David Payne and his team in Tazewell Speedway victory lane
With the likes of Jimmy Owens, Brandon Overton, and Dale McDowell entered in last weekend’s Iron-Man Late Model Series/Southern Nationals co-sanctioned event at Tazewell(TN) Speedway it would have been easy to overlook Murphy, NC driver David Payne when compiling a list of those favored to win. However, when the dust settled on the $10,000-to-win feature at the steeply-banked venue, it was indeed that driver’s No. 8 machine that wheeled into victory lane.
Payne has developed somewhat of a mastery of the high-banked third-mile track that many drivers have found to be a mystery. The 46-year-old driver has won the Buddy Rogers Memorial race held each Labor Day weekend at Tazewell Speedway on multiple occasions.
“We’ve won three races up there(including Saturday night) in the past two or three years and we were in contention in another one when we took the lead with about five to go then broke a drive shaft,” Payne explained in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “It’s just one of those kind of places that fits my driving style and I’ve learned to have a niche for it and an idea of the feel that we’re looking for.”
But success on the tricky layout is no guarantee for the racing school teacher.
“We went up there a couple of times last year and really missed it a bunch then by the end of the year we kind of got it back and went back off of our notes and tried to get back to that feel that we’re looking for,” Payne recalled. “It’s just something that’s comfortable. We had a good race car but it’s not a big change in anything that we’ve done. It’s just one of those places we enjoy going to.”
But even with the difficulties that come with racing at the upper east Tennessee track, Payne enjoys the challenge presented by the Tazewell Speedway.
“It’s one of those places that has it own unique identity,” he said. “Things happen so quickly. There’s not a lot of reaction time so you’ve got to try to make a decision and hopefully it was the right one. You’ve got to plan enough ahead that you don’t put yourself in the situation that if somebody does mess up, you’re right in the middle of it.”
Payne’s win was one of the biggest of his career not only in purse payoff but in terms of the caliber of competition. The drivers who were considered by many to be the hottest Dirt Late Model competitors in the country coming into the weekend(Jimmy Owens & Brandon Overton), were among the participants.
“The first thing you want to do when you start a new season is to get a win,” Payne declared. “Nobody wants to be shutout so to get a win this early in the season and to do it on that kind of a stage is big for our race team and everybody involved with our program, present and past. It’s one of those things where you’ll look back and say that’s where the hard work paid off. Those sacrifices you made here and there to go out and get a win on that level have been worth it. Jimmy and Brandon are probably the top-two cars in the nation right now and having them there and being able to compete with them and to get the job done was special.”
David Payne(8) racing with Jimmy Owens
With Owens driving a Rocket Chassis and Overton steering a Longhorn Chassis, it was thought that Saturday’s feature would provide bragging rights for one of those two brands. However, it would ultimately be Payne’s Jay Dickens-powered Capital Race Car that would boast the loudest at the end of the night.
“Capital has been working really hard,” Payne insisted. “Shane Clanton, Marshall Green, and all those guys there at the shop have been doing a lot of testing and a lot of homework. I felt like at the end of last year that this car we had built for 2020 was going to be a really good car. We’ve got one but we haven’t got it together yet. This is a 2018 car we’ve got but just the overall team concept with everybody and their hard work and willingness to help have been good.”
And not only did Payne’s chassis maker score a win against difficult odds, but his American Racer tires beat out the more numerous Hoosier Racing Tires. As a matter of fact, American Racers earned first and second with Kentucky’s Michael Chilton finishing in the runner-up spot.
“I think it’s one of those times in racing or anything else where you get everything lined up where each part is complementing the next part and I think that’s where were at right now,” Payne said. “We’ve got a good balance in our race car. Our tire program is good with Ray Cook, Scott McAdoo at the factory, and those guys have been working hard. We had areas where we were getting beat and I think we helped ourselves in those areas. Having two race cars with American Racers to run one and two, I know some of the other guys had trouble with flats and that kind of thing, but that’s part of the testament too in that we were able to have ours not go flat.”
Like every other racer in America, Payne and his team have had to struggle with the uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and the shutdowns that have resulted from that situation. But the David Payne Racing team made the most of these trying times.
“For us, it was a time to make sure we had the car ready so that way when it did open up and things started to move a little bit that we were on go, that we didn’t have to rush to get everything ready,” he pointed out. “We were already ready. It was a good break for us to catch up.”
Payne works as a teacher in Murphy, NC. And while schools there, like virtually everywhere else, were closed down due to COVID-19, he served his community by driving a school bus to deliver meals to children and families in need.
Being able to make out a schedule of when and where to race is a difficult task in 2020. And Payne, like everyone else, is having to make adjustments on the fly.
“These last couple of weeks were the first time we had really been able to plan anything, the 411 race(Scott Sexton Memorial on Memorial Day) and the Tazewell race, those we had planned a week out,” Payne said. “Prior to that it was a pop up situation where there was a race in four or five days you had to just make your plans to get there. Just trying to logistically get to places while we have guys still going to work is tough. We have to just pick and choose what we can get to. I think for the next two months we’re just going to have to watch the schedule and if something pops up then plans may change. I don’t think we can plan out the rest of our season right now. We just have to wait and see.”
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