LateModelStock.com - News

Monteith eagerly anticipating Bristol debut in Food City 250

Growing up within sight of Bristol Motor Speedway, 19-year-old Nate Monteith of Bluff City one day dreamed of racing on the high banks at the "World’s Fastest Half Mile." Monteith’s dreams will become reality on Aug. 24 when he competes in the Food City 250 NASCAR Busch Series event in front of the hometown crowd.

It was pretty much a given that Nate would one day race. His grandfather, Wayne Snow was involved in the sport during the 70s and 80s while his father, Don raced until the early 90s, mainly competing in the Late Model division at Lonesome Pine and New River Valley Speedways. Setting his sights on a possible career in auto racing at an early age, Monteith began racing go-karts when he was only five.

The third-generation racer opened eyes quickly in 1998, when at the age of 16 he moved up to race in the Limited Late Model division at Kingsport Speedway. In only his third start – he won the feature. And since that time, Monteith has recorded 30 Limited and Late Model Stock feature wins at tracks around the region, plus a victory with the American Racing Association Late Model touring series last year at Lonsome Pine Raceway in Coeburn, Va.

With an eye looking toward the future, Nate made his first ARCA start last year on the famed, high banks of Salem (Ind.) Speedway. And looking for additional seat-time on a superspeedway, he made his second ARCA start at the new Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in April and brought the car home to a top-25 finish.

Monteith made his Busch Series debut back on May 20, driving for Charlotte, N.C., car owner Jay Robinson in the Nazareth 200 at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway on the flat, one-mile triangular shaped track. Starting in 38th, he moved up to the 22nd position before overheating problems sidelined him 33 laps into the event.

Looking to control their own destiny, Monteith Racing recently bought two Busch Grand National cars, one from Andy Petree and the other from Jimmy Spencer. Plus, they plan to expand their racing operation and move into a more spacious, 4,000-square foot race shop around the middle of September.

Making the first start in his family-owned equipment, Monteith competed in the Busch event at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Aug. 4. He qualified his No. 84 King Pharmaceuticals Monte Carlo in 32nd, and at the finish he wound up 34th. While the finish was not what the talented young racer had hoped for, he did accomplish the goals he set before going to Indy. And that was making the starting field on qualifying time and getting some seat time.

"We had plenty of pressure on us when we went to Indianapolis, because having no provisional starting spots available to us we knew we had to qualify and earn our way into the race lineup on time," Monteith said from his race shop located near BMS, while busy at work preparing the car he will race in the upcoming Food City 250. "We had gone up there to test and found out we needed a little more motor. However, with the laps we ran we found out if we came back with more horsepower – we had a good car that would race well.

"We kind of got fooled when we got back up to Indy, because with all of the other cars at the track and plenty of rubber laid down we really didn’t pick up any on the times we were running from our practice session. But we made the field on our qualifying time, and that was the main thing – to make the race."

Looking to run all the laps he could and stay out of trouble, Monteith got lucky and caught a few breaks early on when cautions came out before he got lapped by the leaders. But the racing at IRP was very competitive, and just prior to 100 laps into the event Monteith finally went a lap down.

"With all of the cautions in the race, and after we had lost our lap, we just decided to restart from on back near the tail of the field," Monteith said. "But by doing that, the leaders were right back up on us before you knew it. We decided to start up towards the front after one of the cautions, on the inside with the other lapped cars, but that maybe was a mistake on our part.

"Jimmy Johnson got into my left rear quarter panel as we were racing off turn two, sending me spinning into first the outside wall, then back down across the track where we got hit by another car to end our night. The car really wasn’t hurt all that bad, mostly sheet metal and some suspension damage. But that wasn’t the car we are planning on running at Bristol."

Preparing for his Bristol debut, Monteith has attended both the Buck Baker and Fast Track driving schools at the half-mile. But he knows that competing on the high banks along with 42 other competitors will be a totally different experience.

"After testing last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, we honestly think we have a good setup so that we can come back and solidly make the starting lineup for the Food City 250," Monteith said. "Oh, our first laps on the track at practice, it’s kind of hard to explain the feeling that came over me. It was such a thrill to finally get to race at Bristol. And the speeds, you really get around the place in a hurry. There’s really no comparing racing at Bristol to racing my Late Model Stock.

"Racing before the hometown folks, sure, we’ve got some pressure on us. Plus, our sponsor King Pharmaceuticals, they are real excited about the race and will have a suite full of people cheering us on. To run 250 laps at Bristol, quite frankly – it will probably be a matter of survival. That’s what we’ve got to do, just run our own race and try to avoid trouble the entire night. If we can stay out of trouble, we can finish in the top-20. And if we can do that, we’ll be satisfied."

Monteith realizes a strong showing at BMS will possibly open the door for a full-time Busch Series run in 2002. Plus the opportunity to possibly run later this season at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway and at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park, but it all comes down to obtaining the needed primary and secondary sponsorships.

"Yeah, without a doubt that is where we want to be next year, racing full-time in the Busch Series," Monteith said. "I truly feel that with the right (financial) package in place, we can run and be competitive against the other teams. I owe so much thanks to King Pharmaceuticals for their tremendous support of my racing over the years, and I would love to take them along on a full-time run next year in the NASCAR Busch Series."

As Monteith gains more confidence with added seat-time in his Busch car, plus as he gains even more knowledge on fine-tuning the car’s chassis, look for him to become a major player in the near future in the NASCAR Busch Series. If hard work, desire, perseverance and determination play a role – those are all descriptions of Nate Monteith.