(June 21, 2016) Curtis Collins was born to drive a race car. He’s always wanted to go fast and turn left.  These days Curtis is living the dream and wheeling his sharp shooter around Speedway 660, but before that he had a lot of success in go-karts. In this week’s Conversation we talk with Curtis about his passion for going fast and turning left. 

 

A Conversation with Curtis Collins

Wade: Hello Curtis. How did you get involved in racing and how long have you been a race car driver?

Curtis: I’ve been racing for six years now. I’ve been going to Lonnie Sommerville’s Race shop with my Dad Cory since I was a little kid. The idea of me racing all started one day down at Lonnie’s when I was helping Bob Colquhoun, owner of Pub’s Drive Thru Bottle Exchange, paint lead weights for a race car chassis. Bob asked my father if he thought I would be interested in racing go karts for him. With Bob’s support and Dad’s approval my racing career was launched one day while we were painting lead bricks at LSR!

Wade: Take us back to your kart days. That must have been a rush for a little kid to go racing for the first time.

Curtis: First off, it was amazing for an eleven year old boy to be offered a kart to race. I’ve always appreciated what Bob did for me then and what he continues to do for me today. Strapped into that kart was more fun than playing hockey or anything else I ever did before. To be that young and move around the track, the way those karts move, was something I’ll never forget.Curtis always has time for a picture with young fans. This young man loves racing sharp shooter cars right now, but don’t be surprised if we see him move to a higher division in a few years.  

Wade: You’ve obviously out-grown the go-kart and are now suiting up every week in the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter Division. It looks like you are still having lots of fun out there.

Curtis: Yeah I have a blast every week running with all the great drivers in the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter Division. We try hard to get up front and keep racing as clean as we can but those little cars are a handful, they slide around a lot and it’s easy to lose control. So I’ve learned that when it comes to racing everyone has their good and bad days. Sometimes someone might lose their temper for a moment or two but for the most part everyone respects each other. I enjoy getting up every Saturday morning and heading off to Speedway 660.Curtis won his first ever Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooter feature last year in the middle of August. It’s a special win, that he will always remember.

Wade: We always hear about all of the time street stock, sportsman and pro stock drivers spend working on their cars, but I’ll bet the sharp shooter drivers also spend a fair amount of time in the shop trying to make their cars competitive.

Curtis: Well I can’t speak for the other sharp shooter drivers, but I know we put a lot of hours into our car and we take pride in everything we do. I’m happy to be associated with Lonnie Sommerville Racing and I spend a lot of time at the shop watching, listening and learning. Our Pubs Drive Thru Bottle Exchange Chevy never sits in the trailer till the next race. We’re always looking for ways to get it to turn left better and go faster.There’s nothing like having a great run and visiting the Riverview Ford Victory Lane. Curtis Collins has been there a few times in his short sharp shooter career. 

Wade: You said you spend a lot of time in Lonnie Sommerville’s shop. I hope you know how lucky you are to hang out at LSR and learn from one of the best in the business.

Curtis: Your right I am pretty lucky! I spend a lot of my time at Lonnie’s working on cars and watching over his shoulder to see what he’s doing. The late Scott Fraser helped Lonnie a lot when he was younger and now Lonnie is passing a lot on to me. We have a lot of fun with racing and enjoy our days and nights in the race shop. I’m extremely lucky to have been placed where I am and I’m honored to be able to work side by side with the 2015 Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock champion. I wouldn’t trade it for anything God could offer.Curtis is proud to be associated with Lonnie Sommerville Racing. He spends a lot of time in the LSR shop learning from his mentor.

Wade: Your father Corey is running a Martins Home Heating Sportsman car, so that must be pretty cool spending time together at the shop and at the race track.

Curtis: For the most time it’s good. However we are father and son, so we do butt heads once in awhile, but always manage to get past that and go home laughing at the end of the day. We spend a lot of time working together in the shop with a lot of late nights, with all of our crew.  Martin Kinney, Jaime Lowe and Hartley Lowe are a big help. I’d like to thank them for helping my father and I work our way through the 2016 racing season.Curtis’s Dad Corey drives the 10 car in the Martins Home Heating Sportsman Division. The Collins boys have a lot of fun at the shop and the track. 

Wade: What is it that you like most about racing in general and those little sharp shooters in particular?

Curtis: It’s just a rush that is unbelievable.  You’ll never know until you get strapped into a car driving as fast as you can just inches away from either your best friend or worst enemy! I love racing because it’s a passion. I remember coming to the track when I was little, before I even knew Lonnie or his Dad Billy Sommerville. It has always been something I loved and I hope I can continue for many years.When the Fredericton Gun Shop Sharp Shooters take the track, you are likely see the #27 of Curtis Collins right in the thick of things. 

Wade: I can’t help but notice how much fun you sharp shooters have. There seems to be a lot of friendship among the drivers and no one is afraid to go three or four wide and get a little slide-ways in the turns to put a show on for the Speedway 660 fans.

Curtis: We push the limits to the breaking point most times and it puts on a good show for the fans. At the end of the day we always have a little “team meeting” and talk about the race and have a few laughs.Our sharp shooters usually raise a little dust at 660. This little four cylinder, front wheel drive division provides fans with lots of exciting entertainment.

Wade: Devin Snell is your friend and I know you have watched him move up through the ranks all the way to the Re/Max Group Four Realty Pro Stock Division. What are you thinking about your own future in racing?

Curtis: Yes I’ve been watching Devin since he was in street stock and we’ve become really good friends. He’s had a good season in pro stock so far and we’re all looking forward to him getting that yellow rookie stripe off the back bumper. I know he’s gonna do great in pro stock. My future in racing is hopefully gonna take me to my last days, I hope to go into sportsman in the next year or two and maybe in a couple years I might be a championship contender. Obviously I would like to end up in pro stock, but that’s a few years away. Right now I’m gonna focus on my sharp shooter and try to be in the running for a championship this year.Devin Snell won back to back Martins Home Heating Sportsman features last season. This year Devin has moved up to pro stock and Curtis is keeping a close eye on how his friend is doing.

Wade: You guys normally run 15 lap features, but on a Saturday night in the middle of August our sharp shooters will go 40 laps in the Geary Woods. You must be looking forward to that.

Curtis: Really looking forward to that, we usually put on a pretty good show in 15 laps, but we don’t have enough time to come from the back to the front. With the 40 lapper people can play a little strategy and possibly hang back for a bit while everyone fans out. It will definitely be interesting and a great race to come watch at Speedway 660.Curtis loves racing at Speedway 660, particularly the longer races. On August 13th, Curtis and our other sharp shooter drivers will run a 40 lap event. It’s a night we’re all looking forward to!

Wade: Thanks for doing this Curtis. Have a great season and I know you’ll go out there every week to put on a show for the great Speedway 660 fans.

Curtis: Thanks for asking me to do this. I always look forward to reading all of these Conversations on the 660 web site. Before wrapping this up, I’d like to thank all my sponsors. Pubs Drive Thru Bottle Exchange for giving me the opportunity to be able to do what I do every weekend, LSR for setups and helping me out if I have any questions, Kings County Performance, Reynolds Autobody and everyone else who helps out. I also wish the best of luck to my LSR teammates and hopefully we’ll all be there at the end of the season fighting for Speedway 660 championships!