Carolina 500 - ‘The Instructor’ Gets His Chance at ‘The Rock’
Monday, June 30th, 2008|
ROCKINGHAM NC (4-30-08)–Jeff Boyer has been the lead driving instructor at the BUCK BAKER racing school for ten years. Recording over 10,000 laps on at BRISTOL, ATLANTA, NASHVILLE, LOWES, DARLINGTON, RICHMOND, and of course ‘THE ROCK.’
Rockingham Speedway. He has shown over 50 current drivers in various series from ARCA, Craftsman Truck , Nationwide to Nextel/Sprint CUP Series drivers the correct way to handle some of the toughest tracks in NASCAR.He finished 3rd in the Arena Racing USA points this past year out of 60 entries all year. He is armed with an 800 horsepower Monte Carlo purchased in 07 from Tony Stewart.
Now, all he needs is for them to open the gates again at ‘The Rock’ in May, and “find a little help” It`s the biggest ARCA race ever with the biggest purse ever. Most cars ever. (50) Live on Speed TV Sunday May 4th at noon.
If there was ever a ‘Rocky Story’ in racing, it has to be Jeff Boyer, working at a ‘racing gym’, for ten long years at the Buck Baker driving School, tirelessly giving celebrities a thrill and training young drivers to go on the driver development jobs with large NASCAR teams, and having never been given ‘his shot’, and now, just like Rocky, Jeff Boyer is getting his shot.
After saving for years & years, and making every deal he could, he is ready to make his move, but just like Rocky had the local meat processing plant embroidered on the back of his warm ups, Boyer needs some sponsors on the side of his Monte Carlo ride to glory with him in the biggest move in his racing life. He needs more than a grease & cut man.
Originally from West Palm Beach Fla., with some small local dirt & asphalt racing experience along with some drag racing, Jeff moved to the Charlotte area to pursue his dream much like many others in the past and present. He met ARCA driver Andy Lombi and his Dad Lou and they introduced him to the late Buck Baker, and moved to Harrisburg NC to be near the racing community.
The two-time NASCAR Champ Baker liked what he saw and put Boyer to work. “He has an ol school raw talent and feel for a car that reminds me of a young Curtis Turner, or better still, a young Buck Baker,” said the first man to tame Darlington more than once. ” It`s time to put all the hard work to the test and I hope somebody notices him. He deserves a shot at a big time ride” was all the late Champ used to say . Boyer`s 12 year old girl Brittan is a WKA karting Champion at home with a family that has made sacrifices all along the way to get Boyer to get his chance to see if he stacks up against what will be the toughest competition ever at an ARCA race with all the Sprint Cup teams off for the weekend and all their development drivers there with their best cars, engineers, stacks of tires and money, money, money, all trying to prove that they deserve all the resources and praise that have been heaped upon them in front of their bosses. With 10,000 laps of experience at ‘The Rock’ under his belt, a used Tony Stewart car, a heart bigger than a lion OR a ‘tiger’, Jeff Boyer could use a few good hands in his corner. “If I qualify up front, then I`ll try to run away from them, but up high, using the ‘Petty line’, saving my tires all the time. If I have to start near the middle or back, I`ll let them go and just drive by when it`s time to go ” said the confidant challenger. “I have all I own tied up in this deal and I plan on going for it, it`s all I can do”. Every panel on the car is for sale, anyway, anyhow, some sponsor or sponsors can be a part of racing history and have a great time while getting exposure if they come on board and I win this race. Let`s make a deal!”
Courtesy of ARCA Racing.com; posted April 30, 2008 http://www.arcaracing.com/news.cfm?contentid=6452
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