Inc. — a commercial and public works contractor specializing in rough carpentry, structural steel and prefabricated metal buildings. The Meyers family also purchased Sander Engineering early this year.
“I’ve been a customer with Glen (Sander) for 25 years,” Meyers said. “We’d been talking the last 10 years about doing something. It’s something that just came together in January of this year.
“My wife and I’s end goal is to be involved in racing. Sander Engineering was something I thought I wanted to do and my wife went along with it,” Meyers continued. “She’s excited about the fact that we’re involved in racing in a different way by providing something that is needed within the industry. The end goal for me is always … surround ourselves with the best people that share ideals and principles about life; teamwork, doing the right thing, pushing yourself past what’s possible. Racing has been part of my life all of my life and I’ve always enjoyed it. I love the sport. I love the family atmosphere. It gave me a lot in life. It’s still giving to me in life.”
Meyers oversees more than 125 people within both businesses, which is what has become a passion.
“The reality of it is building great teams of people and being blessed with great people that have come on board,” he said. “At the end of the day I couldn’t do it without those people because I am split between all of those things.
“We have people that work hard and share our ideas of trying to be the best we can every day. Not just doing things the right way, but doing right by people.