Old Archive Asphalt Midget Stories and Race Recaps.

Justin returned to asphalt midget racing last weekend after hooking up with Paul Eskesen, and spending endless hours helping prepare the car for the remainder of the '08 season. The car was fast right out of the box, Justin was comfortable in the car right away, and with some minor changes, Justin was able to push the car a little harder and get more out of it. The car was very stable, and Justin clocked in second quick to car driven by Daniel Bedford. Justin started deep in the pack for the main event, and steadily moved forward. After getting by Marco DeGeorge about mid way, a yellow came out closing up the field. Justin was in 2nd behind early race leader Michael Faccinto. Two laps after the green came out Justin drove under Faccinto in turn 1 for the lead. He was stretching his lead and all looked great for the cars first time on the track, but with 4 or 5 laps to go, a fuel pick-up issue sidelined the car, and Justin pulled off while leading. All-in-all this was a great weekend. Marc and Doug were huge factor in this cars success. Paul Eskesen has put together a real nice car, and given Justin a commitment for the rest of '08 and Turkey Night. The team is looking forward to Altamont in two weeks, very eager to see how the car handles on the 1/2 mile. Justin will not be able to make the August 9th race in Altamont due to Dave Thurston being inducted into the hall of fame. Justin and Paul have discussed the prospect of Bobby Grewohl running the car at Altamont to help shake out a few of the final bugs. Paul has given Justin his word that the ride is his for the remainder of '08 and Turkey Night. Given that commitment, Justin has lined up a great sponsor for Paul at Turkey Night, which will allow the team to test and go to Turkey Night with a fresh engine.

Justin returned to Ukiah with a lot of confidence. He set the track record here in June, and has had some great runs on dirt the last few weeks. The weekend started out as a struggle. The car would not fire in practice, and after chasing electrical issues and fuel issues, the car ran, but the handling was not good. Justin made some significant changes prior to qualifying, and he set fast time but was off the track record mark he set in June. The car developed a wicked push early in the main event. Starting 4th, Justin took the lead on lap 4, but it would only be temporary. With Justin struggling to hold the car down coming off the corner, John Sarale snuck under him and opened up a good size lead. Justin kept adjusting the car and as the fuel load decreased, he found himself catching John. When the two caught lap traffic it gave Justin the shot he needed. They battled with lap traffic and each other for the final 5 laps. Justin tried high and low, and then attempted a tough pass going into 3 on the white flag lap. Coming off four and to the checkers, Justin had gotten a nose under John Sarale, but in trying to hold it low enough to complete the pass and give John his line, the car got out from under him, and he spun. The momentum allowed him to light up the tires and complete a 360 spin and get himself across the finish line in second. Great finish, and a great battle with John Sarale. The finish was sure exciting and the second place finish really helps in the Championship points battle. Justin holds a commanding 150 point lead going into the final three races. Justin is 100% focused, and knows what he has to do to secure the championship. The championship has been his goal and his focus all season, and it is now surely within his reach. Two asphalt races remain, and then the final weekend two day show on the dirt at Hanford.

Madera was probably the best outing to date. Justin was not one of the faster cars in practice as he searched for speed. Just before qualifying he found a bound up torsion bar. The torsion stops had gotten misaligned. He fixed this issue, and headed for the track. Qualifying for the first time on sticker tires left him a bit leery of the handling. Thanks to the encouragement from Thomas Meseraull and Chris Carli, Justin felt more at ease, but the car had undergone some significant changes. The first lap was a bit shaky like Thomas and Chris explained it would be. The second lap left Justin with fast time after 10 cars. 15 cars left and some very fast guys in line, Justin was hoping to hang on to a dash position. Bobby Grewohl was second to last qualifier and nipped Justin for the top spot. A great effort from the young 15 year old racer from Buena Vista Ca. Starting the dash in the third spot Justin dropped to fourth, and then passed Grewohl on lap 3 to finish 3rd behind 4th quick John Serale and 3rd quick Brad Galdridge. BCRA runs a fast heat and all cars in this heat are locked into their position and the main event. Justin used this heat race as a test session for the main event trying a different setup and a full fuel load. The car picked up a terrible push, and Justin simply rode out the heat race. Starting in the lucky number 13 spot, Justin jumped to the outside at the drop of the green flag and quickly made his way through the field. At the lap 7 yellow Justin had made his way to 5th behind Brad Galdridge, Bobby Grewohl, Scott Pierovich and David Prickett. Using the top as his line of choice Justin got around Prickett and Pierovich, and started tracking down Galdridge. Closing quickly on Galdridge who was also running the top Justin had to change lines and went around Galdridge on the bottom. Another Yellow closed the gap between Grewohl and Grant. On the next run these two steadily pulled away from the field with Grant hanging right with Grewohl. Another yellow with 10 to go gave Justin one last chance to gather himself for a run to the checker. Looked like it would be a great finish, but on the last run Grewohl steadily pulled away and Justin finished second ahead of Scott Pierovich. This podium finish sets the stage for the 2007 season. Justin plans to compete for the series title next year provide he gets a dirt program put together. In his Rookie season Justin has established himself as one of the top drivers, and will surely be one of the top cars in 2007.

Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) honored 15 year old Justin Grant as the 2006 Johnny Boyd "Rookie of the Year". Shirley Boyd, (pictured with Justin in this photo), was on hand to present the award. Shirley captured the audience with her stories of Johnny, and could have gone on all night with no complaints. It was a very captivating and informative presentation about Johnny's racing. Although Justin only ran a hand full of races, each race showed he was a rare talent on and off the track. Justin approached BCRA in April of 2006 with a proposal to allow him to run on a race by race bases as an underage minor. At the same time he was coordinating the purchase of an asphalt midget, getting his emancipation papers in place, and working with USAC for Western States approval. His plans were to start racing June 1st, but progress was derailed when the car deal he had worked fell through at the last minute. He worked night and day locating a good car and engine within the budget he had to work with. After a lot of long nights and a lot of effort he finally got a car ready for the track just in time for the July first race at Lakeport. A few 2006 highlights: Hard charger of the race at Stockton until the last lap when an oil line broke ending his night. He started 16 and was up to 5th or 6th at the white flag before he DNF'd. A trophy dash win at Roseburg Oregon, coupled with a solid hard charger finish in the main. He started 16th and was up as high as 6th and dropped to 8th at the finish. He was high BCRA qualifier at Altamont, started 15th and ran a very impressive 8th. It was this race that really defined his year. He passed several very good cars on the outside. Justin's on track accomplishments were somewhat over shadowed by how he handled himself off the track. His maturity level extended well beyond his physical age. His off track maturity was capped by a very generous gesture at Madera when he opted to sponsor Western States points leader Jerome Rodella. Jerome crashed at Altamont and could not make the Madera race. Justin was sixth quick and under the previous track record at Andersen, but engine issues sidelined him and he did not start the heat race or main event. In October he was 2nd quick, started 13th and ran second in the main event, to conclude his BCRA season. A season in which this young 15 year old earned total respect from officials, drivers and car owners.

Justin's 15 year old rookie season ended one spot short and two laps short at Irwindale Speedway on 11-23-06. Having turned 16 days before the race, Justin headed for Irwindale with some high expectations. Wednesday's first practice started out on a down note, as the brakes faded. Missing the next set fixing the problem, Justin headed out for the third set and his first laps at speed. He adapted instantly and was very smooth. Making some big changes for the final practice run, he got quicker as most of the field slowed, so that was encouraging. Still off the pace of the unlimited budget National teams, but high on the charts for the USAC Western teams. Qualifying was disappointing as the car was just not there, and very unstable. Justin salvaged what he could and ended up around 30th or so. His heat race was stacked full of National Teams, so transferring was going to be very tough. He started 10th, and drove around Brady Bacon on the outside to secure the transfer spot. The two ran this way for 4 laps, then Brady got back by Justin, opening up a 6 car length advantage at the conclusion of the pass. Justin spent the next 4 laps desperately tracking down the transfer spot. He was gaining, but running out of time. A yellow on lap 10 gave Justin the chance he needed. Things looked good, and making the main was now a definite possibility. He needed one spot, and had two or three laps to get it done. He'd already passed Brady Bacon early in the race, and then Brady got back by him so it was going to be exciting either way. The Spencer Gatrell crash in turn one was cleaned up, so it was time to see what Justin had. OOPS! not yet, USAC decided to checker the race 2 laps short of completion. It's one of those "what if" cases that makes racing what it is. "What if" the race had been allowed to run to completion? Would Justin have made the needed pass? Would other cars tangle giving him the transfer? Would another car drop out during the last two laps? Would Brady pull away at the start? Would Justin and Brady have crashed battling for the transfer. It's one of those unanswered questions, that will never get answered. Had the yellow not come out Justin most likely finishes 9th, but it did and that is part of racing. Green, White, Checker finishes are what race fans love to see. No one wants to see a race end under yellow. Bottom line; Justin finished 9th, one spot out of transfer. The results are not what he expected, but he did a heck of a job and gained needed experience.

Justin started off 2007 exactly where he ended the 2006 BCRA season with a second place showing at Shasta Speedway in Anderson Ca. This marked the first asphalt race of the season, and Justin brought home a solid finish after struggling with stagger issues all weekend. Justin had purchased a set of tires for this race, and just before qualifying found that the left rear had a manufacturing defect, and a hole in the sidewall. Having given his only good left rear spare to a competitor, Justin was forced to qualify on mismatched tires, and very bad stagger. It showed as Justin looked more like he was at a dirt track. He manhandled the car and managed to pull off 8th in qualifying, with the worst handling car of his career. Having locked into his starting position for the main. Justin pushed off for the heat race with extremely old practice tires, while the team searched for a solution to the stagger issue, and a needed tire for the main event. The heat race was uneventful as everyone just rode it out to the end. Coming up empty handed in their search for a left rear tire, Justin came up with a plan to start on extremely low stagger, and wait for the right rear to grow as it had all weekend. Knowing the car would be terrible at the beginning, Justin just tried to stay within striking distance. It looked like the "NO" stagger gamble was not going to work as he fell back as far as 13th. Just when all seemed lost for the weekend, the tires started coming to him and he started moving forward. A few cars dropped out, he passed the others and found himself in 2nd place at the half way point. He was all over leader Dallas Melby, and ready to make his move when the yellow flew on lap 22(?). Curfew ended the night, and the officials checkered the race. [De-ja-vu Irwindale :) :) ]. 2nd is a GREAT result considering the state of the car the entire weekend, what a struggle. Dallas took the win and thanked Justin for lending him the left rear tire for the weekend.

HOT! HOT! HOT!'. That pretty much sums up the weekend. Unbelievable heat rolled into Madera Speedway along with the BCRA/USAC. Justin was 5th quick after practice, and was looking for a good qualifying run. Trying to stay in the top five or ten, Justin pushed just a bit to hard and spun during qualifying. Disappointed, but optimistic he pushed off for his heat race, and rebounded with a solid third place finish. The car was good, but Justin indicated the tires were used up. The heat was almost unbearable when they pushed off for the main. Justin started out extremely well and had the announcer noting his progress, passing cars on the top. Starting 18th, Justin again broke into the top ten sitting 7th at the half way point. Toward the end of the race, Justin found himself in a tight wheel to wheel battle with Alfred Galdridge. After about 8 laps of this battle, Alfred beat Justin into turn three ending the tight side by side battle. It was a great race between these two and fun to watch. The race was shortened ten laps, and there was not one complaint. Most drivers were extremely exhausted, and suffering heat burns and some blisters. In this photo Justin was in the process of passing John Serale, and Stuart Burkenbine on his way to a third place finish in the heat race. All in all, another impressive outing for this youngster who logs very little practice time, and is seeing most of these tracks for the first time.

Well the Shasta Speedway race was a huge roller coaster weekend, and it ended on the downhill side. We got the Esslinger in and plumbed, started it on Thursday and did a leak test. everything seemed fine. Sounded good, so we were looking forward to Friday Practice. Rolled out for practice set #1, and it ran good. Car felt good, engine was strong. Pulled off, and we had filled the breather tank with alky and oil. Chased the problem and missed practice set two. Went back out for #3 and for some reason we only got 3 laps. Parked it after that until we got some input from Esslinger about the oil issue. Changed the oil scavenge line Saturday morning. The car was very tight and not real fast in the first practice set. Made some changes and went out for #2. What a difference. The car was almost perfect and we ended up 4th quick. The car was good and we were set to qualify. The car was really good in qualifying, but we picked up a miss. Either to fat or an electrical issue. The car missed badly half way down the straights, but we ended up 6th quick. It was under the old track record, and the fastest of all the BCRA midget drivers. I think there was more left out there, but we always say that. The miss had to hurt us a little. We traced the problem, and after alot of counseling from others we leaned it down a bit for the heat race. Most input pointed to a fat condition. When I pushed out the car just would not run, so I fell to the back hoping it would clear out. Right after the green came out I had to pull off. It was missing really bad at this point, and staying out there with an ill running car would just be a danger to the others on the track. A mad dash before the main saw us changing jets, batteries, a new switch, plugs, and anything else folks suggested. Nothing helped and the car just ran so bad I did not even take the green flag. This was probably the most disappointing event of the year, because we finally qualified into the inversion and were starting up front someplace instead of 15th or worse. I felt I really had a chance to have a good finish. I've run strong at other races, but never started up front. I don't think I had anything for Ryan Kaplan. He was just really fast all weekend. I'm sure we had a top five car, and with any luck at all a top three. But the racing luck tonight was only bad luck, and we never completed a lap. The bright side is we just keep getting better and better each weekend. We just need to get over these learning curves, and get to a point where little things stop biting us. No one works harder, and we will get there. Next up is Madera and I'm looking for really good results there. I like the track, and I've been there once, so I'm not seeing that track for the first time, like everywhere else I've been this year.

Altamont was quite an experience. We ended up having to put the older Gearte back in because we could not get the Esslinger plumbed and hooked up in time. This was my first visit to a 1/2 mile track and I was really looking forward to it. Our first practice set was cut short by a black flag. I made 2 or 3 laps when USAC black flagged us for excessive muffler noise. I found a little more speed in the second round, and things felt pretty darn good. I qualified at 17.3 and it really felt good, since my practice times were in the 17.6 range. I ended up 11th quick, just missing the inversion. I ran third in the heat race, which helped the confidence, and the car felt really good. At the start of the main things really got bottled up and I found myself loosing about 5 spots. I picked off a few cars and my car felt really really fast. I was able to run it hard in the corner, and started passing cars on the outside. I passed some cars that I thought were very good cars, so I was feeling good, and we were going forward. About half way through I found myself in a battle with the #40 Western Speed car. This was one of the cars that is always the class of the field. We battled side by side for 3 or 4 laps. Chase finally got a better run off 2 than I did and beat me into turn 3. I couldn't make up the ground I lost, and he completed the pass. I followed him for the next few laps until he got around Shannon McQueen. I got stuck behind Shannon, and couldn't get around her. It was frustrating seeing the #40 car pull away when just a few laps earlier I was hanging with him. We got a yellow flag, and I planned to make my move on Shannon going into 1. I knew I could get through the corner better, so I got as good a run as I could and drove it in real hard. I got by her, and found myself running up on Alfred Galdredge. I dove under him and seemed to have a great run going down the back straight. Ben Petter and Brad Galedrige crashed before we were able to complet the lap. The officials red flagged the race, and then checkered it with two laps left. Bummer for me, because they reverted back to the previous lap putting me back two positions behind Shannon McQueen. I was really glad to see Ben and Brad climb out of their cars, and also very pleased with the race. I had a fast car, and it was handling very good. This thing really got through the corners great, and allowed me to maintain my speed better than most of the cars I passed and battled with.

Stepping up to the next level, Justin visited a larger track for the first time in Roseburg Oregon. Friday practice found him struggling for speed during the first two sets, and then found something in the last set to work with for Saturday. He spent a lot of hours resetting the car Friday night and Saturday morning. The work was worth it as he found himself solidly in the 14 second bracket during practice. He drew a number 2 pill and put down a good lap qualifying, but was just out of the 14 second range. The track had seemed to get really hot and slick, and after the first eight or so cars he was still on top. Then the skies clouded over and cooled things off considerably. 14 out of the next 16 cars out qualified him and he ended up 15th. Luck of the draw, but he was really looking forward to the race. They ran two trophy dashes and Justin was in one of them. It was a chance to try something a bit different before the heat races, and it seemed to work as he won the trophy dash for his first midget victory. Another solid mistake free heat race landed him in third ahead of a host of faster cars, including the eventual winner of the main event. Justin missed the inversion by one spot and started 17th. He was very quick early on, and had worked his way into the top ten, and was in a tight battle with the #28 of Ken Ferris. Justin could really make ground in the corner, pulling along side of Ferris on numerous occasions, but the Esslinger power in the #28, pulled much better on the straights, and Justin could never complete the pass. As the race wound down he was running as high as sixth, but the car started to go away at the end and he settled for eighth. Another great run for him, and a hard charger award. Once again he amazed everyone watching as this young kid wheeled his midget around the 3/8 mile track in a style associated with mature experienced adults. The respect he is gaining from the other racers continues to grow each week, and is a large part of his goals for the season. Justin next race is at the 1/2 mile Altamont track September 2.

15 year old Justin Grant's performance at Stockton 99 Speedway proved he is one of the young guns of the future. With zero laps at this track, and only one race under his belt, he ran very competitive laps in the practice sets despite a terrible push in the car. He made alot of changes during the practice sets, and was getting more acquainted with the car and the track. Qualifying was sure a disappointment, as the car again pushed badly, but it was another time on the track and another learning experience. Cold tires make a difference. Justin ran a very solid comfortable fourth in his heat race which put him in the show. His main goal for the weekend. The car was alot better for the heat race thanks to the help of Chris Carli, Jerome Rodella, Glenn Carson, Ben Petter, Daniel Stahl, Mark Wright, and Team Abrew. It was finally drivable, and Justin was looking forward to the main event. After the heat races the track announced all 25 cars would start the main. Justin started 17th and ran extremely well at the start of the main. Better than anyone had expected, and by half way he found himself breaking into the top ten. There were alot of yellows and his car was ill handling for about two laps after each green which moved him in and out of the top ten. By lap 20, he found himself in 8th and was the hard charger of the race at this point. He had battled with Glenn Carson all race, and with two laps to go Glenn's handling was going away. Justin was about to go by him when the oil line to the pressure gauge broke. Covered in oil Justin wisely got the car off the track immediately saving the engine, and track cleanup. Glenn ended up 6th, and Justin dropped well out of the top ten by his DNF. A very disappointing finish to a very solid weekend. One in which Justin gained the respect of alot of folks in the pits, track officials, announcers, and alot of fans. At only 15 years old Justin continues to impress everyone he meets on and off the track. Justin's next race is in Madera on July 22nd. In this picture Justin had Just gone around the Walker car on the top.

15 year old Justin Grant made his West Coast Midget debut Saturday July 1 at Lakeport Ca. Having only started the car once the team decided to rent the Lakeport track Thursday night for some needed shakedown and seat time. After unloading the car and pushing off for his shakedown laps, Justin found the car over heating after just a few laps and pulled off. One more attempt later after chasing the problem netted the same result. Friday's organized practice netted even worse results. The drive shaft had worked it's way forward and the car would not go into gear. By the time the car was repaired and ready to go, practice was over. Decision time! Race or go home? Deciding to stay and possibly just run practice on Saturday Justin pushed off for his first real laps in a Midget. He adapted instantly and was third quick after the practice sets, but the team was experiencing major oil leak issues from the rear end housing. Thanks to the help all weekend from Eric and Mike Mosten, Eddie Abrew and Travis Berryhill the oil issue was finally fixed just before qualifying. Justin qualified in the mid 12.4 range, missing the trophy dash by just a few hundredths of a second. Carrying the traditional yellow rookie flag Justin ran a very solid heat race, and showed extreme car control and patience for someone 15 years old and never being on the track with other cars. Head BCRA official Tom Manning approached Justin after the heat race and informed him he was welcome to remove the rookie flag and start in his assigned position for the main. Wisely and beyond his years, Justin elected to start at the back, and use this as a test session. As the race progressed Justin found himself battling with cars. Once he broke clean of this pack, he quickly caught the lead pack and just broke into the top ten when a yellow came out for oil on the track. Given the state of the car all day the officials called Justin in for oiling the track. The few laps he did run this weekend were extremely impressive. He showed great car control, and extreme character on and off the track. His maturity level far exceeds his physical age in and out of a race car. He will be a valuable asset to any team he drives for in the future.

I've been working my tail off over the past 4 or 5 months trying to put this deal together. I approached my dad with the idea of running a midget this summer. He reluctantly agreed, but knew it was coming at some point. I had been working with Johnny Rodriguez, trying to get a Midget for the 2006 Chili Bowl, but just couldn't make it happen. I came up with a plan to run a limited schedule in a pavement car with BCRA. I shopped around and finally found a car, (no it's not Johnny's car). My dad's stipulation was that I had to put the deal together myself, and the hard work is paying off. There were a lot of times I almost just threw in the towel, but darn-it this is what I want to do, and I am going to do every possible thing in my power to get it done. The car is almost done, and the engine should be done shortly. I'm going to field a Beast chassis with Gearte power. This has been a heck of an experience, but I'm glad everything wasn't just handed to me. It sure makes me appreciate the other side of the picture, out of the driver seat. I'm just waiting on final emancipation papers to be processed, while I'm putting the car together. I'm really looking for some additional sponsorship help, so if you know of anyone willing to help out a young determined driver. Please point them to my web site and feel free to request one of my sponsorship packets by following the sponsor link below. Rookie of the year honors was a huge surprise to me because I only ran a few races and all on asphalt. I learned a lot this summer and looking back, doing it mostly on my own sure made me appreciate what I have and what I accomplished.