(June 2, 2015) We’re seeing a few more Sportsman drivers at Speedway 660 this year. A couple of veterans are returning after a year off and there are at least two rookies stepping into Sportsman rides. One of those rookies is no stranger to the Geary Woods. He won our very first Bandolero championship back in 2010 and in 2014 was the Atlantic Modified Tour Rookie of the Year and Champion!

 

A Conversation withRyan Messer

Wade: Welcome back to Speedway 660 Ryan. How do you feel about moving up to the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman Division?

Ryan: Thanks Wade, I’m really excited about this season and coming back to Speedway 660! Being in the Sportsman division is a big step and I know I’ll be racing with some of the best drivers in the Maritimes. I think we have a good car and really hope to do well.Ryan Messer and his Dad Robb spend a lot of time together preparing their car for competition. Ryan really appreciates the support he gets from his family and sponsors. 

Wade: Fans here remember your championship run a few years ago in Bando. That was a pretty special season!

Ryan: You’re right, the first year or two in Bando was pretty incredible!  Winning the first championship at 660 gave me a lot of confidence and then we went to Florida and had a lot of success down there – it was all so unexpected.

Wade: How did you get involved in racing and what are some of the things you like about this sport?

Ryan: I’ve grown up around cars and racing and wanted to race at a very young age. Mom & Dad bought me a go-kart when I was eight and we’ve been a racing family ever since. I really like the friends you make in racing. Camping at the track and just hanging out is a lot of fun. Racing is hard work and can be a very difficult sport, but when you do well it makes it all worth-while.Anybody remember Little Ryan Messer? The year was 2010 and Ryan was just crowned our first West Wood Estates Bando champion. Mom and Dad were pretty proud of Ryan’s big accomplishment!

Wade: Your Mom and Dad are are your biggest supporters. Tell our fans about the role they are playing in your racing career?

Ryan: They make it all possible. They put a lot of time, effort and money into this for me and I’m really so grateful for what they do.  I know it’s not always easy to find the cash or do the work, but they always make sure I have the best opportunity possible. Although we do have some guys to help us at the track, we really are just a family team and Dad & I are in the shop every night working on the car.Ryan is not so little anymore!  Penny and Robb have been there every step of the way in their son’s growth as a race car driver and a responsible young man. 

Wade: I see you have landed Dana’s Collision Center as a major sponsor. You must be happy to have a great sponsor supporting your racing efforts this year.

Ryan: We’re super happy to have Dana’s on with us this year!! Mr. Alexander has been around racing for a long time and we’re very thankful for his support.  We also have a great group of other sponsors. Northeast Distributors; Speedy Auto Service and; Thunder & Lightning Motorsports are all new this season. And we are extremely proud that many of our sponsors, who have been with us since I began racing, have continued to help us out in a big way. They are M.C. Hammer Ltd.; Moffitt’s Convenience Plus; Fairview Chrysler Dodge Jeep; Excel Manufacturing; Hub City Auto Paints; Coburn’s Plumbing & Heating and; Watson’s Home Hardware. We’ve got a strong group of sponsors who stepped up to support our move into Sportman this year and I really appreciate their help and want to do them proud out on the track. I also should mention that I have a lot of support from my grandparents and family which is awesome too!Ryan Messer won the 2014 Atlantic Modified Tour championship. After one year in an open wheel car Ryan figured it was time to come back to Speedway 660 and run full-time in a Sportsman.

Wade: You’ve been successful at every level you’ve raced in with championships in Bando and the Atlantic Modified Tour. What is your approach going to be heading into a new season in a new division?

Ryan: Survive. It’s really the same as last year: run as many laps as possible, stay out of trouble and earn the respect of the other drivers. I think I was able to do that last year and it means a lot for me to have veteran drivers willing to run door to door with someone my age.

Wade: The West Wood Estates Bandolero Division has developed some incredible talent over the years. Cole Boudreau, Dana Hamm, Courtney and Alexandra O’Blenis, Dawson McIntee and Cole Tanner are just some of the drivers who have moved up to higher divisions of racing. How does it feel to be part of that group and back when you were racing against them in Bando, did you think you kids would quickly become the future of our sport?

Ryan: It makes me really proud to be included with this group. I never expected everyone to do so well and move up so quickly. I think every one of us has done a great job.  It really shows that Bando is a great place to learn the skills needed to run in any division. I would encourage younger kids, who are serious about racing to talk to their parents about getting a Bandolero. And come talk to any of the current or former Bando drivers and their parents to find out what it’s all about. Those little cars are fast, but safe, fun to drive and young kids can learn quick. Cole Boudreau and Ryan Messer used to run door-to-door in their Bandos. Cole is now a Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock driver who won a feature and Rookie of the Year in that division last season! 

Wade: From day one I really liked that orange colour scheme of your cars. Tell us how you came up with that and also tell us about this year’s car, because it really is an eye catcher!

Ryan: Thanks. I’m not really sure how we ended up with the colour on our first Bando. We just wanted the car to be really bright. We’ve kind of kept it ever since so now people recognize it as our brand. Every year Dad says he’s not painting the car orange again, because this colour is a lot of work, but we’ll see. The Sportsman car we’re running this year used to belong to Derrick MacKay. It hasn’t run at 660 for a few years, but we think it will be a really good car. We were busy last winter, tearing the car apart and putting it back together. We went over the whole thing, freshened up every part and put a brand new body on it.Ryan has been running his trade mark orange since his days back in Bando. His car sure stands out on the track and is one of the nicest paint jobs you’ll see in the Geary Woods!

Wade: This Saturday night you’ve got the Martin’s Home Heating 100 lap race. It’s the first race of a three race series at three different tracks. So how do you feel heading into the weekend?

Ryan: Excited and maybe a little nervous. It will be the longest race I’ve ever run so I know it will be tough. We had a few 50 lap features last year with the AMT and it taught me a little about saving my stuff for the last half of the race.  With this car and the longer race that will be even more important.

Wade: Tell us a little about yourself. What grade are you in, what else do you like to do besides racing, who do you like in NASCAR and are there any drivers you look up to here at Speedway 660?

Ryan: I’m in grade nine at Harvey High School. I play basketball in the winter.  I do watch NASCAR quite often and really like Kevin Harvick.Ryan’s favourite NASCAR driver is Kevin Harvick. The defending Sprint Cup Champ is off to a pretty good start in 2015. 

Wade: Thanks for doing this Ryan. Good luck this weekend and have a great season in the Martin’s Home Heating Sportsman Division.

Ryan: Thanks Wade and thanks to the great fans at Speedway 660, the owners and workers as well as all of the awesome marketing partners, especially Richard and Anne from Martin’s Home Heating. They’ve been supporting the Sportsman division and this 100 lap race for several years. I also want to wish all of the other drivers and race teams, in every division, a great season. I’m really happy to be back at Speedway 660!