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CHIAPPELLI: Meyers Deserves Respect
You’ll have to excuse Jason Meyers if he seemed a bit defensive in the past month or so.
Today, Meyers has every right to raise a finger to his lips and say “Shhhh!” (Justin Leedy/SPEED)
You’ll have to excuse Jason Meyers if he seemed a bit defensive in the past month or so. After all, criss-crossing the country for 35,000 miles to compete in more than 75 scheduled races over a nine-month period in search of an elusive World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship can take its toll on a driver.
He also heard the criticism from detractors.
Some called him a points racer. Others said his single-car operation at Elite Racing couldn’t overcome the powerful multi-car superteams owned by NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.
Then there were the folks wanting to put an asterisk beside his name atop the standings, saying that Joey Saldana, who led the series with 13 victories this year, would have taken the title had he not sustained a concussion in a crash in the opening laps of the A-feature at Eldora Speedway in September while leading the championship chase. The injury caused Saldana to finish last and miss a race the following night at Lernerville Speedway.
Critics had plenty of ammunition, wondering if Meyers could close the deal after finishing second in the championship three times, including the past pair of seasons.
Even on the weekend of his coronation at a track in the heart of NASCAR country, it appeared all the talk was about Stewart and Kahne and their accomplished drivers.
Today, Meyers has every right to raise a finger to his lips and say “Shhhh!”
He drove his no. 14 car with authority last weekend at The Dirt Track @ Charlotte, sweeping both of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-features in dominant fashion, silencing those critics en route to taking the championship by 114 points and dethroning runner-up Donny Schatz, owner of the past four Outlaws titles.
“We got tired of hearing that, [the talk] so we said we just have to go out and win the races,” beamed Meyers in victory lane while clutching a trophy in each hand while sharing the credit with his Elite Racing team, which is well-funded and managed with the precision of perfectly-matched gears using a savvy business-model.
“We come out and try to win every night and this team did an incredible job,” continued Meyers. “To come out here and win both races and seal the championship was an amazing weekend.”
The features capped a streak of 28 consecutive top-ten finishes and brought his season victory total to an even dozen—one behind Saldana.
Throughout the tension-filled title chase, Meyers maintained a professional, respectful demeanor and was always gracious with the media.
Meyers agreed with my assertion that his fortune turned when he showed his true character at a mid-August event when World of Outlaws points weren’t even at stake.
By now, most people are familiar with Meyers’ self-destruction at The 50th Knoxville Nationals when he forgot to drive his car directly to the scales after finishing in a transfer spot in the B-main on the first qualifying night. The miscue resulted in his disqualification, putting him in a cavernous hole from which he could not recover, costing him a realistic chance to win sprint car racing’s biggest and richest event and embarrassing him in front of a suite packed with sponsors and team backers.
To his credit, Meyers accepted responsibility for his mistake and owned up to it with class every time someone mentioned it. Instead of allowing it to consume him, he simply moved on.
He didn’t see me as I approached him as he strolled beneath the Knoxville Raceway grandstands on the afternoon following his blunder. There he was, walking hand-in-hand with his young daughter. What I witnessed was a guy who had his priorities in order, as his wife Robyn was more than eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time and approaching her due date as the heat index in Iowa topped 110 degrees.
As his professional life buckled to the pressure of performance, there he was, just being a good husband and father taking care of his family, seemingly without a concern in the world.
A few weeks later, Robyn gave birth to the couple’s second child.
“After The Nationals, we started getting a few things figured out,” Meyers explained. “We sat down and kind of figured out what we needed to do to move forward from there and I think that was a little bit of a turning point.”
It was at this time that the team parted ways with crew chief DJ Lindsey.
“But most of all, we put it together all season long,” admitted Meyers, a native of Clovis, California. “There are plenty of nights this year we’d like to forget, but there were definitely a lot of highs this season and a lot of consistent runs. This team has been a championship team for a few years and has had the potential to get it done.”
Meyers made his mark in qualifying this season, leading the series in bonus points earned in time trials and tying for the lead by being fastest on the clock 10 times.
The new champ won on 11 different tracks, and nabbed memorable victories at Las Vegas, where he charged from 18th starting position to edge Steve Kinser, and at the Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, where he held off a fast-closing Lucas Wolfe in a photo-finish.
Above all, Jason Meyers showed perseverance by doing things his way, putting into motion a partnership he devised after the 2003 season which eventually put him in a co-ownership role with Guy Stockbridge and Chris Luck.
“I sat down and made a lot of promises a long time ago and I certainly intended on making them good but I didn’t know when it [a championship] would finally happen,” recalled Meyers.
“To get this done with Elite Racing is unbelievable. We built our own cars, we built our own motors,” he said proudly. “The people we have involved with this team are what make Elite Racing. That’s what makes it a championship team and they’re all coming back next year.”
Jim Chiappelli is SPEED’s News Director and Coordinating Producer of The SPEED Report and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. Jim has worked in broadcast journalism since 1986, producing or overseeing the production of thousands of newscasts and sportscasts in a career that began at network affiliates in Johnstown and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania before shifting to the NBC station in Pittsburgh, where he spent 11 years, leaving as Executive Producer in 2001, when he joined SPEED. A Duquesne University graduate, Jim briefly competed in the limited late model division in Western Pennsylvania for his family, which has been involved in racing for nearly 35 years and continues to campaign a 410 sprint car team.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
He also heard the criticism from detractors.
Some called him a points racer. Others said his single-car operation at Elite Racing couldn’t overcome the powerful multi-car superteams owned by NASCAR stars Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.
Then there were the folks wanting to put an asterisk beside his name atop the standings, saying that Joey Saldana, who led the series with 13 victories this year, would have taken the title had he not sustained a concussion in a crash in the opening laps of the A-feature at Eldora Speedway in September while leading the championship chase. The injury caused Saldana to finish last and miss a race the following night at Lernerville Speedway.
Critics had plenty of ammunition, wondering if Meyers could close the deal after finishing second in the championship three times, including the past pair of seasons.
Even on the weekend of his coronation at a track in the heart of NASCAR country, it appeared all the talk was about Stewart and Kahne and their accomplished drivers.
Today, Meyers has every right to raise a finger to his lips and say “Shhhh!”
He drove his no. 14 car with authority last weekend at The Dirt Track @ Charlotte, sweeping both of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-features in dominant fashion, silencing those critics en route to taking the championship by 114 points and dethroning runner-up Donny Schatz, owner of the past four Outlaws titles.
“We got tired of hearing that, [the talk] so we said we just have to go out and win the races,” beamed Meyers in victory lane while clutching a trophy in each hand while sharing the credit with his Elite Racing team, which is well-funded and managed with the precision of perfectly-matched gears using a savvy business-model.
“We come out and try to win every night and this team did an incredible job,” continued Meyers. “To come out here and win both races and seal the championship was an amazing weekend.”
The features capped a streak of 28 consecutive top-ten finishes and brought his season victory total to an even dozen—one behind Saldana.
Throughout the tension-filled title chase, Meyers maintained a professional, respectful demeanor and was always gracious with the media.
Meyers agreed with my assertion that his fortune turned when he showed his true character at a mid-August event when World of Outlaws points weren’t even at stake.
By now, most people are familiar with Meyers’ self-destruction at The 50th Knoxville Nationals when he forgot to drive his car directly to the scales after finishing in a transfer spot in the B-main on the first qualifying night. The miscue resulted in his disqualification, putting him in a cavernous hole from which he could not recover, costing him a realistic chance to win sprint car racing’s biggest and richest event and embarrassing him in front of a suite packed with sponsors and team backers.
To his credit, Meyers accepted responsibility for his mistake and owned up to it with class every time someone mentioned it. Instead of allowing it to consume him, he simply moved on.
He didn’t see me as I approached him as he strolled beneath the Knoxville Raceway grandstands on the afternoon following his blunder. There he was, walking hand-in-hand with his young daughter. What I witnessed was a guy who had his priorities in order, as his wife Robyn was more than eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time and approaching her due date as the heat index in Iowa topped 110 degrees.
As his professional life buckled to the pressure of performance, there he was, just being a good husband and father taking care of his family, seemingly without a concern in the world.
A few weeks later, Robyn gave birth to the couple’s second child.
“After The Nationals, we started getting a few things figured out,” Meyers explained. “We sat down and kind of figured out what we needed to do to move forward from there and I think that was a little bit of a turning point.”
It was at this time that the team parted ways with crew chief DJ Lindsey.
“But most of all, we put it together all season long,” admitted Meyers, a native of Clovis, California. “There are plenty of nights this year we’d like to forget, but there were definitely a lot of highs this season and a lot of consistent runs. This team has been a championship team for a few years and has had the potential to get it done.”
Meyers made his mark in qualifying this season, leading the series in bonus points earned in time trials and tying for the lead by being fastest on the clock 10 times.
The new champ won on 11 different tracks, and nabbed memorable victories at Las Vegas, where he charged from 18th starting position to edge Steve Kinser, and at the Ironman 55 at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, where he held off a fast-closing Lucas Wolfe in a photo-finish.
Above all, Jason Meyers showed perseverance by doing things his way, putting into motion a partnership he devised after the 2003 season which eventually put him in a co-ownership role with Guy Stockbridge and Chris Luck.
“I sat down and made a lot of promises a long time ago and I certainly intended on making them good but I didn’t know when it [a championship] would finally happen,” recalled Meyers.
“To get this done with Elite Racing is unbelievable. We built our own cars, we built our own motors,” he said proudly. “The people we have involved with this team are what make Elite Racing. That’s what makes it a championship team and they’re all coming back next year.”
Jim Chiappelli is SPEED’s News Director and Coordinating Producer of The SPEED Report and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. Jim has worked in broadcast journalism since 1986, producing or overseeing the production of thousands of newscasts and sportscasts in a career that began at network affiliates in Johnstown and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania before shifting to the NBC station in Pittsburgh, where he spent 11 years, leaving as Executive Producer in 2001, when he joined SPEED. A Duquesne University graduate, Jim briefly competed in the limited late model division in Western Pennsylvania for his family, which has been involved in racing for nearly 35 years and continues to campaign a 410 sprint car team.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
DTM Zandvoort
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