Greg Estes with daughter Parker.
Greg Estes found success during the 2014 season on two fronts. The Jonesville, VA driver earned a big Limited Late Model victory in the Walter Ball Memorial at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. And, he also chalked up some big money wins in his Modified Hobby/Street Stock car throughout the year on various area tracks.
But even with that success, Estes believes there is still room for improvement.
“We had some highs and lows like everybody does,” the 45-year-old driver said of his most recent campaign. “We were respectable and competitive every time we unloaded. I think I led eight or nine Late Model races last year and we won one. That was kind of disappointing to only win one, but in the next breath, we were happy about that too. We’re just going to try to improve on our finishes, I guess.
“It was bitter-sweet,” Estes added. “He were happy to run up front so often, but when you do lead a race and then get passed with two to go or have a flat tire it gets aggravating and it wears on everybody. But it makes everybody a little more eager to get the tires prepped and to get everything together for the next race when you know you can run up front. We weren’t really chasing speed because we knew we were fast. We were just chasing good results.”
Perhaps the most positive aspect of Estes success in 2014 was that his win at Volunteer Speedway proved he had crossed a barrier that he had faced earlier in his relatively short racing career. And part of that comfort level on the fast, high-banked track came from his relationship with fellow racer Vic Hill.
“Bulls Gap always kind of intimidated me a little bit, but now we’ve turned enough laps there that we’ve gotten comfortable with it,” the driver of car #31 declared. “I feel like we’ve got a decent setup and with Vic helping out. It kind of clicked last year and we were fairly successful.”
Greg Estes in his #31 Late Model
The coming season looks to be a busy one but Estes believes he has the pieces in place that will lead to greater success in 2015.
“I’ve got 28 races on my schedule. That will keep us busy,” he said of a plan that will see him race at Volunteer Speedway, Tazewell Speedway, 411 Motor Speedway and Smoky Mountain Speedway during the coming season.
“We’ve got a new car for this year,” he added of his Vic Hill Race Engines powered Warrior Race Car. “The 2015 Warriors seem to have a little bit better setup and a little bit better speed in the corners.”
But Estes does more than drive Late Models. Last season he compiled an impressive record and scored some big money wins in the Modified Street car he shares with his daughter Parker.
“It’s her car,” Estes pointed out. “I don’t call it my car. In the fall, when some of the bigger races come up, she lets me borrow it. She’ll be behind the wheel in it even more this year.”
And when Estes drives the car, he wins.
“I think we won every race but one that we entered in that car last year,” he said. “That’s a dominant car. I think I have five different track records in that car and I think I’ve won everywhere I’ve been in it. That car is just unbelievable.”
Parker, who is a high school majorette, scored a runner-up finish to track champion Jamie Whitt on the same night her father won his Late Model race. She finished 8th in the final standings at Volunteer for the Modified Street class, competing in six of the facility’s nine races for that division.
“It’s a lot of fun,” the proud dad declared of his family’s racing exploits. “It’s something my teenage daughter can do with me on a Saturday night and there’s not many dads that have a teenage daughter who wants to spend Saturday nights with them.”
