10 to Go with Dylan Slepian

This week’s 10 to Go is with Dylan Slepian driver the No. 63 Legend car at Riverhead Raceway.

When did you start racing?

Dylan Slepian: I started in 2010 in a Legend car. I didn’t have any go-kart experience or anything like that. I just jumped right into a Legend car.

So what made you want to start racing?

Slepian: Well I’m kind of like an oddball. My parents aren’t really into racing or anything mechanical at all. They’d just kind of rather lounge on a Saturday and do nothing. And for some reason when I was a little baby I was into NASCAR. And it just got to the point when I was at like 13 or 14 years old that my parents decided they were gonna help me and let me race. At that point they decided I was a little too old for a go-kart so we decided to go with a Legend car.

So is the Legend car the only car that you’ve raced?

Slepian: Yeah, so far. I’m trying now to get into something bigger like a full-sized car or something. But for now the Legend is the only thing I’ve been in.

What’s the car that you most want to race?

Slepian: Well it’s probably a toss-up between something like a Charger, because they’ve got full bodies and it looks like it’s fun to race against each other when you can lean against people, and something like a Modified because it’s the premier division. So a lot of people always say Modified.

What track do you want to race at the most that you haven’t gotten to yet?

Slepian: Probably Waterford (Conn.). Considering I only have the Legend car everybody always says to go to Waterford and that it’s a lot of fun. So that’s the only place I really haven’t ventured to yet that I need to hit in a Legend car at least.

What tracks have you raced at?

Slepian: I’ve raced at Riverhead. I went to Bethel and Mountain (Penn.) and Wall Stadium (N. J.).

Which one have you enjoyed the most?

Slepian: I like Riverhead the most by far. Everywhere else with travelling it’s fun because it’s different and everything and Wall Stadium is fun and everything. But Riverhead is like custom-tailored for Legend cars. It’s like side-by-side, three-wide, going from the back to the front.

Do you have any superstitions or routines that you do each week? Or any lucky charms?

Slepian: Nothing really solid or set in stone. But I bring a whole collection of stuff. Lucky bracelets every week. I have my uncle’s World War II dog-tag. And a bunch of World War II stuff inside the car.

I like to keep things consistent, but nothing that I single out as being the lucky thing.

Have you found anything that has worked so far?

Slepian: This year I’ve given myself a little dirt goatee before the races. And I haven’t been doing too bad yet. I’ve thought I’ve been doing better than usual so I’m keeping it.

What’s your favorite racing memory?

Slepian: Probably last year the season finale at Riverhead. The goal for that year was to make tech. We’d been working and working and we had like 17 races last year and it was the last race last year. We started like 14th. I had a couple friends and relatives there that usually aren’t there and we actually drove up and I was able to make tech on the last night of the year. That was a big deal. I was happy for everybody.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

Slepian: I’ve had a bunch. But probably when I was rookie in 2010. I pitted. I used to pit over there (points to back corner of Riverhead’s pit area). I think it was opening night. I went to turn into my pit stall and a Blunderbust came screaming by me and like tore the whole right front of my car off in the pits. That was pretty embarrassing because I’m pitted against a bunch of Legends and it was my first night out and everything. And I’m already the rookie. I’m already behind the eight ball. People are already picking at me. And I just get run into on pit road, so that kind of summed it up. But we got it fixed. We got it out.

Have you suffered any injuries racing?

Slepian: Yes. In 2012 it probably started out as one of my best years ever. I was in the top five and I was knocking on the door of winning. Someone spun out on the inside of me and it broke my wrist. He tapped wheels with me and the same way you would in a Modified I actually broke my left wrist. I had to get surgery and pins and everything. It was a pretty bad break but I was back by the end of the year.

Do you have a nickname?

Slepian: Not yet. I don’t have one. And it’s because I don’t make enough headlines. That’s what you’ve got to do. And I’m not going to give myself a nickname. I’m not going to take one that my friends give me. I’m waiting for Bob Finan to give me one before I take it and run.

What is your ultimate goal in racing?

Slepian: I’m kind of happy with where I’m at with it being a hobby. I’m going forward. I’m working at it. I’m trying to learn how to be able to do it all myself. The NASCAR dreams are kind of out the window. But it’s kind of just… from building the car, to setting it up, to being in victory lane all by myself without any help from anybody else. And now I need to get other guys to help me scale my car and if I break something I need help putting it back together. I’m working to get in that direction. I show up here by myself every day. So I’m halfway there.

Source: Rob Blount/LongIslandJam.com