Josh Fields in his No. 11 Brucebilt ride
At the end of the 2014 season, Josh Fields received some very good news. The regular in the Sportsman class at the Tazewell Speedway had secured a deal with businessman Mike Reece to step up into the Crate Late Models division with an eye toward racing all over the region. And while the success he had hoped for may not have come in the time frame he would have liked, the Tazewell, Tenn. driver is now beginning to reap the rewards of the partnership and the experience he has gained over the past two seasons.
This past Saturday night Fields steered his No. 11 machine to victory in a $1,000-to-win event at the 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tenn. And he was quick to offer credit to those who have assisted him along the way.
“That is my first Crate Late Model win,” the excited driver proclaimed in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “We’ve been busting our tails trying to get this thing going. We’ve moved stuff and tried stuff until we’ve found something that works. We owe a lot of it to Chad and Cory Hedgecock because they’ve helped us pull along. Cory kind of calls before the races and calms me down a little bit if we’re starting good. I appreciate that and Chad’s always on the other end of the line to help me with a setup.”
Josh Fields
Further, Fields remembered the contributions made to his team by Reece, who has had ownership and sponsorship dealings with some of the top Dirt Late Model drivers in the sport, including Jimmy Owens and Scott Bloomquist.
“I think he’d be very proud right now,” the 25-year-old driver said of his Tazewell neighbor and sponsor. “We’ve been shooting to try to make him happy and to win these races. We’re trying real hard.”
Fields set fast time in qualifying for Saturday’s Crate Late Model feature at 411 and started the event from the pole position. However, outside front row starter Greg Martin got the early jump and appeared poised to grab the win. But suddenly after a lap 6 restart, the Martin car shot high in the banking of turns one and two to open the door for the stalking Fields.
“I was watching him there,” Fields explained. “I was trying to just bide my time because I knew he was going to run in there and hit those ruts, it had washed him up the track a few times. I think that last time he ran in there and just bottomed out and it washed him up real high so we were able to get under him.”
For a potential first time winner, however, the laps can’t wind down quickly enough, especially when having to slice through traffic with former race winners Ross White and Ryan King trailing closely behind.
“That’s real nerve wracking,” Fields stated regarding his efforts during the final stages of the race. “It feels like you’re running a hundred lap race even though it was just 25 laps. I was just counting the laps down in my head as we went hoping to see that white flag and the checkered flag.”
Fields was happy to be greeted in 411 victory lane on Saturday by fiance Amber Jackson and daughter Ailee.
But even with the reward of a nice payday and his first checkered flag, Fields’ real reward came when he got to victory lane and saw his young daughter Ailee.
“It felt real good. Every time I come off the track she thinks we won so tonight I was really able to tell her that we won this thing.”
