FORESTVILLE — Glenn Rowan can trace his 10th-place position in Big Diamond Speedway’s sportsman points this season back to July 20, 2014.
On that night, Pottsville’s Shawn Fitzpatrick put the then-roadrunner driver known as “Buckshot” into a modified for the first time in the annual mechanics’ race.
Rowan won — and was promptly hooked.
“It was a good sales pitch,” he said of his checkered flag. “I guess I loved the car, and now it’s mine.”
Fitzpatrick indeed sold the chassis to Rowan, who decided to stop racing the roadrunner in which he had competed for the preceding five seasons.
“It was going to be a very low budget, turn some laps and have fun,” Rowan said of the original plan for the modified chassis.
“Then it turned into, with all of the sponsorship, (this),” he said, adding, “I was able to buy a new
motor (from Leindecker Racing Engines, Center Valley) and keep some good tires on the car and everything else.”
In large part, the Lake Wynonah resident can thank his wife, Melissa.
She is one of the managers of Red, White and Blue Auto Sales, Ashland.
The business has become heavily involved with Big Diamond Speedway. Red, White and Blue Auto Sales sponsors the track’s victory lane. The dealership also sponsors a night at Big Diamond, where Rowan displayed his car near the grandstand.
The sponsorship also has enabled Rowan to take his own racing effort seriously.
“A lot of the vendors that their business works with came along too,” he said.
The support means Rowan has had to learn his new car quickly so he could compete effectively. The Fitzpatrick family, which fields four cars weekly at Big Diamond, helps with that.
“The level of work of wrench time in the garage is probably triple the roadrunner, so that’s been an eye-opener,” he said. “Even on a good night, you’ve got to check everything. Things get loose. These cars get twisted and bumped around, so you’ve really got to do a lot of checking, measuring, making sure everything is right.”
Likewise, the education on the track has been swift, literally.
Rowan said, “I was shocked the first week. I was actually spooked out there. I was amazed at how fast these guys are. You don’t realize when you’re watching. Out there, we are moving. It was, ‘Wow!’ ”
But Rowan is fast becoming one of the regulars in the sportsman ranks.
“A lot of these guys just want to pass quick, so I’m not saying they move me over because I’m a rookie, but they don’t even want to wait on me,” he said. “So it’s a little different. I’m finding I have to use the bumper a little more than expected. Sometimes, that’s the only way to earn some respect, to show that I’m not going to be a pushover.”
But Rowan, who works as an engineer at Sapa Extrusions, Cressona, has yet to develop a feud on the race track, though he was worried once.
He said, “A few weeks ago, there was an accident where a guy jumped a rear tire of mine and actually flipped their car.
“I was waiting for someone to actually reach into the car at some point under (the) red (flag), but I think they realized it wasn’t me. It was just circumstances.”
It’s quite a different setting than his prior hobby — golf.
“I totally quit because there is not time for both, or money,” the 43-year-old said, adding, “I was a hacker. If I shot mid-80s, that was the best day ever.”
Rowan then started racing in 1997, but his marriage to Melissa produced a break in his career while the family grew.
But he admits racing gets a unique hold on a competitor, bringing him back to the track.
“Racing is like a drug or addiction,” he said. “One week, I’m like, ‘I don’t know if this is for me,’ but the next week, I’m like in the garage getting it right.”
The focus has been more intense than ever.
“This is probably going to be the first year in forever that I’ve made every race, if things keep going with the plan,” he said.
The reason is singular.
“I’ve been told I better thank her if I ever win,” he said about his wife. “I’ve got to remember that. That’s the first thank-you regardless of anything else, as soon as I get out of the car.”
Today’s races
Where: Big Diamond Speedway, Forestville
When: 8:15 p.m. Gates open at 5:45 p.m.
Program: George and Georgie Stevenson Memorial Presented by B&H Landscaping for 358 modifieds (35-lap feature, $4,000-to-win, $300-to-start; Mark’s Service Center Cash Dash); Sportsman ($1,000-to-win), roadrunners and 600cc modifieds. Fireworks are also scheduled.
Admission: General admission, $25; Active military personnel with identification, children ages 12 and under, free. Active military personnel and veterans with military identification will receive free meal tickets.