Jimmy Owens
Make no mistake about the fact that Jimmy Owens still loves the thrill of competitive racing. But after years of success that have seen the Newport, Tenn. native pile up series championships and crown jewel wins, he has come to realize that the sport can be draining at times as well. That is especially true when the No. 20 machine is loaded into the hauler to head for a place at which little success has been found before.
In a recent interview with InsideDirtRacing.com, Owens pointed out that while he is still excited to strap into an 800+ horsepower Dirt Late Model, there are aspects of his chosen profession that aren’t as appealing as they once were. For example, hitting the road for long periods of time can prove to be demanding and stressful.
“Definitely not,” Owens said when asked if he enjoyed leaving his shop for SpeedWeeks as much now as he used to ten years ago. “I dread SpeedWeeks now more than I look forward to it. I know that back in the day when I was younger and new at this, I couldn’t wait. But now we don’t run as good as we’d like to down there, but that also keeps me wanting to go back because when you don’t do good somewhere you want to go and redeem yourself and keep things going.”
The freshness of a new year can be outweighed by the fact that those early season road trips can have long lasting effects.
“Really, there’s a lot of equipment torn up down there,” Owens declared of the Georgia/Florida portion of the racing schedule. “You could win a lot of money down there and you’re not travelling everywhere and you’re getting to race for a decent purse every night. So as far as financially, it’s okay. But there’s also a lot of wear and tear on your equipment for the rest of the season.”
Owens now drivers for R&W Motorsports
But one thing that has lit Owens’ fire going into 2016 is the prospect of working with his new R&W Motorsports team and legendary chassis builder Barry Wright.
“Barry is a great guy,” the ‘Newport Nightmare’ said. “It’s amazing how excited he is about racing at his age. I suspect when I’m his age I won’t be as excited about racing. It’s a new team, a new challenge, and a new car. We’ve been behind the eight-ball every since this team got developed. I mean, two weeks before SpeedWeeks, we didn’t have nothing. All of our sponsors and suppliers pulled together and made sure we got to Florida. I can’t say enough about all of our sponsors for doing that. That was pretty awesome.”
One thing that has changed in Owens’ life since he began racing is that fact that he is now a father. His seven-year-old son Nathan occupies much of his time and thought whether he is at home or on the road.
“I look forward to going home a whole lot more,” the 44-year-old driver insisted. “Back earlier before Nathan started school, it wasn’t too bad because he could go on the road with me. But now, I miss him a lot when I’m gone. I’ve missed tons of ball games and things. Those are things that are gone. I’ll never get a chance to do that again and I hate being gone for that, but it’s a job. There’s tons of people and parents out there who don’t get to do what they want to because they have to work and that’s what I have to do. It is racing and I do love it, but it is work so you can’t not go.”
Jimmy Owens enjoys having son Nathan(middle) with him at the track
So would he want Nathan to race when he is old enough?
“I don’t want him to race,” the father said. “He don’t seem to be too interested in it and I hope it stays that way. It consumes you. I know for the longest that it’s all I ever thought about and nothing else existed but racing. I don’t want him to be like that. I don’t think it’s a cool thing to be like that.”
