RJ Otto and Taylor Cook

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FEATURE

MODIFIED

Photo: Joseph Swan

RJ OTTO & TAYLOR COOK

A TALE OF TWO RACERS

By Doug Kennedy

Photo: Joseph Swan

Photo: Ryan Roberts

THIS IS A STORY about two racers, grass root racers if you will. Both have been transplanted from their birthplace in Ohio to their present homes in North Carolina. Both have experienced success but struggles have certainly prevailed as well. Both families are rich in racing tradition with ties to NASCAR. Both of these drivers have also or continue to work with NASCAR teams. The patriarchs of both families have raced against each other as have their sons. Meet dirt modified racers RJ Otto and Taylor Cook.

“One thing people wouldn’t know about me is the low number of races I actually run. Before the 18 races a year I ran in 2017, I was doing a dozen or less races a year. There were drivers who ran more races in one season than I have done in my career.”

Those were the words of 29 year old RJ (Ronald) Otto. Part of this story is about a driver who hasn’t experienced a high level of success or even a modicum of success, but one in which the individual has struggled to race including going through extended periods where all the racing equipment that he had was sold, which prevented him from racing at all.

One word that can describe the Cook family of Denver, North Carolina via Toledo, Ohio is lineage. Taylor Cook is the son of Jerry Cook, the nephew of Terry Cook, and the grandson of Harold Cook - all very accomplished racers during their careers.

Back in 2019, Cook took a brand new car to Florida. The car count that night was an amazing 105 cars. “I was nervous during the drive down, and with all those cars, it just added to my nervousness,” Cook said. “The anticipation was a lot and then when we won, it was a relief.”

Otto was born in Columbus, Ohio, but his family moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, when he was two years old. He began his racing career in a kart when he was six years old and continued through the age of 14, winning better than 100 features but no championships. The lack of championships was by design.

For the next five years following his kart days, Otto raced a dirt pro-late model. His first win came on his 15th birthday at 311 Speedway located in Pine Hall, North Carolina.

RJ (Ron, Jr.) ended up getting a job with JTG Daugherty Racing and driver Cale Conley. The team was racing the K&N Pro Series where RJ served as the tire specialist. The opportunity then came along for RJ to drive Kyle Strickler’s backup IMCA Modified at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina.

“The first time in a modified, I qualified on the pole and broke the track record,” Otto proudly said. “After that I fell in love with the modified. The modified is much more challenging because you have to be up on the wheel, plus it’s a little more economical.”

Cook has been racing since 2009, also beginning in a kart. He won a track championship at Millbridge Speedway in Mooresville, North Carolina, and had a handful of feature wins to his credit. After three years, he moved into a modified

Taylor Cook getting after it at the Bristol Bash early in the 2021 season.

The Ohio transplant, RJ Otto, is constantly looking for ways to get into the racing business in his native North Carolina.

RJ Otto is a picture of persistence and has jumped many hurdles in his pursuit of fast laps.

and has been there ever since with 5060 wins under his belt.

As stated earlier, the lineage of the Cook racing family is very impressive. Harold Cook raced an asphalt super late model in the 1970s to mid-1980s. Jerry raced from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, also in an asphalt super late model. Dad and son mainly raced at Flat Rock Speedway in Michigan and Toledo Speedway, the tracks that Jerry won a number of championships. During his racing career, he accumulated around 50 career feature wins. Uncle Terry competed in the NASCAR Truck Series, winning six races over a 14 year span. He also dabbled in the Busch Series and a few Cup races, too.

Terry, who was the driver, and Jerry, who served as the crew chief, were the original members of NASCAR’s Truck Series for SealMaster Racing (now ThorSport Racing). That lasted for about three years before Jerry started his association with the NASCAR Cup Series. Terry raced competitively with the trucks until 2010 and then became a spotter for John Wes Townley and then Cody Coughlin until 2018.

The racing lineage in the Otto family is also quite impressive. RJ’s grandfather, Ron (Clarence) raced asphalt short tracks around Columbus. He was also the first to ever race a quarter midget in the state of Ohio. Ron started racing in 1985. He continued until 1993 which also included a limited ARCA schedule. He never won a race but finished in the top-five, leading the most laps in one of those seasons. He also raced a late model around Columbus in the late 1980s. With both his grandfather and dad being pavement racers, RJ became the family’s first generation dirt racer.

Ron was the crew chief for Tommy Baldwin back in 2006. He also did work for Bill Elliott, Kasey Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield and was the crew chief for Ted Musgrave, Kenny Wallace and David Stremme while doing work for Corey LaJoie in the K&N Series.

One of his more impressive jobs was his work as the interior specialist and rear tire changer for Dale Earnhardt, Sr. The job lasted for a little more than a year and ended when Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona. From there, he continued to work for RCR (Richard Childress Racing) hooking up with Michael Waltrip as the team’s car chief, a job he continued until Waltrip retired.

Overall, he spent one year with Rick Hendrick and six more with RCR as well as doing some work for Fitz/Bradshaw.

“I do race consulting (Otto Motor Sports Consulting and Fabrication) mainly for the K&N and ARCA Series,” dad Ron said. “I usually work with the smaller teams, who hire me to guide them in the right direction with regards to set-ups and crew chiefing. We also build cars, which has included ones for a road course and a truck. I’ve been in racing for 26 plus years so I am just a racer.”

RJ’s stepfather, Mike Searce, served as the crew chief for Ryan Sieg in the Xfinity Series last season and worked with David Gilliland Racing as head of assembly and the truck chief.

The Cook name also has a very strong tie with NASCAR with dad Jerry serving as a car chief for a variety of drivers. He currently is the car chief for Eric Almirola. Prior to that, Jerry also served as car chief for Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart.

Prior to becoming a car chief, Jerry worked at Joe Gibbs Racing for nine years and also did some work with Jason Leffler before moving to his current position.

In 2019, RJ took a job maintaining an Asphalt Super Late Model for GMS Racing (Gallagher Motorsports) where he helped maintain their driver development department for Late Models. “I comanaged and was the crew chief for driver Bronson Butcher,” Otto said.

Then the revolving door started when on July 20th of 2020, RJ got a job with ChaLew Performance, a company based out of Mooresville. His job entailed selling racing parts to various NASCAR teams. The company sold both new and used parts that helped the lower budget teams. After a few months, he left that job to take one with MSI Defense, also out of Mooresville. The company builds vehicles for the military.

During the summer of last season, RJ’s plan was to start racing regularly,

Photo: Joseph Swan

but things never quite materialized as he ended up running one race last season, that one coming at Charlotte in November where he finished 14th.

That job with MSI Defense also become short-lived as he accepted a position with Longhorn by Loenbro and company general manager and driver, Steve Arpin. This all came together on March 1, 2021. His duties included assembling Longhorn Modified Chassis. The shop is located in China Grove, North Carolina. He hopes that he can secure a Longhorn Chassis and get out for a few races in 2021, however, he realizes that the customer comes first and will get first dibs on getting a new chassis.

Taylor also has some NASCAR ties as he continues to work as an electrician for Joe Gibbs Racing. “I’ve been doing that full-time since 2014,” Cook said. “We service all four team cars.” His role is to maintain all the electrical equipment as well as building harnesses for them.

When he’s racing, the Otto Race Team is a three-man operation: RJ, his dad, and his Uncle Kenny. “My uncle will travel from Ohio to wherever my race is,” Otto said.

Taylor also has a rarity when it comes to his crew and that is because it is comprised of two females, his mom, Lee, and his wife, Chelsie. His dad will also try to be at his races, but it is tough for Jerry to be there all the time because of his NASCAR schedule. Most of the time his pit crew is comprised of Taylor, his mom and his wife, and his one racecar.

Chelsie takes care of Taylor’s social media and keeps up with updating the Cook Racing Team’s Facebook page. “At the track it’s just his mom and myself,” Chelsie said. “We both help him with the tires and during the race, I will spot for him and hand him tools for whatever he needs.”

Lee is responsible for the team’s finances and for driving the hauler. “Taylor has a tendency to fall asleep while driving anything other than his race car,” Chelsie laughed. Lee also keeps up with the tire pressures and wheel covers and makes sure that all his equipment, including his helmet is ready to go.

Between the two of them, they try to keep Taylor on track with his scheduling, sponsorships, and just making sure he eats. “I wasn’t into racing until I moved down here to work at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” Chelsie said. “I was working in the operations department at the Speedway for five years before I started three years ago at zMAX, a subsidiary of Speedway Motor Sports, the company that owns the speedway.” Chelsie now serves as the sales coordinator.

As for his plans to run a handful of races, RJ Otto had this to say, “We’re aiming small, but dreaming big.” “I’m very proud of what RJ’s been able to do with a limited schedule,” said his dad, Ron.

“Most people my age in racing are assumed to be catalog racers-shop for cars through on-line sources, buy one, and race it,” Taylor Cook said. “I do a lot of my own fabrication and machine work. Anywhere I have the opportunity to save money, I will do it”.

As far 2021 and those 20 to 25 races he plans to run, Cook said, “We are not starving to go racing, but we try to do the best with what we have. We’re just trying to make the most of our situation.”

RJ Otto has a different look with regards to his 2021 racing schedule. “I was hoping to do some races this year, but nothing is set in concrete. There’s a lot of potential, but nothing solid enough. Either way, I’m really happy and excited to be with this group of guys.”

Otto says that 90% of the UMP Modified races he runs, Taylor Cook has been in those races as well. “He’s a very calculated and solid driver who doesn’t make mistakes on the racetrack,” Otto said of Cook.

Cook countered by saying, “He’s (RJ) kind of on the same program as we are, trying to make the best with what little we have. When he’s on the racetrack, he’s a very fair and clean racer.”

So, for those of you who think that racing is a money making profession, think again. Or just ask two grass root drivers who know what the pitfalls that come with racing are and what needs to be done to get themselves on the track whenever they can.

Cook is a former track champion at the famous Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina, which continues to crank out top notch talent.

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PICTURES

Photo: Mike Campbell

WORLDS COLLIDE

AT ELDORA SPEEDWAY

ELDORA SPEEDWAY continued its most dramatic season ever with the true capper on a crazy year of once in a lifetime promotions – twin World 100s. The 51st edition of the race went off on Wednesday and Thursday while the official 50th edition took place on Friday and Saturday. In the first show, Brandon Overton continued his mastery of Eldora following his double Dream wins in June with his first ever World 100 victory and another $54,000 score. In the finale on Saturday, Jonathan Davenport padded his resume and his pocketbook to the tune of $53,000 as he grabbed his fourth World 100 victory and continued his pattern of wining in odd years – 2015, 2017, 2019 and now 2021!

Photo: Tyler Carr

Photo: Tyler Carr

Photo: Tyler Carr

BRANDON OVERTON

51st WORLD 100 WINNER

Photo: Tyler Carr

Photo: Tyler Carr

JONATHAN DAVENPORT

50th WORLD 100 WINNER

Another heat goes green on a very well prepared racing surface.

This kid has clearly got it all figured out and rides around the Big E in style.

Photo: Josh James

Photo: Josh James

Brandon Overton left his mark on the world... by putting his name on a globe an artistic fan brought to the autograph session and by racing on the track.

Photo: Paul Arch

Josh Richards searching for elusive speed - he didn’t find it. He scored a 13th and a DNS at Eldora.

Kyle Larson was only able to compete in the first of two World 100s on the weekend and only mustered a 13th place run before leaving for NASCAR duties.

Photo: Josh James

Tyler Erb (Terbo) getting in the zone with that thousand-mile stare. It’s go time.

Photo: Josh James

Races don’t happen without race officials. And race officials need mustaches... magnificient mustaches. Because it happened in the pits, most of the crowd was completely unaware that Max Blair was also a winner at the World 100s...winner of the staring contest. It’s like he can see our very souls.

Under-appreciated, but oh so necessary: the tire prepper in action. Majestic.

Photo: Josh James

Photo: Josh James

Brandon Overton - Combined World Finishes - 4

Jonathan Davenport - Combined World Finishes - 6

Tim McCreadie - Combined World Finishes - 6

Dale McDowell - Combined World Finishes - 10

Photo: Tyler Carr

Photo: Mike Campbell

Photo: Mike Ruefer

Photo: Josh James

Photo: Josh James

ON TOP OF THE WORLD(s)

IN A REGULAR SEASON, drivers spend a lot of energy and money getting prepped for the World 100. Now, imagine getting prepped for two Worlds in three days. We combined the finishes of all drivers that made one of the A-mains to see who did it best. 17 drivers qualified for both A-feature events and those drivers that didn’t make a start were given 29 points regardless of how where they finished in the preliminaries. Looking at the top of the list, there were clearly five dominant racers that weekend, none more so than Brandon Overton. Lowest number wins!

1. Brandon Overton 1 & 3 = 4 2. Tim McCreadie 2 & 4 = 6 2. Jonathan Davenport 5 & 1 = 6 4. Dale McDowell 3 & 7 = 10 5. Chris Ferguson 7 & 5 = 12 6. Chris Madden 15 & 8 = 23 7. Brandon Sheppard 18 & 6 = 24 8. Kyle Strickler 10 & 15 = 25 9. Devin Moran 6 & 21 = 27 10. Ricky Thornton Jr 8 & 20 = 30 11. Mike Marlar DNS (29) & 2 = 31 12. Frank Heckenast Jr. 22 & 10 = 32 13. Hudson O’Neal 4 & DNS (29) = 33 13. Scott Bloomquist 17 & 16 = 33 15. Gregg Satterlee 9 & 25 = 34 16. Darrell Lanigan 14 & 23 = 37 16. Kyle Bronson 28 & 9 = 37 18. Jimmy Owens 11 & DNS (29) = 40 18. Nick Hoffman 12 & 28 = 40 18. Chad Simpson DNS (29) & 11 = 40 21. Rick Eckert DNS (29) & 12 = 41 22. Josh Richards DNS (29) & 13 = 42 22. Kyle Larson 13 & DNS (29) = 42 24. Ashton Winger 16 & 27 = 43 24. Bobby Pierce DNS (29) & 14 = 43 26. John Blankenship DNS (29) & 17 = 46 27. Johnny Scott DNS (29) & 18 = 47 28. Austin Kirkpatrick DNS (29) & 19 = 48 28. Shane Clanton 19 & DNS (29) = 48 30. Tyler Erb 20 & DNS (29) = 49 31. Joseph Joiner 21 & DNS (29) = 50 32. Ricky Weiss DNS (29) & 22 = 51 33. Michael Chilton 23 & DNS (29) = 52 34. Ryan King 24 & DNS (29) = 53 34. Spencer Hughes DNS (29) & 24 = 53 36. Brian Shirley 25 & DNS (29) = 54 37. Mason Zeigler 26 & DNS (29) = 55 37. Mike Norris DNS (29) & 26 = 55 39. Ryan Gustin 27 & DNS (29) = 56