Cale Conley
Off weekends for NASCAR’s Xfinity division are not all that common. As a result, those who regularly participate in that form of racing often take advantage of some rare time off to visit exotic locations or pursue extravagant hobbies. But none of that was true of TriStar Motorsports driver Cale Conley this past weekend.
Instead of spending his free time hunting or playing on a beach, the 22-year-old West Virginia native strapped into a Crate Late Model to do some racing on a pair of South Carolina dirt tracks. Conley started 9th and finished 4th on Saturday night at Modoc Speedway then qualified on the outside of the front row and drove to a 3rd place result on Sunday afternoon at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney.
“Since I can’t be on a NASCAR track, I like to always be at a racetrack, whether it’s dirt or asphalt,” Conley declared in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “I’m very fortunate to be here at Cherokee. We’re going to give it our all and try to pick up my first Late Model win. This is only my eleventh race in a Dirt Late Model so I’m just happy to be at a racetrack right now. It’s much better than being on a couch watching.”
Conley made eleven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in 2014 for Richard Childress Racing. He recorded seven top-20 results with a high finish of 6th at the Kentucky Speedway. So far this season with TriStar, the young driver has started all five series races with a best effort of 16th at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
Even though he is now a full-time NASCAR driver, Conley’s background is in dirt racing of another form.
Conley drove this Pierce Race Car by BMC at Modoc and Cherokee.
“I ran sprint cars before I moved down to North Carolina in an attempt to try and make it in the NASCAR world,” Conley explained. “It’s been a while since I’ve been on dirt and when this opportunity came with Danny Myers and Jeremy Britton with these Pierce Race Cars by BMC, a new life kind of struck me. It reminded me of the days when I raced a sprint car as a teenager.”
He went on to add, “I sure did miss it, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”
So what are the similarities and differences of racing on dirt opposed to racing on asphalt?
“I think everything has its limits and everything will spin out or wreck when you push it beyond its limit,” the driver said. “They’re all race cars, but they race completely different. It’s just adapting that was the hard part in getting back to the dirt and learning what these crate cars are asking for. They’re a little bit under powered so what I learned when I was sprint car racing doesn’t necessarily apply to one of these cars.”
Even with his successful performances of the past weekend, the racer believes there is room for improvement. And more, there is much to be gained from competing in any form of racing.
“You have to approach it a little different and I still have a long way to go,” Conley insisted. “But I think it always helps to be in a seat getting reps and making laps no matter what you’re in. It just makes you a smoother driver no matter what you strap into.”
After recording two solid finishes, Conley summed up his experience on the two dirt tracks.
“I’m lucky to get to come out and play like this on my off weekend.”
