New Opportunities in 2008

Racing is one of those businesses that you are always preparing for that next move. I don't mean that in a bad way it just seems to be the way it is in this sport. It is not that you are always looking for a job but you know after a while of being involved when to seriously look in a new direction.

My situation was a little different. I knew after spotting for dad the past two seasons that he and I would be a spotter/driver combination until he retired. That didn't completely hold true but we did work together in his final full season. I would have liked to spotted for him through these last seven races but it would be hard to get another job spotting for someone else in May. There are not many openings that time of year.

So, after dad announced his limited schedule I knew that it was time to start looking. It took a while (about 4-5 days before the Daytona pre-season testing was to start) to find a new spotting job. But, I was fortunate to get connected with Scott Riggs and Haas CNC Racing. We have been to three testing sessions: Daytona, Las Vegas, and California. Things seem to be going well and Scott and I are getting a chance to hear each other on the radio before the season starts. It takes some time to develop that full trust between spotter and driver. I am looking forward to the rest of the season as we have all taken on new opportunities.

The most significant change for me came as a result of a very unfortunate situation at Dale Jarrett Inc. DJI is a central office that houses a retail store with NASCAR driver merchandise, The Dale Jarrett Fan Club, The Dale Jarrett Foundation, and other business and charitable ventures. Back in November we lost a dear friend Rick Bowman (some of you might have know him as "Biscuit"). Not only was he a very important mentor in my life and a great friend to my dad and all of the employees at DJI, he was a long time employee. It is hard to describe what all he did but believe me, no one could replace him. I guess his title was general manager but he was and always will be much more than any job title. No one that ever met Rick could say anything bad about him. I am glad he was part of my life for so many years!

As a result of Rick's untimely passing dad and DJI were left with a huge void. Dad came to me and as we discussed the possibility of continuing Rick's work my world stopped. I was honored dad considered me for the position. It did not take long to give dad an answer. I didn't even know all of what Rick did but I knew that I wanted to try and carry on the good things he was doing at DJI. So, as I enter 2008 I have many new and exciting opportunities that I can't wait to embark upon.

One person that I really need to ackwoledge and thank is Tim Shannon at Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure. Way back in 2005 after my last ARCA race I went to Tim to see if there were any opportunities or anthing I could do to help at DJRA. Since then Tim and DJRA have helped me learn a lot. Without Tim's help for the past few years I don't think I would have been prepared to help continue Rick's work at DJI. Hopefully, I can rely on Tim's advice for many years to come.