Page 13 - Motor Trend (May 2020)

TREND I 05.20
NASCAR All In goes behind the scenes
with drivers Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie,
and Tyler Reddick (left to right).
about him—the people
who say he’s only in the game
because Childress is his grand-
father—as he looks for any
additional ounce of motivation ness that has made him a rising
ahead of the race every team
and driver aspires to win.
Dillon has a target on his
back and something to prove
as a result, but there’s plenty
of fun to be had, too. The
cameras capture him at the
Richard Childress Racing
shop, where he learns he’s late
for a pre-Daytona strategy
meeting. Upon his arrival, it’s
fascinating to see what occurs
in meetings between drivers,
management, engineers, and
mechanics as they scheme the
most effective ways to get to
the front on race day.
Next up, you’ll meet Dillon’s
RCR teammate, Cup rookie
Tyler Reddick, and Go Fas
Racing’s Corey LaJoie, but not
immediately in the way you
would expect. Reddick has a
reputation for being aggressive concludes, each protagonist
on the track, but on this day,
an unsure version of himself
drives a shopping cart—and
he’s confounded by the
available selection of diapers
for his days-old son, Beau.
Becoming a father represents
NASCAR MEDIA: GETTY IMAGES added another dimension to
a new responsibility that’s
Reddick’s Daytona prep-time
management, and although
his team is happy for him,
there’s no mistake it’s time to
get back to work.
Go Fas Racing driver LaJoie,
meanwhile, punches a time
clock at his father, Randy’s
race-seat business, fabri-
cating the buckets drivers
use from local short-
track circuits all the way
to the big-boy NASCAR
Cup Series. Randy LaJoie
is a successful, well-known
NASCAR racer in his own
right, but Corey isn’t funded
by deep pockets; he works 9–5
in between race weekends.
“I’m just a seat guy,” he says,
before it’s noted that if Randy
had been a “hot dog guy,” Corey
most likely would be, too.
That’s the type of self-aware-
fan favorite, but with the small
Go Fas team run by father/
son duo Archie and Mason St.
Hilaire, nothing comes easy. In
the premiere of NASCAR All
In: Battle for Daytona, Go Fas
lacks a Daytona 500 sponsor
with just 24 days to go until the
green flag drops; the cameras
capture an inside look as
Archie attempts to negotiate
a deal, another rare glimpse
of the realities of professional
racing. As a frustrated Archie
says at one point, “This ****
ain’t easy.”
Plenty of additional tongue-
in-cheek humor provides
levity—such as LaJoie using
camshafts and other old race
car parts to create a cake stand
for his wife’s baby shower—
but as the first episode
focuses on the ultimate goal
in their race shops and gyms.
With the clock ticking closer
to the 62nd running of the
Daytona 500, everyone knows
playtime is over.
Subscribe today to the
per month and follow along
MotorTrend app for just $1.99
as NASCAR All In: Battle
for Daytona takes you on a
motorsports journey unlike
any you’ve seen before.
Mac Morrison
MAY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 13