2011 - Jimmy Spencer - A man with two loves - Racing and Family

Jimmy spencer, from Burke, Pennsylvania, attended SpeedWeekend at Speedway 660, where I caught up to him. As with all racers, my curiousity went to how he got started. “My dad and all his brothers raced and so I grew up around racing. i was in high school when I started work on my first car. I skipped high school football to race. I started dirt track racing and ran that for two years. Then I moved into asphalt modifieds and then into NASCAR. I went up to New England, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. From there I went to the NASCAR Busch series in ”˜88. From there I progressed into the Cup series.”￾
Spencer was next asked about his Media involvement and future plans in that area. “Nah, I’ll stay right where I’m at. it’s close to home with no travelling. I do 10-15 races a year and that’s good for me.”￾
Spencer, known as “Mr. Excitement”￾, was asked how he came by that nickname. “That came from Stratford Springs, Conneticut. I was racing Modifieds then and that day I was having a lot of trouble with tires. I came from the rear three times then Mike Joy said, “Hey, Mr Excitement”￾ and it has stuck with me ever since.”￾
Being a racer in many divisions, Spencer was asked if there was anything he would have liked to have done that he didn’t. “I made a lot of mistakes and a lot of bad decisions. I can’t look back. I’ve done just about everything.”￾
With a long career at many different venues, my next question was about the funniest thing Spencer has seen. Spencer replied “One night we were dirt racing and I think one of the guys was having trouble getting his car to fire. They were two brothers and they were as dumb as two blocks. They were dumping gas down in the carburator and everything else. We tried to help them but they wouldn’t listen. They kept turning the timing up and well, they got it to fire and it did, through the carburator and it blew the intake off. It sounded like a bomb going off. Valve covers and carburators scared us all. It was funny but we felt bad for them.”￾ then Spencer continued “Then I saw a guy put his helmet on backwards. He couldn’t figure out how to it right. It was an open faced helmet. I said “Oh my God”￾”￾
Fueds happen at all tracks. Spencer was asked if it was any different in the NASCAR ranks. “I think it’s a lot of the heat of the battle. Then they call ot text or whatever and get it hashed out. There’s a lot of intensity in our sport. I don’t care where you are racing, Daytona or here, that’s what makes this sport so special. I’s the intensity and the want to win and how hard people work at it. I love this sport and the people in it and watching the kids coming up in it. I was a kid once, and made all these mistakes. I love this sport more than anything except my family.”￾
Spencer was asked how he felt about the Maritimes. “I’ve been to Canada a couple of times. I’ve met a lot of canadians in the states. We have a great followintg from here. Canada is one of our great partners. I’ve been to Toronto and Flamboro. It’s my first time down this far. I love it and they are treating me fantastic.”￾
Spencer was asked if he was here to win. He replied “I’m here to have fun, but I’m going to try to win. I’m not going to jeoporize some guys chance to win his biggest race of the year. I won’t be spinning someone or taking them out just to win. I’m going to race as hard as I can but clean and hope that they do the same with me.”￾
In closing, I asked Spencer would he consider returning to the Maritimes. “In a heartbeat. It’s fun and the people are great.”￾ With that Spencer headed off to the drivers meeting.