Many people may see racing as an enviable lifestyle. Drivers maneuvering their cars around a track at high speed while engaged in intense competition with other racers is something many grew up hoping to do at some point in their lives. But the part of racing that many do not see is far from glamorous as long hours in the shop preparing the car for the next event, endless miles logged on the highway travelling to and from the track, and messy cleaning sessions after turning laps on clay ovals dominate the days and nights of our heroes away from the track.
Indeed, the excitement of winning a race is no doubt unmatched for those lucky enough to have experienced the thrill of victory. At the same time, the crushing disappointment of a race that got away can linger for long periods of time for those who have felt the agony of defeat.
As much as racers go through in pursuit of their chosen profession, their wives experience those same highs and lows along with the wide variety of emotions involved in witnessing the successes and heartbreaks of their husbands.
Cathy Roberts has felt the joy of watching her husband, Casey, take checkered flags. Last year, the Roberts clan had plenty to celebrate as the No. 101 team scored multiple wins and earned championships and in both the Ultimate Super Late Model Series and the Southern Nationals mini-series.
Cathy Roberts
The lifestyle of a racer’s wife was one that Roberts anticipated from an early age.
“I guess I’m just as competitive as Casey is and I love it,” Cathy Roberts declared. “I met Casey when I was sixteen and I knew then that I was in it for the long haul. I want to see him win every week because that’s the fun part when you’re winning and doing good and everything is working good.”
In an interesting twist of fate, the future Mrs. Roberts grew up rooting for her eventual father-in-law as he raced near her Georgia home.
“My daddy would take us when we were little kids to Toccoa Speedway just to watch,” she recalled. “It was so ironic because as a little kid I always pulled for Casey’s daddy and years down the road I met Casey.”
Racing is very much a family affair for Roberts. The couple’s two children travel with their father and mother to the racetracks around the southeast.
“We do travel as a family,” the mother of a son and daughter pointed out. “Our daughter is a junior and she plays softball and there have been some hard times throughout the years because she was travelling with that. Also our son plays and it can be hard to juggle, but somehow it just works out.”
While winning races and championships alongside her husband is the fun part of racing, there can be some valleys to go with the good times.
“When you’re not running good and you’ve got a husband who is upset and disgusted it’s tough,” she said. “Seeing how hard he works every week and then you come to the racetrack and something doesn’t go right then Monday morning is coming and you’ve got to clean up all the mess. That’s the bad part when I have to see his disgust.”
The Roberts family and crew in victory lane
But the good most often outweighs the bad when the family gets to pose in victory lane at the end of a hard fought night.
“That makes it all worthwhile and you forget about the bad stuff, until the next week anyway.”
Sara McDowell provides a different perspective on being the wife of a racer. Her husband, Shane, is not a driver but rather serves as crew chief for the Team Dillon Racing efforts of such stars as (Shane’s brother)Dale McDowell and occasional dirt racing drivers and full-time NASCAR stars Austin and Ty Dillon.
Sara McDowell
McDowell not only roots for the cars prepared by her husband but also works for Team Dillon Racing in an administrative capacity throughout the week. While at the track, her duties include keeping family, friends and fans informed by updating the team’s Twitter account as well as assisting their drivers and crew with information posted by the tracks and series.
“The best thing is being able to travel and being with my husband,” McDowell said of her life with Shane. “We kind of have a little bit of freedom because we get to do things together even though we are working. I wouldn’t like being stuck at home with him on the road. I guess I have a little better lifestyle than some wives who are stuck at home.”
McDowell comes from a racing background, but not that of a racer’s daughter. Instead, her family was involved in the other side of the racing business as the proprietors of Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin. Having both the perspective of her promoting family and her crew chief husband provides Sara with a unique understanding of the ups and downs of this sport.
“I guess I’ve seen all aspects of it, from the promoter side first and now seeing it from the racer’s side,” she stated. “I don’t know which of those is easier, they’re both difficult.”
McDowell believes that her status in the pit area offers her a bit more freedom from attention than is allowed for driver wives, and that suits her just fine.
“Being a crew chief wife I think I fly a little more under the radar, or at least I feel like I do,” she explained. “I feel like drivers’ wives are out there more than me, or at least I hope they are. I don’t like the spotlight.”
Sara McDowell joins her husband, brother-in-law and Team Dillon Racing crew members in victory lane.
While the travel to and from racetracks and the hours in the shop can be trying, McDowell believes those places are where she wants to be along with her husband.
“The long hours are definitely the hardest part,” she said. “The late nights at the shop are tough. There is no schedule, you just work until you get it done. And usually you’re not done, you just get to a stopping point.”
And the road trips are a necessary part of this lifestyle.
“I don’t have to go, I have a choice if I want to go or not, but there’s no use in just staying at home because it’s him and my dog so it’s either us on the road or me at home by myself.”
Like Sara McDowell, Christa Hill assumes administrative duties for her husband, Vic, in his racing and engine building operations. But unlike both Roberts and McDowell, she does not always get to travel with her husband to the track, which makes for some difficult moments of anxiety and anticipation.
“It’s very hard,” Hill declared of the separation from Vic when she is unable to travel with him. “We’ve actually had conversations about it because there have been times when I couldn’t be around a computer and I tell him ‘I need to be the first person you call. I need to know what’s going on because it’s driving me nuts.’ He’s really good about it when I’m not there by giving me a heads up about where he’s qualified and how he did.”
Christa Hill joins her husband in victory lane
But like her fellow racing wives, Hill recognizes the necessity and difficulty of putting in long hours in order to achieve success in racing. However, one major difference this wife experiences is that not only are the other drivers and teams on the track her husband’s competitors, but some are also customers of Vic Hill Racing Engines.
“It’s crazy,” she insisted. “We do not have a set schedule. Sometimes we’re in at ten and we’re out until ten. He does travel quite a bit with the off road truck guys. I stay home most of the time when he does that. But when he’s on the track and I can’t be there I’m waiting for a phone call or I’m seeing what’s on Twitter or Facebook. The hours and the being away are tough, but it’s really nerve wracking when it’s a really tight race and it’s one of your customers he’s racing with.”
And with her husband being both a racer and one of the most noted engine builders in the sport, Hill realizes that their work is only beginning once the action on the track ends.
“Monday through Friday is pretty challenging for both of us because it’s not just about him at that point but it’s about the customers. You’ve got to make sure you’ve taken care of everybody by getting their stuff out the door or in the door. Most of the time, though, it’s pretty exciting because most of our customers are also our friends so that is a plus, but it also makes it harder because you want to do a little more for them.”
The passion Vic Hill has for both his own racing and his engine business encourages his wife.
“I love watching him race and seeing the excitement he has for racing,” she said.
And when the wins come, all the work pays off for several days into the future.
“That makes it worthwhile for a whole week, not just that one night. You get a whole week of excitement and talking about it.”
