(July 7, 2015) Winning a championship at Speedway 660 can be a difficult task. Several drivers have raced for years without claiming a title, while others like Glen Rasmussen, Brian Gillespie, Greg Fahey, Dave O’Blenis and Rick Cashol have several. Wade Wilson recently caught up with a driver who has been oh so close, but has yet to get his name on a championship trophy. 

A Conversation with Robert Raynes

 

Wade: Hey Rob, you have been one of the top drivers in the DMR Auto Sales Street Stock division for several years. In each of the last two seasons you settled for second in points, just three behind the champion. How tough a pill was that to swallow?

Rob: Well in a way it was hard to get over, especially when it happened two years in a row, but you know what, it’s all part of racing. You can only do the best you can and hope for some luck as well. We try to bring the best car to the track we can each and every week. By the way the guys we lost to in the last two years are pretty good drivers.Rob (#41) usually has to start at or near the back of the pack for our Street Stock features. That means he’s got to drive hard to get through the “Geary rush-hour” to bring his car to the front!

Wade: Two years ago Roger Slocum, another veteran, won his first title and last year Luc MacLaughlin took top spot in his second Street Stock season. They both had emotional celebrations on the Night of Champions.

Rob: Yes those were pretty incredible celebrations and both of those guys deserved to win those championships. They both show up here with good cars every week and they are excellent drivers. But it takes more than that to win a Speedway 660 title. You sometimes need a little thing called luck to go your way. I’m talkin about good luck, because if you get the other kind of luck and break a part, at the wrong time or get caught up in a wreck it can take you out of the point chase.It was Luc MacLaughlin’s race team, family, friends and sponsors who got to celebrate a DMR Street Stock championship in 2014. For the 2nd year in a row, Rob Raynes had to watch another driver celebrate, after coming within a whisker of the title himself.

Wade: 2015 is another season and you’ve gotten off to a tremendous start. Do you think this might just be your year and what would a title mean to you and your team?

Rob: Well Wade, knock on wood, we are off to a great start this year so far at least. Hopefully it keeps going that way so we can have another good season. I try not to think too much about a championship, but it would mean a lot because our team works hard on the car to make it the best we can. We also take a lot of pride in making the car look good.

Wade: Tell us a little bit about how you got into this sport and what is it that keeps you coming back to compete year after year?

Rob: We started coming to 660 around 2000 as fans, then I raced ENDURO for a year and then moved up to Street Stock. At that time Frank Moore came to me and said if I moved to Street Stock he would help me as much as he could. Well I made the move and sure enough he helped me a lot. I keep coming back to 660 because it’s the best place to race and the fans are the best too!Rob gets the inside grooove and makes a smoooth mooove on his nephew Ryan. The two Raynes Family cars are having a great season in the Geary Woods! 

Wade: Every driver has to have  good sponsors and a dedicated team behind them. Who helps you get here each week and be competitive at Speedway 660?

Rob: I know you hear this a lot from all the drivers, but there is no way I would be able to race if it wasn’t for my sponsors. DCS CONTROLS is the biggest one but all the others help us a lot too. They are FOG CITY AUTO; FENDER MENDER; ENKEL TRUCKING; NAPA SAINT JOHN and; FAIRWEATHER TIRE. I really appreciate the contributions my sponsors make to this race team and their support makes my job as a driver a lot easier. I want to thank my wife Vicky too. I spend a lot of time in the garage working on that old race car, so I appreciate her patience, understanding and support.Rob and Vicky Raynes were avid race fans before they actually went racing themselves. This photo is from 2014 before they changed the car’s colour from blue to yellow.   

Wade: We make a big deal out of all of the kids who are coming up through the ranks. One of them is your nephew Ryan Raynes. He won his first heat race earlier this year and followed that up with a feature win on the same night. That was pretty special.

Rob: That was a pretty special night for Ryan. He’s a great kid and is doing a very good job. He caught on really quick and now that he’s tasted victory he’s a lot more confident and is looking for more wins. All of the kids we’re seeing at 660 are great. We really need this youth movement to keep the sport growing in the future.Rob’s nephew Ryan is one of the top up and coming drivers in the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock division. Ryan has been driving the wheels off the 94 this season and it has paid off with his first ever feature win!

Wade: You seem to be comfortable and settled into street stock. Have you ever had any thoughts about moving up someday?

Rob: Yes Wade we have settled in to Street Stock nicely and it’s the most fun we’ve had in a long time. It’s nice to go to the track, be competitive and have fun at same time. As far as moving up, I already did that and it’s not for me. It’s just too much money. You need a lot bigger sponsors to run competitive in Sportsman and Pro Stock. When you don’t have the money to be competitive and end up running at the back it’s not fun. So I will stay in Street Stock, lead a few laps, win a race here and there and have lots of fun!

Wade: You guys used to run 20 lap features, but this year are running 30 laps on Weekly Championship Point races. How do feel about the extra ten laps?

Rob: I think it’s working out pretty good. The 20 laps features were good too, but you had to go hard from the start to have a good finish. Now you have a little more time to get to the front, which has been working out great for me so far this season. Those extra ten laps allow us to get better finishes. Everybody I’ve talked with likes the 30 lap feature a lot better.Fans and drivers are enjoying the 30 lap Street Stock features in 2015. The extra ten laps has made a competitive division even more exciting.

Wade: Those of us who have been around for several decades can identify with Street Stock racing. It’s the kind of racing we saw in the 1960’s and 70’s. Lots of sliding around and lots of paint being traded.

Rob: Wade, you sure are showing your age with a comment like that! Your right though, Street Stock racing has been around for a long time and I think it’s one of the best divisions out there right now. That’s because the people we race with are great. It’s amazing that they’ll help you out the best they can if you break down, even if they are mad at you for something that happened on the track! I’m not sure you get that kind of support in all of the other divisions.

Wade: There was a time when Rick Cashol ruled the Street Stock roost at Speedway 660. He’s got five titles to his credit. And Smokin Joe Albert was a pretty good driver too. But today there doesn’t appear to be that one dominant driver. It looks more competitive than ever and several drivers could win on any given night.

Rob: Yes Ricky and Joe always were front runners and put on a good show. I’ve got a lot of respect for both of them and what they have done for this sport and meant to our fans. This year Ricky is having trouble getting his car to work the way he wants it to, but he’s still a great driver and once he gets the car hooked up, he’ll be back up front contending for wins. We’ve got a lot of really good cars this year and any one of them could win on any given week. Rick Cashol (left) and the late “Smokin” Joe Albert had some fierce Street Stock battles over the years at 660. Back in July of 2013, the two legends were honoured during our 20th anniversary season.

Wade: This weekend you guys are running the DMR Auto Sales & Service Street Stock 75. A few weeks ago you won a 50 lapper here at 660, so does that give you an advantage heading into Saturday’s race?

Rob: I’m not sure if does or not, because so much can happen in those longer races. It’s a lot harder on the car and driver. It was nice to win the 50 lap race,  but I was pretty tuckered out at the end, especially since we ran it without any cautions, so we didn’t get any breaks. We’ll give the car a good going over this week and we’ll see what the driver can do on Saturday night. Having said that we’ve got lots of great Street Stock teams this year, so it’ll be tough. All we can do is give it our best shot and see what happens!  Rob Raynes doesn’t get too excited on the track or in the Riverview Ford Victory Lane during post-race interviews.  After winning the DMR Auto Sales Street Stock 50 a few weeks ago, Rob was pretty laid-back taking it all in stride! 

Wade: Thanks for doing this Rob and by the way, the Dale Earnhardt Wrangler colours look pretty good on your car this year. You know he had seven championships. So are you hoping those colours help get you your first title this year?

Rob: No problem Wade, If that colour helps I’ll take it, because I need all the help I can get. By the way, I want to thank you for the work you do as our announcer Wade. On race day the drivers and crew members don’t get to watch a lot of races because we’re in the pits working on our cars. But we can hear you call the races and it’s great to hear you get up on the wheel! It’s been nice talking with you Wade and I’m going to try to keep this early season momentum going and who knows, maybe this will be the year that we can bring that championship home!