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Scott Woodruff
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scott.woodruff@jegs.com
Foley family racing beyond their expectations on JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour
OVID, Mich. (Aug. 31) - Jim Foley was joking around one day in 2003 when he suggested his son Jerrod take his race car out for a spin.
But Jerrod, then 11 years old, turned that joke into a budding career. Now 20, Jerrod sits sixth in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour points standings as the series heads to Owosso Speedway this Saturday for the Big O Classic 100 presented by JEGS.
It was nine years ago as Jim was practicing with his Pure Street Camaro at Corbin Raceway near their home in Williamsburg, Ky., when he turned to young Jerrod.
"I think you should hop in that car and take it out for practice," Jim said.
Jerrod thought about it for at least "half a second" before he made his choice.
"I got in the car before he even saw what my reaction was," Jerrod said.
So Jerrod took a few laps around the quarter-mile track where Lee Petty won a NASCAR race in 1954.
"He was just playing around, not knowing even if I could turn left," Jerrod said. "I went out there and ran the perfect groove. I had sat there and watched my dad for five or six years, paying attention to every move he made and learning everything from him, just watching from the stands. I just caught on."
Jim got his son a race car later in the year, and Jerrod did well enough to keep racing. He finished third in the Street Stock division the next year before winning the track championship in the Limited Late Model class in 2005-06.
It was at that point when Jim decided to give up his driving career to focus on Jerrod, and they raced on the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour for a couple of years. For this season, the Foleys focused on the JEGS/CRA tour, joining the Midwest-based series for the first time.
"Our goals were top-10s, top-15s," Foley said. "We thought that would be really good for all new race tracks that we've never seen or even heard of. We have a season-high of third, and a fourth and some other good top-10 finishes, so we've gone above and beyond what we expected."
Jerrod has two top-fives and seven top-10s, with a best finish of third at Columbus, in his 11 races this year. And he's done all that while racing at each track for the first time. The secret?
"Usually, we hope Dad hits the setup right," Jerrod said. "He's done really well this year, and he has hit the setup right at a lot of tracks. For the most part, I can get in the car right off the trailer at every single track and run my fastest time of the day within five or 10 laps. We've been really lucky hitting the right setups."
Plus, Jerrod and his team travel as much as any team in the series. Berlin was a 10-hour trip, while this weekend's commute will be about 10 hours, too. Jim does most of the driving, while Jerrod chips in when needed.
"We had heard about (the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour) from last year and heard it was a really good series," Jerrod said. "We ran the CRA Super Series before, and we really liked running with them. They were a bunch of nice people."
During the week, Jim works on the race car while Jerrod is studying Aviation at Eastern Kentucky during his sophomore year. Add mom Leanell Foley, Jerrod's spotter, and another crew member on occasion - "if we're lucky," Jerrod says - and that's the entire race team.
"If it wasn't for him and my mom, I wouldn't be anywhere," Jerrod said.
Foley is one of 21 drivers entered for Saturday's 100-lap event at the 3/8ths-mile track. Headlining the other entries is points leader Daniel Hemric, who has won seven of the 11 races this season.
Also entered are the rest of the top five in points: Second-place Brent Downey, third-place and Howie Lettow Rookie Memorial Rookie of the Year leader Anderson Bowen, fourth-place Josh Nelms and fifth-place Chad Finley.
Defending race winner Erik Jones, who has raced part time in the JEGS/CRA series while competing in other series, also is entered.
Pit gates open Saturday at noon Eastern, with practice at 2:30 p.m. and qualifying at 6:15 p.m. The race program will begin at 7 p.m. and include an autograph session and Owosso Speedway classes.
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