TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pasco Native Jones Gets Team Racing Concept

ADVERTISEMENT

Bill Green/Tribune Correspondent

Published: October 23, 2008

Danny Jones never takes all the glory.

The Land O'Lakes driver began racing in go-karts at age 11, with the help of his father. At 15, he raced briefly in street stocks, but quickly jumped to the high-powered 360 Sprints where he still competes.

At 29, Jones is in his prime and running at the top of his game.

"It would be impossible without guys like Mike Woolsey, Rick Chancy and Larry Tyler helping me along the way." said Jones. "Those guys have given me great equipment and I think they really enjoy seeing the team win."

The key to Jones' success is his understanding that so many people contribute. Whether he's talking about his entire career or his most recent victory, he deflects the spotlight toward the crew, sponsors and even the fans. His thoughts are always on the ones who got him here.

"I owe a lot of my passion for racing to my late uncle, Johnny Law," said Jones, who won the latest Limited Sprint feature at East Bay. "He raced in the 1970's through the '90s in his No. 14 southern-modified and sprinter. As a teenager, I loved to be at the track with him."

Racing is at the forefront of any conversation with Jones, but when he does talk about other things, it's usually about his two young daughters – Allison, 7, and Emmalou, 1 – or getting to fish more than play golf, but not doing either very well.

"Just last week my youngest daughter Emmalou was watching the video of the race with me and my fiancée, Christina Hambrick, her mom. When she saw my car on the TV she pointed and said, 'Da-da.' I was thrilled," Jones said. "She actually recognized my car and understood that I get in it. I haven't stopped talking about it for days."

Danny realizes the prime for a sprint car driver is 25 to 35 years old. He's there and needs to make a move if he wants to live his dream of racing for a living. Yet, car owners and sponsors are still looking for those 15- to 19-year-old boy wonders.

"I hope I get at least one chance to step onto a bigger stage, before it's too late," Jones said. "Maybe a Chili Bowl entry or a 410 Sprint Winternationals ride. My sponsors have been talking about such things, but it's real expensive to do it, for what could be only one try at it."

So, Jones keeps himself well grounded at his home track of East Bay Raceway Park, but looks forward to traveling a little more as the price of gasoline comes down and the opportunities arrive. That idea has him looking forward to the end-of-season special races like the Fall Brawl at East Bay on November 1-2 and then a few runs at Ocala Speedway and Volusia County Speedway.

"I ran with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) 360s the last time they were here and thought that might be fun to do when my work at the farm slacks off in mid-summer each year," Jones said. "So I think we may make a few more trips around the state or to neighboring states for some races."

After a big crash at East Bay a few months back, in which Jones' familiar red, white and black No. 99 was destroyed, the crew and sponsors scrambled to find a replacement. Hence, the current black-and-gold No. 80b entry.

"We're building a new car for next season and going back to the Larry Tyler No. 99 in honor of him," Jones said of his crew chief, formerly a popular driver. "He's been a huge part of my success in the past few years."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT