DENVER, NC -- For Kevin Conway, the week leading up to his first start in the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series race on Saturday in the King Taco 200 at the California Speedway, was already filled with sponsor obligations for his Totally Against Graffiti (T.A.G.) sponsored No. 28 Chevrolet.
The sponsor of the car is from the County of Los Angeles Board Supervisors supported "Totally Against Graffiti" program. A contest was held to design the hood the car, called "The Difference Between Art and Graffiti." The Southern California program is to teach kids the difference between art and graffiti.
Conway, 25, of Lynchburg, VA, drives his uncle’s Pro Xtreme Valve Train sponsored/Hawk chassis No. 07 in the USAC Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus Midget car series that is based in Denver, NC.
Recently, the series added a points race for this Friday night at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, NC and Kevin found himself scrambling to get a flight so that he could race on both coast as his uncle’s company, Performance Research Incorporated, is the title sponsor for the midget race.
Conway sits third in the USAC Carolina/Virginia region in points. He is one-point out of second place and 55 points behind the leader. He has recorded four consecutive top-10 finished with his best finish a third at Tri County Motor Speedway (NC) on April 3rd.
Conway began his racing career at the age six in go-karts and has driven Legend Cars, the ARCA ReMax Series and the ASA series and he has raced in the NASCAR Busch series, while winning championships along the way.
“Racing a midget is more intense in 25 laps than racing 200 miles in a stock car,” Conway said. “Its going to be a taxing week, but it will be worth it.”
His cross country journey began this week on Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kevin is a senior instructor at the Richard Petty Driving Experience racing school. He was taking passengers for the ride-along program around the 1.5 mile Super Speedway.
He flew to California on Monday for sponsorship meetings and events for the T.A.G. car.
“The West series deal is a joint venture between Ernie Irvan, Lake Speed and myself,” Conway said. “The sponsorship with T.A.G. came together at the last moment.”
Kevin’s “on track” schedule begins tonight at the “SpeedZone” in Los Angeles as part of the “Jada Toys SpeedWeek.” He’ll be appearing along with NASCAR Nextel Cup Driver Kenny Wallace from 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Fans will have an opportunity to get autographs, participate in a question and answer session and then race Kevin and Kenny on the slick track.
Conway climb into his Totally Against Graffiti (T.A.G.) sponsored No. 28 Chevrolet for first time on Thursday at 11 a.m. when the series conducts its practice session. Qualifying is slated to run between 2:30-4p.m. and the final “happy hour” test session is from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
His journey back to North Carolina begins later that night in Los Angeles with a 9:30 p.m. flight, that stops over in Chicago, Ill. He’ll arrive in Charlotte at 7:45 a.m. Friday morning.
After a few hours of sleep, he plans to leave for Hickory Motor Speedway at 2 p.m. so he can be there when the pit gates open at 4 p.m.. The Midgets will have a hot lap session at 6 p.m., qualify at 7 p.m. and the 25 lap feature is schedule to roll off at just after the 8 p.m.
“You have to be up on the wheel and holding you breath for all 25 laps. There are no driver aids (mirrors or spotters) for the Midgets, so you learn to be aggressive with the car,” Conway said of comparing the two different style of race cars he’ll drive this weekend. “You have to run the Ford Focus midget “free” as there is no horsepower to compensate for driver error.”
“On Saturday, I can collect my thoughts going down the straightaway, but on Friday night its go as hard as you can for 25 laps. You have to drive it (the Midget) on the edge which makes your concentration quite intense.”
Following the feature, he’ll drive from Hickory to Charlotte to catch his flight which leaves at 10:10 p.m. His flight arrives in Las Vegas, NV at midnight (Pacific time) and then its onto a chartered jet to Los Angeles arriving at 1 a.m.
The drivers meeting for the NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series is scheduled for 7 a.m. and Conway plans to be at the track by 6:30 a.m. The King Taco race takes the green flag at 10 a.m.
He’ll race a total of 209.075 miles between the two events and will cross the country’s time zones four times in a week.
For Kevin Conway, racing on both coast in 72 hours with little sleep is a price he is willing to pay in hopes of advancing to the top level of stock car racing...the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. For now, he’s focused on winning each time he climbs into a car, including the USAC Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus region series points title.
