CONCORD N.C. – Spencer Boyd spent a couple of days in Daytona last week, but he’s back in Concord going to college classes and taking care of business so he can get back on the race track.
The 19-year-old racer was one of the young drivers invited to participate in the NASCAR Rookie Seminar.
CONCORD N.C. – Spencer Boyd spent a couple of days in Daytona last week, but he’s back in Concord going to college classes and taking care of business so he can get back on the race track.
The 19-year-old racer was one of the young drivers invited to participate in the NASCAR Rookie Seminar.
“There were 40 to 50 drivers there,” Boyd said. “Some are rookies in the Xfinity Series and the truck series, and they invited others if you appear to have the potential to race on those levels in the next year or so.”
Boyd, who is a student at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, falls into the latter category. He doesn’t have definite plans to run on those series this year, at least not yet.
Drivers learn about finances, social media and other issues that face young people in the sport.
“They talked to us about how to act on social media and about being in the public eye and how it affects the NASCAR brand,” Boyd said. “They emphasized how important it is to protect the NASCAR brand and your image.”
After winning the super truck division at Hickory Motor Speedway in 2014, Boyd will be back for five to 10 races in the limited late model series driving for Scott Whitaker of J&J Motorsports.
“(Whitaker) was really excited about last season,” Boyd said. “That was his first championship at Hickory as a team owner.”
Boyd won eight of the 10 races in the super trucks last season to claim the championship.
The team is still working on sponsorship for the 2015 season, which begins March 7. Hickory has a practice scheduled for this Saturday.
In the offseason, Boyd was named one of 15 winners out of 145 contestants in the Search for a Champion contest sponsored by Federal-Mogul Motorparts, parent company of Champion Spark Plugs. The prize was $5,000. He is now in the running for the top prize of $50,000.
“With $50,000 we could definitely steer our plans in the way we want to go,” Boyd said.
Voting, which is one of the main components of the contest, began Tuesday. Voting continues through March 24.
Boyd, with a little help from his friends, made a two-minute video for his entry. That video, along with the other 14 racers in the competition, can be viewed at www.AlwaysAChampion.com
Spencer started racing at 4 years old on a dirt bike and got into a go-kart at 5.
For eight years, Boyd ran in the World Karting Gold Cup series, running all over the country. He won eight national titles in go-karts.
It’s a series that’s produced other top racers. Other former Gold Cup racers include current Sprint Cup drivers Danica Patrick and Regan Smith, and Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. From there, Boyd moved to Legends cars.
The Boyds moved from St. Louis to North Carolina in 2010 to help further Spencer’s racing career. He went to Jay M. Robinson High School, but finished through home school because he missed too many days traveling and racing for the 2012 Legends Pro national championship. He finished second. He finished school through Abbington Hill in New Jersey.
Now it’s a juggling act for Boyd, who is studying business at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. He plans to complete his associate’s degree there and then transfer to UNC Charlotte to study marketing or market analysis in the Belk Business School. He has about a year left at RCCC.
Add to the mix his job. He works in the service department at the Hendrick Auto Mall on Bruton Smith Boulevard. He’s moved up from detailing cars.
“It’s a little closer to what I want to be doing,” he said of his current position.
His patience and persistence seem to be paying off as he moves up a rung on the racing ladder. He hopes at the end of that climb will be a ride some day in one of NASCAR’s top divisions.
“Until then, I will keep racing hard and racing clean,” Boyd said.
Article by: Mark Plemmons - Independent Tribune
Photo by: James Nix \ jnix@independenttribune.com