Ricky Weiss
Look for a new driver to be behind the wheel of the Super Late Model normally piloted by east Tennessee standout Vic Hill in the World of Outlaws Late Models event at the Smoky Mountain Speedway this Saturday evening. Ricky Weiss will take the reigns of Hill’s Longhorn Chassis as the Canadian driving star looks for more racing opportunities in the southeastern corner of the United States.
But Hill’s fans need not worry. A second machine is currently being pieced together in the Morristown, Tenn. shop used by the driver and famed engine builder so that a two car effort can be made for the racers over the course of the upcoming summer months.
Weiss says his initial contact with Hill came through Dirt Late Model star Scott Bloomquist.
“Way back when I bought one of Scott’s race cars, I asked him who he would go with for an engine builder and he recommended Vic,” Weiss recalled in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “We actually bought a used motor off of Scott and it was one of Vic’s motors so that’s when I called Vic and got to know him a little bit through the phone. Then I sent my engine to him and he rebuilt it. That was probably about three years ago. He came down to Florida and helped me there and our relationship just kind of grew from that.”
The demands on Hill’s time to not only build Dirt Late Model engines but also travel to and from the off road truck racing events for which he also supplies power required that he find someone who was willing to not only race his equipment but also assist in the shop.
Weiss will compete with the WoO Late Models at Smoky Mountain in Hill’s Longhorn
“We just talked about racing and I told him I wished I could do some more because up in Canada we don’t have all that much racing around there,” Weiss explained. “He just said come down here with us and you can race every weekend and drive my stuff and work on it. He said he didn’t have a whole bunch of time because he’s working with quite a few cars so he said if I wanted to help out and build a couple of cars I could run them. I came down here a couple of times just to see him and talk and he told me what I’d be doing when I got here so now I’m here. We’ve got one car half built and now we’re working on his car for this weekend to run over at Smoky Mountain.”
The climate and lack of tracks near Weiss’s Winnipeg home have resulted in limited opportunities to show off his skills. But even with running fewer events than he would like, the driver has still managed to compile an impressive record which includes Late Model wins numbering in the dozens and Wissota Dirt Track Series championships.
“We’ve got one track where I’m from in Winnipeg and then the next track we go to is about five hours from us so everywhere we go is five, six or seven hours,” Weiss said. “It’s just a steel block 360 motor deal with one tire compound. We’ve been saying for the last couple of years that we’d like to do some more open shows. You’re only as good as the guys you race with so we wanted to race with better guys and hopefully get better.”
Moving from Canada to east Tennessee will require some adjustment for the young racer, but he believes the pieces are in place to build a successful program.
“That’s why it’s a good thing we’ve got Vic helping us,” the 27-year-old proclaimed. “He’s probably one of the most experienced as far as that goes. I can adapt pretty quick as far as big tracks or small tracks. Honestly, I’ve never raced on as much banking as they’ve got around here. Hopefully it works out good and we can adjust quickly. Hopefully we might win a couple of races.”
Weiss plans to race in as many events as he possibly can, including the Ray Cook-promoted Southern Nationals later in the summer.
“We want as much seat time as we can get. We plan on racing as much as we can. We haven’t really set a full schedule yet but as much as we can race once we get Vic’s other car together then we won’t have to pick and choose since we can both race together. I’m here to race so the more we can race the better.”
Weiss’s regular Late Model ride
