TYLER CARPENTER A DREAM, A DOME AND A TRUCK

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FEATURE

LATE MODEL

TYLER CARPENTER

A DREAM, A DOME AND A TRUCK

By Ashley Zimmerman

AS FAR AS FAIRY TALES GO in the world of all that is speed on dirt, the one we all fall asleep dreaming of is the grassroots driver who works in the darkness of night by himself in the shop season after season praying that when they put it all together and enter a race against the big dogs, he’s the one who gets to see victory lane for a celebration. It’s the story our kids parrot back to us as they make claims of being a race car driver when they grow up, it’s how all the movies go, and it’s how we pray we make it go every Saturday night we strap in or watch our favorite driver at our hometown track. We weave our dreams into fairy tales not because the path is easy, not because it’s a guarantee; we tell those tales because they rarely become reality.

With roots deeply embedded in the world of grassroots racing, Tyler Carpenter faced off against the names of headlines and name brand sponsors to simply dominate the 2021 Gateway Dirt Nationals, not only allowing him the prestige of going back to back at the $30k race, but in a last minute surprise twist to winning the title, secured the West Virginia native a ride with Niece Motorsports at the NASCAR Truck race at Knoxville Raceway. While hard to pin down with the onslaught of well-deserved

Photos: Josh James

press, he carved out some time for us to pick his brain.

Dirt Empire: You come from a racing family, with your dad having also raced late models. Is it safe to say that late models and dirt track racing is where it will always be for you?

Tyler Carpenter: Yeah, you know, they will always be in my blood. I don’t really see myself doing anything other than that. Late models and dirt racing is where my passion is at. I’m going to try to stick with that, I don’t mind bouncing around a little bit and trying other stuff, but deep down, I’m going to stick with late models.

DE: When your father raced, it was often that he was looked at as the underdog and in that sense; the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. How do you look at the people who overlook the competition that you bring to the race track?

TC: The biggest thing is that we’ve just always kind of raced in our backyard. For years, we’ve slowly progressed and I think people tend to forget where we came from and the battles that it’s taken to get where we’re at now. I think that’s why some of ‘em see us as an underdog. I don’t really know how to explain it, but people always have a lot of doubt in us, or think we do things for attention. The bottom line is, it’s been a

long tough road to get where we’re at and there’s no looking back, we’re going to keep going until we can’t anymore. I think that’s why I’m so hard on myself and trying to succeed.

DE: When it comes to racing at the Dome in St. Louis, you seem to have that place figured out and what it takes to win. What do you think makes you go so well there?

TC: The biggest thing, and the thing that I say in every interview, is that it’s an equalizer for a lot of guys. Guys that don’t have all the advanced technology or engineers behind them, or maybe just can’t afford it, you can be that guy and go out there and succeed. You don’t have to have it all put together like you do when it comes to running a big 3/8s or half-mile track, it allows a good hard racer, the hard worker with a lot of dedication to go out there and run well.

Carpenter posed with the Niece Motorsports truck after taking a few moments to let the fact that he’ll be driving that ride at Knoxville later this year sink in.

You don’t have to have the top of the line stuff at Gateway to run well. You just have to have something that’s going to hold together. The biggest thing is that it’s an equalizer, not only for me, but for a lot of the drivers, it gives them a shot at the spotlight of the Dome. It makes the driver stand out more than just the car.

DE: The announcement at Gateway Dirt Nationals of the winner of the final night getting a NASCAR truck ride for the Knoxville Raceway dirt race in 2022 was a surprise for everyone, including drivers. Prior to this, had NASCAR ever been on the radar for you?

TC: I mean, I thought about it, I’m not going to lie, you know, especially as a kid growing up. NASCAR has always been the top of the chart, where you can say you succeeded. I’ve never really imagined myself doing it; it’s always been a dream of mine somewhere down the line. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve gotten away from it, I put 100% focus in dirt racing and just tried to make the best out of what was there and see how far I could actually take it.

DE: Do you anticipate adapting to a truck will be difficult for you or do you think your dirt experience will be an advantage for you?

TC: It’s kind of hard for me to speak for

Photos: Josh James

that because I’ve never experienced anything like that. But, at the end of the day, it’s just a race car; it’s a matter of finding your limits with everything. I feel realistically I feel pretty comfortable going into it, not having a clue like this, and I’ll tell you why, because it’s on dirt, and a lot of those guys dirt just isn’t their thing. I feel like it’s going to create a bit of an equalizer for me, in a sense, because I’ll be on a dirt surface of which I’m very used to. I understand it’s in a totally different kind of car, but those guys are used to asphalt for the most part. The biggest thing with me is just finding my limits with the truck with how hard you can and cannot run it.

DE: Obviously winning at the Gateway Dirt Nationals garnered you an opportunity for something in 2022 that you weren’t planning on, has the attention from the entire weekend brought about any other surprises for 2022?

TC: Yeah and no, I’ve had some opportunities with a couple of guys reaching out to me to run the Tulsa Shootout, and as stupid as it sounds, I had to turn it down. I’m so busy here at the shop with people trying to get ready for Speedweeks of their own. I also have five kids, so I have to kind of weigh out what is feasible and what isn’t to an extent. I’ve had some offers that I haven’t had in the past, and I feel like I’m going to have a little bit more help this year, especially with my motor program and that will me to succeed on the dirt side. But, as of right now, the NASCAR

Photo: Josh James “[The Dome] is an equalizer for a lot of guys. Guys that don’t have all the advanced technology or engineers behind them, or maybe just can’t afford it, you can be that guy and go out there and succeed.” - Tyler Carpenter

ride is the biggest thing and I’m really looking forward to it. Whether or not I say I stopped caring about running NASCAR, at the end of the day, it’s a huge deal and I’m excited for it, just to see how I can do.

DE: While I know the talk has surrounded the excitement and success of Gateway Dirt Nationals, looking back over the season how would you classify it went?

TC: I’ve had some pretty good runs. I’ve won some $5,000 to win races and I think a $7,500 to win race, I’ve won quite a few good races. But it was 2021, and it’s been a struggle just like 2020. The biggest thing was just motor issues, one thing after another whether it was self-inflicted or just some freak deal. The last few years have been tough, so to go out there at Gateway Dirt Nationals and accomplish that, I was pretty ecstatic.

DE: You touched for a moment on balance, between the chassis shop, having a large family, and racing, just how do you balance all of it?

TC: To be honest, I don’t, I just do what I can. I pretty well live at the shop, but make time for my wife and the kids - it’s tough. I take the business side, well we all do, take it very serious. If we’re going to build these cars and have customers, I want them to succeed as well as us. So, nine times out of ten, I’ll work from eight or nine in the morning to eight or nine at night on customer stuff and have just a few hours left to work on my car, my stuff is always last. On race day I try to put a lot of time in it but I kind of put myself last, make sure everyone else is done right before me, which makes it tough and sucks in a sense. But, at the end of the day, we have to keep them happy as well. miserable, whether or not they want to admit it. For anyone who races for series points, it’s tough because there’s a lot on the line; you have to go to those races and perform. I kind of enjoy the fact that I can pick and choose where I want to run and what’s feasible or more realistic for my team, my family, and I. I’d be a fool to say I never wanted to do it, but at the end of the day, do I really want to?

DE: Over the course of your career, not just during Gateway, the press you’ve received has not always been positive; you have had your fair share of negative attention. What do you think should be the focus when people hear your name?

TC: At the end of the day, I’m good hearted, I work hard and have earned everything I’ve gotten, I own about 99% of my stuff. I’m a family man, and I run my own business, we do our own thing. I’m just trying to be me at the end of the day, and I think that’s what fans want to see. I think we just need to keep racing where it needs to be, I understand we have to keep things clean, but we have to keep the excitement and the emotion going, too. That’s my main focus - to not lose track of who I am or where I came from, while putting on a show for the fans on and off the track. I stick to my roots. You see guys that win these big money races, and they might not even crack a smile, but you get a good hard working guy that dedicates his whole life to it, just trying to succeed and maybe

DE: Would you ever think about running a national series or do you enjoy the blend of the chassis shop and regional racing?

TC: In one sense, I would love to just live on the road and go racing. But in another sense, I think those guys get pretty win a race, you put that guy in a spot to win a big money race and you see his excitement and emotions. People forget that racing is bigger than some of us think to an extent, racing got to where it’s at because at the end of the day it was realistic, it wasn’t a scripted show, it was raw emotion, so that’s what I try to do, while still staying true to who I am.

DE: For many drivers, an opportunity to race a truck in NASCAR is something you’d see listed on their bucket list, what would we see on your bucket list?

TC: I’d like to run a sprint car at least once, just to experience the feeling and rush you would get out of a sprint car. I think the speed, the weight, would just make it very intense, and I’d like to experience it just once. I’ve had a couple of opportunities back at the house, but it just wasn’t the right time. So, somewhere along the line, I may try to attempt to run at a sprint car show, rather it’s just that race or to test it out. I’d just like to be able to say I tried that.

DE: Aside from looking forward to the truck race on your 2022 schedule, is there anything else you’re excited about?

TC: I’m kind of a fly by night type of guy but the biggest thing would be the Flo Racing series. They have a lot of big races coming this year and I may try to attempt some of those. The Flo Racing series has a lot of big paying races that

Carpenter at Skyline Speedway in Ohio in victory lane for the Harvest 50 with wife Iesha and his five children.

a guy could hit, and not have to tour all over the place, but could bounce around and run for a big amount of money throughout the whole season. So, I may dab around and try to get to some of those bigger races.

DE: Let’s talk about where you came from, you are uniquely set apart from other drivers making the headlines right now, you aren’t on a national series, you don’t have name brand so and so as a sponsor to pay your way, or all the latest and greatest; what would you say to all of those drivers looking at you right now realizing that they could be in your shoes one day?

TC: The biggest thing is, if you want to race, and you want to see yourself as more of a backyard racer, don’t worry about the opinions of how people see you or what they think of your lifestyle. The bottom line is, whether they are talking good or bad about you, they’re worried about you [as competition], you’re in their head and they care about what you’re doing or they wouldn’t even acknowledge it. Leave all of that to them, go as hard as you can at what you love no matter if it’s racing or what it might be, set high expectations and go for it. It will be what it will be, you know, but let the good Lord make the choice.

TYLER CARPENTER

I just want to be a part of the drivers people talk about all of the time; I want to be on top of the dirt world or even racing as whole. I don’t care how people see me or what they think about me or how I did it. It just doesn’t matter to me, but if I can make it on my own, or with a little help, I’m going to go until I can’t go anymore. I know the struggles I’ve had to go through, times where I went to the races having to choose either a jug of fuel or a tire, worrying about if I don’t make the race, if I even have gas to make it home. I don’t talk about that stuff much but I don’t forget where I came from, how hard it was. I changed and built motors in my dad’s backyard when I first started, I hauled in junk metal to just try to get my motors back together. ~ Tyler Carpenter

Running an enduro car in 2016 at Hilltop Speedway.

Photo: Zach Yost

Photo: Zach Yost