Race #4 @Mount Pleasant (ft. Jacob Sabaj)

Welcome back to victory lane!!!

Jacob Sabaj has struggled since his return to the Great Lakes lightning sprints. From blowing up motors, to chain problems, he has had it all. Even a last lap pass at Tri-City shunted Jacob out of the winner circle.

Until his best track Mount Pleasant. Sabaj was able to turn it up during the feature and proved why he is a very talented driver. Tune in to hear me and Jacob talk about the struggles in this season, including what his goals are for 2026.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

From the fast lane to the pit lane, we got you covered for all things racing, where every lap is a chance to make history. With some of the talents you may know, and some trying to make a name. This is Forth and Rect. And I'm your host, Matthew Riegert. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the next episode of Fourth and Rect. I'm your host, Matthew Riegert. Uh, we are back here with uh episode, I believe, five, post-Mount Pleasant Speedway. We get the third different winner this season, and it's a name you've heard on this podcast well before. He's been on a couple times. Uh, the driver in the digitrace, Red Fox Reality, Seal Trucking and Excavating, Walter's Painting, Team No Limit, Carts and Parts, Rank and Speed Designs, TNT Roadside. Welcome home, assisted a living, number 21. Welcome to the podcast, Jacob Shabai. Hey, thanks for having me, Matt. Hey, uh, you're always welcome on. I will tell you that. You are always welcome on. I feel like I've had some of the longest episodes with you on the Hero the Podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Well, it's because we like chit-chatting.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Yeah. It's a good thing and a bad thing. I'm just quite. It's not a bad thing. It's a great thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

No, it's never a bad thing. Communication is good.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Yes, for sure. For sure. Well, welcome back on the podcast. Uh, I think it was uh a couple weeks ago that you were on. Might have been a couple months ago. I don't remember. It's been a minute.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Yeah, it was a minute, but not too long. But I tell you what, it feels really good to be back on for a uh positive note.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Um it's been it's been a dry spell.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Yeah, I will tell you, I interviewed uh Grayson Thompson last week, and um we did talk about the finish and how everything went with there, and you know, I guarantee you guys are very disappointed with how Tri-City went. Um, first off, how you guys feeling uh four races in?

SPEAKER_01 2:04

I mean it's we feel good now, right? I mean, we just came off of a good weekend. Um but dude, it's been it's been a battle for the entire year. I mean, from building the car in the off season was I mean, it would that's what led to us missing the first race. It was a huge struggle. Um from the many different avenues of time, uh the parts we were getting were wrong. We'd had to get we would get some parts that would be damaged, send them back. It was just like it seemed like nothing was going right. So um it just kept setting us back, setting us back, and then obviously everybody well knows now. We we had formed a three-car team this year, and um two of the cars we essentially my car we literally built from the ground up, Grayson's car. Um we got it, we bought it on during the off season and had you know, it was essentially a roller, but we took everything off of it and redid it, made it ours. Um so like we had a lot of work into both of those cars, and just yeah, it was a tremendous struggle. So we finally got them done first night. We take the car out. We blow the motor in 30 seconds on the track. So it's like I don't even think it was 30 seconds. I we we we pulled out on a crystal, made it on the front stretch into turn one and grenaded the motor. So like it was just a never-ending onset of problems. So it was very, very frustrating. But um yeah, I don't know. We it's nothing you ever give up on, so we just kept pouncing away and figured out where we went wrong, and uh now I think we got you know a few uh really solid pieces under us. So uh the confidence in the equipment, which is key, is definitely back. So, you know, that's we're very, very close to where we want to be. We still have kinks to work out, but we're we are solid.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

That's good. You guys kind of ran into a problem of like if it could happen, it happened during the uh their offseason. But yeah, silver bullet, uh, it was a not a decision that you guys wanted to made, but a decision that had to be made of pulling um one of the cars. Because I know that you didn't have um yeah, two of the cars. I thought you had at least one of them close to ready.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yes, we we had we were busting, but at that time we pretty much had everything we needed. And we I mean the night before it was I mean two, three in the morning, whatever it was. We put so many hours into the thing to try to get it ready, but it just got to a point where we decided um if if we rush this thing, take it to the track, and then something bad happens because we rushed and couldn't double check. It just became a safety standpoint at that thing, or at that time, and we don't ever want to see anybody get hurt, you know, ourselves. And like we don't we don't for one, we don't want to junk a car up over us rushing, we don't want to get hurt over us rushing or put any of the other guys out there in jeopardy of something goes wrong, we junk somebody else's car. Um, you know, not in a racing incident, but just off of pure just rushing the car. So just the right move, which was a hard move because it obviously our whole goal this year was we wanted to run for the championship, and then that that put a huge damper in it, but just not worth, you know, just not worth hurting somebody over it. That was really the ultimate deciding factor.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah, for sure. And you you talk about the run for the championship, and unfortunately, I think uh you very much will know that it might be out of reach. Um, me and a couple other guys have been talking about it that like in order to be in the run for the championship, you have to stay within like a hundred points. Um, because like the top guys like Arley, Justin, Bill, Chad Listerman, and mean even Dalton um running up top. I mean, these guys are the same couple guys that keep running up front, right? And then, you know, you had you out front at Tri-City, and then you had you pulling off the win at Mount Pleasant, but then you know, you have to be so close in points this season because of how the much the competition has definitely upped this year, you know what I'm saying? And I know it was a business decision to pull the two cars from Silver Bullet, but can you imagine if you ran the two cars and then was out three more races after that trying to fix them?

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Yeah, well, and that's what that's what was so tough about the crystal race. Uh, I mean, that was a brand new sealed Hud Horton motor that um, which nobody did anything wrong, it was just you know, you get 10 motors, one of them are bad. We happen to get a bad one, and who knows what happened, but at the end of the day, it happened, right? So, like we were in that decision we made to pull out a silver bullet, it was okay, we're gonna pull the these cars from silver bullet, but the remainder of the year we gotta grind, like we gotta put the car in position and do with it what we have to do with it to to be up front every week for the rest of the year. Because mission just missing one race, you know, is catastrophic, let alone two. That's what cost me the championship two years ago was blowing up on a double header weekend. And so blowing up in qualifying at Crystal, that was like the realization that like, okay. What let's just take this year when it we still want to win. I mean, we want to win every time we hit the track. We I would love to win the rest the I would love to win out the rest of the year. Um extremely tough field this year, and we have a brand new team that were uh there's a lot of moving parts, so you know it's a good year to at least get that uh meshing and and flowing good. So whatever the program looks like next year, we'll come into it full force, and that's kind of what we're hoping for. And uh, I mean, yeah, we're just gonna see how the rest of the year goes, but we're still gonna try to still try to put 21 up front every night, you know.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

Yeah, for sure. And I will tell you, um, I don't know if you're a big NASCAR fan. Uh, I know you posted uh just recently about unfortunately the death of Kyle Bush. Um, but you remember when the team 23 XI started? They were a brand new team, and they didn't they had to work out some kinks, right? They couldn't fight for the championship, but they definitely put their cars up front, and then like year after year after year, they got their team to like this year where Tyler Edic is just pants in the field, you know what I'm saying? Like yeah, winning every show. Yeah, seriously. So, like, I mean, you guys start out and you guys know you want to be going to victory lane every single weekend, but like bigger picture, right? Maybe next year, maybe the year after or that, maybe you can have all top three of you guys up in the top ten points.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Um for right, yeah, and it's uh it it's and that's just it, too. Like, like I said, we we don't know what the ultimate picture looks like going into the following years. It's just that's so hard to tell this early yet in this year. But the one I guess the one nice thing about that is it did it takes the pressure off of having to run for the championship from the standpoint of let's show up, let's have fun, let's put fast cars on the track, let's still go win these races, but let's also help get Grayson developed, get him up to speed so all three of our cars every night can be top five cars or or a contender for a win every night. Like that's the ultimate goal. And um, one thing I can say is with Grayson's background and um where we've already gotten him tremendously more comfortable in the car than he was his first time out. Um now we gotta get the car to him to his comfort level. Um so it's like now we have the year to focus on developing the whole team, which I think is a pretty cool thing.

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Sorry, I've been uh running through a sickness rate lately, and it's just a cough that uh continues to uh continues to ail me. Uh, but yeah, you know, you don't know what the next year's is gonna look like, but I like how you put that, you know, you take the pressure off of yourself, and I know we step in and everybody wants to win the championship. You know, a Dalton Pipcross doesn't step into the season and be like, eh, let's run, let's run top five all year. No, he's consistently changing. He's got Mike, he's got Hunter in the pits, he's got his mom in the pits, everybody in the pits, just to help him out to go and be that much faster. I mean, everybody's going, walking into every single race, wanting to go to Victory Lane. So I know you guys mentioned that, you know, it takes the pressure off a little bit, you guys can have a little bit more fun, but it's also a learning experience for you guys where you can take the time, you can learn. These are brand new cars, at least for you said you built yours from the bottom up, and then you bought Grace.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Yeah, yeah, and they're not brand new, but they're they're uh new to you. Correct, new to us, and we did a full it's the first time I've ever done a full ground up essentially uh rebuild on a car. I mean, we literally tore it down to a bear chassis and from the bottom to the top put all brand new stuff on it. Um and it's people don't realize it's a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of effort because everything is I mean, just just from the body panels, you get the body panels, nothing fits right. You have an hour and a half into fitting one hood panel, and just to get it to look halfway decent to fit and function the way you want it to, like, and that's one panel, and I couldn't even tell you how many panels are on the car, right? So that takes hours and hours and hours in itself. So yeah, it was a it was a heck of an experience to do that.

SPEAKER_00 13:17

Yeah, for sure. And then you guys are like I said, building your team up and going through the motions and trying to work through the kinks, and you know, you're not have the pressure of fighting for the championship, but you can take the pressure of fighting for the championship off and then focus on going to victory lane every single weekend. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yeah, and and I think I think that did help. Like, because I guess maybe some some maybe some people don't realize, but they're when your when your ultimate goal is to win the championship, and that's what you're doing it for, there is that extra added, uh, I guess I would say pressure. There's that added yeah, that added pressure week in and week out. Like, I have to do good. I can't miss this race. I can't mess up in qualifying, I can't mess up in the heat race. And that was like, you know, that that takes you back to just this this win at Mount Pleasant. Um, we were chasing the car all night long. It was all over the place. Like we had a fast car, but we never had it right where we wanted it, right? So qualifying, I think we qualified fourth. That's not where we want to qualify. I mean, it it's decent, but that's still not what we want. And then we go into the heat race, took everything I had just to get the car into the transfer, finishing third. I'm like, oh my god. So from qualifying to the heat, we went backwards and then you know, changed it again, put a whole different setup in it. And we finally got it to click in the feature, but it's just like I don't know, it's when you're doing it for a championship, you you you're like almost afraid to go to veer off from things you're used to doing because it's like, okay, I want on this setup. No, I'm not gonna change it. I don't want to touch it because this is what did it for me last time. When from track to track, week in and week out, the weather changes, the track condition changes, like it's not gonna work every time. So it's kind of cool to to not have that pressure to be able to experiment more, which is only gonna bring us twice the speed. And we're very close to being faster than we've ever been in a car right now.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Yeah, for sure. And I will tell you uh you mentioned qualifying. Uh LCA Motorsports went 3, 4, 5 in qualifying. So just to let you know that. And you had the fastest qualifying level for LCA with a 1362 nine. Uh Grayson had a 13667. Uh, he was actually on top for I think he was like one of the first people out, but he was on top for a little bit. Um, so that was that was good to see Grayson and you you talk about Grayson, how you guys are trying to help him out and help him do the best he can. I seen like 30 guys in your pit area, and I'm like, how many there's a lot of people helping Grayson out. I don't know if that's family, friends, but there was you had a lot of people over there in the pits, I will tell you that.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Yeah, so bringing them on, that was, I mean, like like uh I think we've talked about before, he's uh I mean relatively new from the standpoint of he's been racing go-karts for what I I can't remember what he told you, four years, something like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Um but he's the the people around him, the support system he has, um the the natural talent that Kid has is second to none to where he picked up on things fast and races go-karts at a national level, essentially, and uh wins like he's not a slouch, and that's that's what really was our biggest decision. I have a very close personal relationship with his dad. His dad, AJ, is actually who got me into racing years ago. Um and I always like to say it like without AJ, AJ's who hooked me up with Larry, who is who I have drove for for years prior to the LCA merge. And um, yeah, like those guys are great, they're so knowledgeable in racing, and uh it's the crazy thing is all those people you see, yeah, a handful of them are family. A lot of people are just people that want to be there to help build and develop him and this team and see these cars win. Like, it's just a racing group of friends and family that just genuinely love to do this. So that's a huge added plus to have people like that that actually, you know, want to be around and and genuinely want to help because that does nothing but help, I mean, soar somebody's career.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

Yeah, for sure. I don't know. It just kind of gave me the uh you ever been in like the NASCAR cup garage? You see like a bunch of people huddled around like the like one of the cup cards. I'm kind of remembered, but I've seen it. It kind of reminded me of that, you know what I'm saying? Like in I don't know, I like seeing like wow, I'm blanking out here. Like when our series relates to the cup series, you know what I'm saying? Because I'm a huge NASCAR fan. Like, I don't I don't know if you know that. I eat, sleep, and breathe NASCAR. Um, yep. So like to see like a bunch of people in the pit area, to see like a bunch of people in the stands, to see the cars parked out, to see the you know, the campers at Crystal Motor Speedway gives me like that NASCAR type feel, you know what I'm saying? So I I thought that was really cool with how many people you guys had over in the pit area, like it brings me back, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 19:00

Yeah, no, and it is a cool thing to uh I mean to be able to be to be a part of it on my end of it as a driver. Um it's very cool to experience and just see the support of everybody and have that many hands on board to that's something I'm not used to because we've always really been a one-man show. I mean, I've always drove for Larry. Larry's always funded my stuff, but then the rest was on me wrenching, getting car to and from the track, uh, at the track, making every change, putting the fuel in, this and that, which um most guys do, but to be able to experience like the I guess the racing world and the scene from the standpoint we get to now, it really truthfully is amazing, actually.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Yeah, for sure. For sure. Man, I don't know. I that was uh I will tell you, I'm just flashing back to the race. It was a great race. Um I looked at the lap times. Uh Bill had a uh three tenths faster lap time than everybody in the entire field, and he got down a lap three. I thought that was like ridiculous.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Yeah, so I mean, anybody who was there to watch the race knows without a doubt that was Bill's race. Like that was Bill was destined to win that thing, and um thank God for me everything played out the way it did. Um I towards the end, I guess I don't really know the laps count how many laps were left, but uh I got around Arlie, got into second after that restart on lap two or three, and um I just knew at that point, like I have got to run my best, most consistent laps, and just try to find speed anywhere on that track, which the track was phenomenal. I just had to find the speed, and I could tell I slowly started clicking times off, and I would gain a little bit, gain a little bit, gain a little bit, and then I started changing my line, throwing a slider line in three and four, and then I actually found my mouse speed up top in one and two, which um I think that's the first time ever in a lightning sprint where I've found actually more speed up top than I have down at the tires, so that was cool. Um, anyways, once I found that high line, it just happened to work out that when I finally caught up to Bill, uh, we were coming into some heavier lap traffic, and he went down low and got caught up by those guys while I was running the high groove that I found, and just by the grace of God, you know, he Got caught up by the cars. I got around them up top super clean and fast, and then I was able to put a gap on them and um you know take it from there. But but up to that point, Matt, I was seriously like, I guess I'm a second place car tonight because Bill was so incredibly fast.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

It was it was it was cool to see almost like it was uh it was for Bill. Uh I will tell you I joked with you after the race and I was like, man, I was supposed to have Bill on the podcast. Come on, man. Yeah, uh because like, dude, I you guys, I I kept looking at lap times, right? We made it through like halfway through the race, and I'm like looking down and it's like 0.7, and I'm like, okay, cool. Next lap at 0.78. And I'm like, okay, so Bill's inching in front, and then it's 0.75, and I'm like, nothing's changing here. Like, what is what's gonna be the difference, you know, to go into victory lane, and then you guys got through one piece of lap traffic, and then like it was point down to 0.6, and I was like, okay, cool. So everybody's managing times, everybody's managing the gaps, though three cars packed in there, and I'm like, okay, so now they jump into one, and then you mention, right, you've been finding stuff on the high side, Bill goes down low, and you just gone outside the lane. You made it work, and then as soon as you got past you got past all those three lap cars, that lap, uh, I think Bill was held up by Grayson Thompson and uh Matt Coggley uh for like two or three more laps after, and then he finally got by. And I what was the ending timing? Uh I'm gonna look. Oh, yeah, everything's all messed up. I forgot. Um man, I don't I don't know. It was a great race, but yeah, I will say, um, I don't know what would have changed if that first caution didn't wave. But uh seriously, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 24:02

Yeah, it's so hard to say, right? I mean um the one thing that I've always tried to be good at was to be good in lap cars because that I mean as seen there, not that Bill isn't good, and it it that was just a totally just those cars were at the right place for me at the right time, is what that was. But in certain instances, um there has been drivers that have lost races due to not being able to get through lap cars, and so I've always made that a pretty big staple in my racing career is to like when you have to make a move, you make the move now. You get by the cars, you're the faster car, it's your job to get around them. Like it's some people go around and and tell the lays, oh, you were in my way, you held me up. When I don't see it that way, I see it as the faster guy has to get around him, it's his job, right? So I've always tried to be very like visual of lap cars coming up on him, making my mind up, and just going for it. And uh, I think that's helped me a lot in lap traffic. I won a race um two years ago at Merritt. That race I came back from, I think it started like 13th or 14th, and I came back and won that one. That was the same thing, just picked, picked away, picked away, picked away. Caution came out at the right time when I got up to fifth, picked more away, picked more away. Um, then the leader got caught up in lap cars, and I was able to sneak under them and then led the last couple laps and won. So it's like uh there's parts of your racecraft that you know, if you work on it, it ends up helping you out like it did. But to to follow um a veteran in a skill level like Bill on the track, it's like something if it's open air, open, clean air the rest of the race, you know you have no shot because somebody like Bill is so consistent and really makes probably the most minimum amount of errors of anybody on the track, and so it's like you know, something's gotta happen, and I guess that was just my saving grace that night.

SPEAKER_00 26:21

Yeah, for sure. I just looked at um the traditional sprint announcer, I had a conversation with that about it with him for about an hour and a half, and he mentioned to me the third turn. So it has all the bunch of lightning sprint stats. So for all the drivers listening and you kind of wanted to look back and look at your stats, and you don't have MyRace premium, Myrace Pass Premium, there's what's called the third turn.com. And then you can search in your name and it'll give you a bunch of stats. Uh Jacob, you won your 11th feature win in your 30th start. Um Bill Dunham with just the Great Lakes Lightning Sprints is on his 68th start. So when you mention how much he's been racing, right, this doesn't really go back further before then. But like you talk about like the veteran knowledge of Bill Dunham and how I'm just gonna say it, how old he is, how long he's been racing for, you know, he's gonna take yes a little bit more time getting through the lap cars, but he'll know, you know what I'm saying? When he gets by, he'll know.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

So, yeah, and like I said, him getting caught up in those cars was nothing other than just he he committed to the bottom coming into one, and then coming out of two, there was the lap cars. I was so committed to the top already coming into one that when they held him up, I just had such a big run off the top. And so, like, I guess to say that Bill might be slower in lap cars, I don't know that that's necessarily a fair statement because he's probably not. That was just it, that was just a situational thing that just happened to be there for me. Because a guy like that knows every inch of his car, the feeling of everything, how to get through cars, buy cars, how long, how wide his car is like a guy like that, a lap car nine times out of ten isn't gonna mess up. But when you're coming out of a turn, and then there's two or three of them wedged up right there, it's like you can't just go from the bottom and shoot all the way to the top, not knowing what's going on up there. And uh, you know, it's just I just got lucky, really, is what it was.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Yeah, for sure. For sure. And and especially with the driver in second place, right? You're trying to catch the guy in first, so right, you're not gonna go where Bill is, right? So you're you know, Bill's making speed, but you need to like find something better. You know, you're not gonna catch him running the same lap time, you're not gonna be catching them running in the same spot, you know. I'm saying, so you need to like move around, and with you, you know, you found the top side, you know, this finally the started to work, and then you hit the lap traffic where the top side was the only way to work, and you got it done.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

So exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

Crazy, dude.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

But I tell you what, it was fun. Like in the car when that pass went down, I was like, Okay, wow, this is paying off running up here, so we're gonna keep doing our thing, and then yeah, to to finally break, to finally break the bad luck streak we've been on. Like, I made a post on Facebook, and I meant it. Like that, that win right there, which at the end of the day might mean nothing, was probably like one of my like I needed that win. That that helped boot me back up, and that that really uh that was probably one of my more favorite wins, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_00 30:06

Yeah, I will say the last victory you had was at Crystal Motor Speedway, and um before that you had four race wins in a row and then went to Silver Bullet and finished second. Um, we all know how that race went. And then moved on up and then came back. So welcome back, Jacob, to the Great Lakes Lightning Sprints full time. And I'm I'm kind of glad that you were able to get that victory lane. This is the like I said, the third different victor in four different races. And what like I said, Noah mentioned to me, he's like, So are you liking the action that you've been having this season? I was like, Yeah, you get to call more than one guy going to victory lane.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Um yeah, and like I've heard guys say it before, and like it's definitely a bummer our car count isn't. I mean, the year that I had ran uh two years ago, it was like uh a guaranteed 18 to 25 cars every night, you know, just depending. I I mean I even remember the one night we ran the B main at Crystal. Um, so for the car count to take the hit, that really is a bummer. But um, you know, even last year when we were off running that the D2 midget, um everybody was saying, like, dude, this group has gotten so much faster. The guys that were slow, the guys that were the back of the field runners are like competing for top 10, top fives, or whatever it might be, and then the guys who were uh you know always your top five are just that much faster and that much more competitive. And I came and watched a couple races, and like everybody looks fast, but it's it's hard to tell, right? But then this year, um with the LCA cars, the JWR cars, the just the all the other guys, your bills, um everybody really, the whole entire group seems to have increased, like just their talent level has gone up. So it's that year I won those uh nine shows, I believe it was, ten shows, I think it was nine. It was nine to win now, yeah, nine. So to to win now, it's it's a lot more difficult. And like I think it makes it you feel the value in it more, you're hard working, like it really feels like like you're not just gonna out equipment somebody. You're this year, you have to keep your stuff nice, you have to keep your maintenance program good, you gotta put your hours into your car, but then you also have to show up and be a driver to win a race. You're not just gonna show up with nice stuff and win, and that's what makes it fun. I mean, you're competing with Arlie, who just broke a track record, and Justin, and it's like you're not gonna just show up and walk all over them, you've got to prepare your stuff and you've got to put the tie in. And I think that's what makes this year like way more special.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Yeah, for sure. It it is, and I talked about this with Justin and Arlie before the start of this season, and it was like in order to go to Victory Lane, you have to be the best of the best. You know what I'm saying? You have to outsmart everybody at the track, it's not gonna happen, it's not gonna you're not gonna walk in there and be like, okay, yeah, I'm gonna win it. No, you can't, you know, because this year is like a lot different, and the competition has definitely has shown up because like now we say like 2023, there's like three or four guys who go to Victory Lane. Now there's like six or seven guys that go to victory lane, and I hate to use that six, seven, but like I'm serious, there's definitely like six or seven guys that go to victory lane, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:46

You know, there's no doubt about it. Any given time, too. Like, like I said, the situation I was in at Mount Pleasant. If another guy in line is in that same situation, it's all about having yourself in position. And and even if you're not winning the race to to keep your car as close to the front as you can to to when an error happens or when something like that happens, you're there to capitalize on it. And like you were saying, that group of guys, when you're when your front group of cars is such a similar speed, it's just like you're waiting on somebody to mess up, or you're waiting on that somebody to search around on the track. And I feel I feel with the competition, um the uh level of cars we have on the track now, it I mean, in my mind, it makes for great racing, right? Like it's hard to tell from the spectator standpoint what the whole show actually looks like, but behind the wheel in the car, it feels like you're actually working for something. It feels like we're putting on a good show, and that's really what it's all about.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

Yeah, for sure. And when you mentioned like the front runner guys, like you know, you never know when you could go into turn three and four and break a chain, and you know, somebody else goes. No, I'm just playing.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

Well, but that's exactly right. I mean that tri-city race.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

No, I just I had to poke funny. Yeah, I haven't been able to poke funny. I know this season.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

But that does that that exactly relates to what I'm saying, right? I was very confident I had the best car on the property during that race. Like it felt fast, it was hooked up, I led the whole race. Uh well, except the first two laps, and then literally checkered flags flying, coming into three, my chain snaps, and there goes Arlie for the win. But that's what I'm talking about. Arlie was in the position to make something happen. I mean it's just if he was any further back, I probably could have stayed and tried to coast across for the win. But I mean, and that wasn't gonna happen, but I'm just saying, like, yeah, you just gotta you gotta be there to make something happen when opportunity shows itself. Now I know he said I know he said he didn't like win in that way, but like that was a great win. He was a fast car, like it was a well-deserved. It's unfortunate for me, but it is what it is. We bounced back and we got one too now.

SPEAKER_00 36:19

Yeah, and no offense, sometimes this year that might be how you go to victory lane because like the competition, you well, like we said, is so tough, you know what I'm saying? And you have to be on your game. So who's gonna be on their game week in and week out? Last week it was Mr. Jacob Shabai. So congratulations uh to you guys. And first of all, let me tell you what, I don't know what kind of alcohol there's a giving you for your fuel at Mount Pleasant, but you have never finished outside a podium at all.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

Yeah, no, I uh that place has been very good to me. And uh my my rookie year, going back to my rookie year, 2023, I believe.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

Uh finished first, second, and third there.

SPEAKER_01 37:09

Yeah, I got my first win there. I got nothing but podiums. I was like, that's what kick-started my career essentially. Like, holy crap, we can actually do this, was that place, and then uh and even going back to that win, that was a situational thing. I was chasing Brendan the whole time when I was gaining on him, gaining on him. Then he got in the wreck, and next thing you know, I win a race. I'm like, holy smokes! So that was yeah, super cool deal. I really like that place. Um, yeah, and like you said, finishing in the podium. I guess anywhere you go is awesome, but to do it to never be off of the podium at a certain track, I guess, is a pretty cool thing.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Yeah, for sure. Uh, I will tell you, um I mentioned the never being off a podium. Uh I looked at the third turn just to see uh everybody's stats. Um I I I hate to bring up a fellow competitor, but I gotta tell you this. This kind of shocked me. Let me let me pull it up here. I think you know who I'm gonna talk about.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

You what?

SPEAKER_00 38:15

I thought I said I think you know who I'm gonna talk about.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

I am well aware.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

So um from 2022 or 2023 to now. No, I'm just kidding. Out of uh since Justin started racing with the Great Likes Lightning Sprints, he has four finishes outside of the top ten in his entire lightning sprint career. He has four finishes outside of the top ten.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

Yeah, I mean, and that's ultimately what wins championships. Show up every night and put a car in the top five, and you put yourself in a position, and they have a hell of a program. They've got nice equipment, and they've put Justin said it before, I've heard him say it. Many other guys have said it. You have your group of guys that you can tell who puts the effort in and who doesn't put the effort in. And it you can tell, and and they like I said, they have hands down a top-tier program, and they put the hours and the time into it, and that's that's the reward you get, you know, you reap what you sow, and you get I can't stress it enough to any new guys coming in or or guys that are not putting the time into it, or whatever it might be, like that's that's why we've had so much success too, is just races are one off of the track. I mean, you have to be in the shop, you've got to be putting the time in. And uh and it shows, I mean, that that stat right there for Justin, it's like that's a testament to the effort they put into their program. And um, hopefully new guys coming in and and guys needing the help can can see what it takes, you know, can look at something like that or or hear you say that in this podcast and go, okay, that's I need to step it up if I want to be up front, if I want to win. And I can't. I I know guys personally that might not put the exact time in that they need to, and you know, when you're not putting the time in, you're not gonna catch things that might break. And it that's bit me in the butt too. I've tried to cut corners and the when I that when that does happen, we have problems. And uh it's you know, I guess one thing to to say that is it just shows the effort they put into their program that Justin does, and I mean that's a great, great stat to have.

SPEAKER_00 40:55

Yeah, for sure. Now I got a question looking at here the third turn. It said you raced for the Midwest Mini Sprint Association. Do you do you remember that?

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Oh, the MMSA, yeah. I went and ran down with their, but we had car problems the whole time, so that's not a good stat to look at.

SPEAKER_00 41:12

I was about to say, it doesn't even say you have a start there.

SPEAKER_01 41:16

No, we ended up breaking. Um we didn't break, but we I torsion, I can't remember exactly what it was. I think a torsion stop ended up flying off, something goofy. And uh we didn't make it out of the B main. That was my rookie year. I went and raced with those guys down at Hobstot. Um, I remember that Jerry Napier was there with you, wasn't he? Correct. Very difficult, difficult place to run. Uh that's an awesome group, too. I actually think we're hoping, I don't know what our full schedule necessarily looks like. If we have any off time, a week or two, if we do, uh, we've we've tossed the idea around of actually going and running a few shows with those guys if possible.

SPEAKER_00 42:07

I totally forgot about that. I was wondering. I was wondering what that is, because it says you got zero starts, um, but it does put you at point standings at 66th. So you guys did pretty good there, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:20

When we went and ran with them?

SPEAKER_00 42:22

Yeah. No. No.

SPEAKER_01 42:24

Not good. Didn't even make like I said, we broke into B main and that was that.

SPEAKER_00 42:28

But hey, you finished 66th in points.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

Yeah, we'll take it.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Right?

SPEAKER_01 42:35

That was like my whole last year, my whole midget season. That was uh that was a big wash too.

SPEAKER_00 42:43

Yeah, you got one top ten and three starts.

SPEAKER_01 42:46

Yeah, it was again nothing but car problems the whole year. That that was a tough year to get through, even wanting to continue racing after that. But that's why we're back, uh, to bring the fun back into it and run with a good group of guys and a good series, so we couldn't be happier.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

Well, thank you. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 43:13

Yep. Yeah, we have the best announcer in the nation.

SPEAKER_00 43:18

No, that's too far.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

Okay, well, you should talk yourself up a little better.

SPEAKER_00 43:23

Well, I will say I'm pretty good. I wouldn't say the best announcer in the nation. Uh, I do know Dave Moody. So I have you ever heard Dave Moody announce?

SPEAKER_01 43:34

I I guess I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 43:36

Dude, listen, when do they go back? So they go to Daytona, they go to the Coke 400 at the end of the year for the the close out of the regular season. Listen to the Motor Racing Network on the NASCAR app, and then just listen to Dave Moody's calls. Like you'll just be blown away. But how did you come up with that? Do you remember the words that I had to say?

SPEAKER_01 43:58

I was just gonna say, you say how. Did you come up with that? But you managed to come up with some pretty wild stuff with that list.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Well, I will tell you. So come on, a couple of them were easy. A couple of them were gimme's.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

Hyper that I I gave you, I gave you, I gave you Donkey Kong. That was a gimme.

SPEAKER_00 44:15

That was a gimme. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 44:19

It's on like Donkey Kong. That's a gimme.

SPEAKER_01 44:22

Okay. The um I know Jerry, I know Jerry had a good one for you, if I remember right.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

He did. Uh, but I thought on paper his was the hardest, but it was not. Uh Baby Rebecca Ribs was actually the hardest. And me and like Arlie talked about it for like weeks after. Like every time I have ribs, I send a picture to Arlie, and I'm maybe like, hey, I'm celebrating that win for you.

SPEAKER_01 44:43

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 44:44

So that's awesome. No, it is good. Um what was I gonna say? But Noah, you know the word Noah that I had? The only reason why I came up with that is because I actually stole the idea from Dave Moody. Because when I went to the 2023 Daytona 500, right, you know how Daytona, when they first start racing out at the beginning of the year, they're just two by two, right? Single file, two by two. Yeah, he said two by two Noah's Ark formation. I'm like, oh, perfect, you know.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 45:17

Yeah, so I actually stole that one from Dave, but like he literally comes up with the craziest stuff. I I just I don't even I can't.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

It's a talent, it really is. It is a special talent.

SPEAKER_00 45:29

It is now I got a question. Are you ready for your kryptonite this weekend?

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Silver bullet?

SPEAKER_00 45:38

I yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:41

Yeah, no, I uh we're I mean we're coming into uh I mean as much confidence as I always have, right? I mean, we have a car, we've got an amazing team, uh, a good group of guys, so it's like I the track itself. I I don't hate the track. I've won there before. I know what you have to do to win. Um as long as we can hit our setup and hit our marks, like yeah, I I don't I I'm very confident that we're gonna uh unload a front-running car for sure.

SPEAKER_00 46:17

Yeah, for sure. I definitely think you guys, well, the only reason why I say is your kryptonite because that was the one race that you guys needed to win in order to break the record. Uh, but you still tied the record back in 24. So especially with your sophomore season, I wouldn't be hanging your head too low. Um yeah, seriously. Can you imagine if like Ty Gibbs and then ASCAR Cup series went from like zero wins to like the next year after fighting for the championship?

SPEAKER_01 46:47

Hey, it takes some guys many, many, many years to do it, and I am very blessed to have just to have everybody around me, the equipment I have, uh, just yeah, to be able to do that my second year. I mean, I'll never hang my my head on it. Like that's a very I'm very proud of that. Uh it's just I guess the bummer thing is, right? You have nothing to show for it. Nobody nobody knows my name for tying a record. Tying a record doesn't put you in a book. It it's so it's like, yeah, that part bums me out. But like for my own personal goals and accomplishments, like hanging your head on that would be foolish. That was incredible to be able to do that. My second time ever in a car, win nine shows.

SPEAKER_00 47:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:37

Or my second year, I should say, in a car.

SPEAKER_00 47:40

Seriously. Well, I'm excited for it. Uh, definitely am. It's a Saturday race, so I can enjoy my Friday uh with my wife. So seriously. Yeah, heck yeah. I'm excited for that, but um does not make Sunday mornings any easier.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

I was no, that's a long trip for you.

SPEAKER_00 48:00

Yeah, I like I said, I wish they were a lot closer, but nope, they're not.

SPEAKER_01 48:06

Yeah, and then uh the other cool thing is like another new track for Grayson. Not uh I guess when I say new track, it's not a new track. He he used to race flat track motorcycles when you uh interviewed him. He he he told you he raced dirt bikes. That's what he was talking about. He used to flat track all the race dirt bikes.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

Yeah, his uh um me and his dad got into a conversation and he sent me like pictures of him racing a motorbike, and I'm like, what? There's no way.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:39

Like two years old and then a motorbike, and he had like a trophy at like three, and I'm like, there's no way.

SPEAKER_01 48:45

Yeah, he's a he's a uh he's got a God-given talent, man, and that's why we're putting time into him. And uh first time to Silver Bullet in a sprint car, so that's gonna be very exciting to see how he handles that. I know uh Mount Pleasant did not go the way he wanted it to go, but again, as well as I was chasing my own car all night, him being a rookie, um he was also chasing that. When you're rookie, it's really hard to communicate what the car feels like it's doing, and then it's hard for it's hard when when they do tell you what they need, it's hard to know if it's a car problem or if it's a driver problem, or because for these cars to to drive correctly and to feel good, you have to drive them extremely hard. And uh, so it's always hard to tell, but yeah, another week of building for them. And I mean, I would love I I mean, you can mark my words, I'll sign the dotted line and stamp it now. That kid will be a top five car by the end of the year, I would guarantee it. But um, we just gotta keep working and pecking away at it and just get him more comfortable in the car. And yeah, I'm excited to see how he does it. I think that's gonna be really good track for him, a little bull ring. It's uh the one thing about Silver Bullet is it's small and it brings some pretty good wheel-to-wheel action, so it'll be a great spot for him to learn close, close tight sprint car racing.

SPEAKER_00 50:24

Yeah, for sure. Definitely will be a great show. Um tune in. I'm just kidding. You can't really tune in, unfortunately. But it's gonna be great. Oh, I wish there was a way. Uh there will be a way, August 14th. We got a mail stream with Super Sprints.

SPEAKER_01 50:44

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 50:46

So we'll be able to catch races from there, and hopefully when we double up with Super Sprints again, we'll get there. But I did hear rumor, but I don't know if I'm allowed to say it. But yeah, it's gonna be uh it's gonna be a great season and excited for uh Silver Bullet for sure.

SPEAKER_01 51:05

I guess that rumor you can't say, you can probably tell me after the podcast, then right.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 51:14

But you probably already know it. I don't know if it's necessarily a rumor, but if it gets out that I've said something and people start questioning about it, I don't want to be the guy that's you don't want to be the guy, I get it. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:28

I get it.

SPEAKER_00 51:29

Yes, sir. But anyways, I appreciate you guys listening to the podcast. Jake, I appreciate you taking the time. Um, I'm gonna get to bed.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

As always, like you said at the beginning, another long one.

SPEAKER_00 51:44

Yeah, for sure. Definitely. Share it away, brother. Just kidding.

SPEAKER_01 51:51

For real.

SPEAKER_00 51:52

I know I really appreciate uh LCA Motorsports. Uh, shout out to LCA Motorsports, Pipgrass Racing, Clayton Pipgrass, just all the people that have been sharing my podcast around, and it's definitely helps out, helps me out, helps uh you guys out because um it's a way to get your guys' name out there uh too. I mean, even though you're just interviewing uh from some guy based out of Ledgrid, Connecticut. I mean, yeah. Hopefully it's working.

SPEAKER_01 52:18

That doesn't mean that doesn't that doesn't mean anything.

SPEAKER_00 52:23

I know. Sorry, I downplay myself, but I I I am a I'm very talented. Uh I've actually gotten a lot of compliments uh last year and even this year that like do you know Leo, the Mount Pleasant slash crystal announcer?

SPEAKER_01 52:39

I know who you're talking about. I don't know him personally, I don't know him, but yeah, I I know of him.

SPEAKER_00 52:45

So when I was talking to him for the first year, the first year he never let me announce Mount Pleasant, he offered for me to announce heat races my very first time at Mount Pleasant, and I was like super disappointed. I left uh Mount Pleasant, like very frustrated, very upset, because I wanted to announce, right? You know, I'm here to get my voice out, but he let me grab the mic, and then I met him at Crystal, and then he let me take the mic at Crystal, and then like last year and then even to this year, like I get he's telling like a bunch of people around that like how much growth I've had since like year one, you know, because like when you guys when you guys got good for qualifying, right? When I used to be like, oh, next guy is you know, he's number 25, 21, he's out of yada yada Michigan, and yep. Ah, 13825. Good job, Jake. You know, now it's like you you hit the track, and I'm like, next driver hell's out of yada yada Michigan, and then Digitrace Red Fox Realty CL trucking next for getting number 21, it's Jacob Shabbai, and then like you run your laps, and then like I constantly am telling times, and even when you guys head off the track, right, and there's that little bit of silence there, I'm still yeah, pushing out your guys' times because you got everybody that hit in the lightning sprints has family in the stands, right? So, right, your wife is sitting there watching the art, it's like, yeah, okay, okay. Was that a good lap? I don't know, because I got nothing.

SPEAKER_01 54:15

Yeah, yeah, no, and that's even aside from that, the the spectators uh that's again, we're there to put a show on for them, and you are asides from them sitting there and watching the cars, you are the ones that get the cars are or excuse me, the fans um more excited and on their feet and sitting on the edge of their chair watching the cars like your your talent in the booth really is what keeps the fans uh hyped up and want to stay involved in it.

SPEAKER_00 54:53

Yeah, for sure. Do definitely need to tear into I'd say stats a little bit more, but stats isn't really what I'm looking for. I need to I've been trying new things this year. I've tried stats, silver bullet, and then I tried stats at uh what was second race crystal, but like it really wasn't the feel for me, you know what I'm saying? Cause the stats are good if I'm standing in front of a TV screen, right? Right, but like when you're looking down, you're like, oh, I don't need to know that Justin's won here eight times, you know. Like, what who's Justin? Who like you know, come on the track. Who's Jacob Shabbai? Like, I've never heard of this guy before. Like, it's my job to let him know, you know, hey, like, Jake is this. Oh, we debated about this. How old are you?

SPEAKER_01 55:43

Oh, yeah, I heard you guys. I'm 30. You both were way wrong. 30?

SPEAKER_00 55:47

Oh my word. Okay. Good night. That's the pod. No, but yeah, we were like debating on it, like, oh, Jake, he's you know, 30-year-old. Don't you drive trucks?

SPEAKER_01 56:02

I I used to, yeah. No, I own my own painting business now.

SPEAKER_00 56:06

Man, yeah, okay. So I need to go in through the pits and talk about what everybody does, you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 56:12

Yeah, I mean, there's endless options, and there's a lot of different personalities in the pits, a lot of a lot of different avenues of life that people come from, from farmers to painters to truck drivers to welders to like we're uh we're a melting pot of people that have done everything, so it's it is cool. It would be a cool thing to get to know people. Everybody knows we don't do it for a living, so I guess that that's one thing you could do is learn people's backgrounds, what they do, where they come from.

SPEAKER_00 56:45

Yeah. For sure. For sure. And for the drivers that made it this far, I got a task to do. Uh, if you hear your name called, I need a what's it called? A headshot. Yeah, I need a headshot so they can update the ones on their gate lakes lightning sprints. Uh, Greg Burt, I need an update, headshot on him. I need an update for Grayson, Al Stanton, and Kevin Millen. So if you guys see me at Silver Bullet, walk over to me and be like headshot, and I'll be scared for a second, but then I'll know exactly what you guys are talking about. So, for those drivers that heard their name, I need headshots. So I need a new picture. So we can actually see Grayson's face on the point standings.

SPEAKER_01 57:34

So I think he I thought he had one. I thought I guess he did.

SPEAKER_00 57:37

If you look at it, it's him sideways.

SPEAKER_01 57:40

Oh, I gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 57:41

So I don't know where they pulled it from.

SPEAKER_01 57:43

I need a new one too, because when when Reva snuck my picture, uh nobody warned me I needed to put a hat on. I had some crazy hair going on.

SPEAKER_00 57:51

Alright, hold on. Now I need to look at this. I mean, I will tell you the one for uh the one that they put up for Saturday, see you at Silver Bullet, that one's a better headshot for ya.

SPEAKER_01 58:16

Yeah, there you go. Switch it to that.

SPEAKER_00 58:18

No, because you're looking sideways. You gotta be looking at the camera, bro. So But anyways, brother, it was uh good to have you on, and um I'll catch you at the bullet. Boy.

SPEAKER_01 58:33

Alright, sounds good. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 58:35

Yes, sir, cowboy.

SPEAKER_02 58:37

Alright, talk to you later.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Alright, have a good one. Bye. Have you ever gone to the racetrack and you saw a paint scheme that you absolutely fell in love with? Well, look no further than DCR Graphics. For all your graphic designs, from wraps to banners, stickers, die cast, hats, hoodies, shirts, and even flags, turn to DCR Graphics. Find DCR Graphics on Facebook or by calling 419-308-9523. If you're looking to get into the Great Lakes Lightning Sprints and you need a fast car, look no further than JWR Speed Shop. JWR Speed Shop is back and board in 2026 and wants to help you to get racing with us. If you want a car, contact Justin Ward at 231-383-0947. Justin is a man to talk to for everything Great Lakes Lightning Sprints and Everything JWR Speed Shop. Have you ever had an automotive question but you don't know anyone to ask? Well, you've come to the right place. ARS Automotive joins Fourth and Rect in 2026 to help you get to the track. Just give Artley Cooper Jr. a call at 231-357-2835, and he'd be happy to help you out. Thank you for all the support for the 2026 season. It's gonna be a great one.