NASCAR Xfinity Series: Brandon Hightower – 2018 Overton’s 300 highlights
By Mark Kristl
Q&A
After the end of the race, I asked Brandon Hightower some questions about himself, his goals for the rest of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and life as an Xfinity Series driver.
NOTE: “Q” means question asked by yours truly and “A” means the answer given by Hightower.
Q: How do you balance owning a company with racing? (Hightower owns Shadow Trailers back in his home state of Louisiana.)
A: It’s tough. My primary income is from my business. I run the business from the road a lot.
Q: How did you land the ride at JP Motorsports? (Stephen Leicht began the season as the driver of the #55 Toyota but left the team before the Alsco 300.)
A: David Starr. He has been a mentor to me. My father sponsored David for six years. He helped me land the ride at JP Motorsports.
NOTE: David Starr stays with Hightower in his motor home and they often arrive at the track for a NASCAR race together.
Q: What are the expectations for the rest of the season?
A: Running full-time with one team has its advantages. Specifically, I’ve developed a better working relationship with my crew chief and owner. Although I don’t really talk to my spotter when I’m racing, they’re a definite help. With that said, I think we can finish in the top 15. We came home 26th today with power issues.
NOTE: Of his five races thus far in 2018, Hightower’s best finish was 26th place at Chicagoland.
Q: What track on the Xfinity Series schedule are you most excited for?
A: Daytona and Dover. At Daytona, (when Hightower finished 13th), I should’ve listened to my spotter at the end of the race. If I did, I think I may have won the race. At Daytona, I want to go for the victory. It’s Daytona! At that track, I want to be in the top lane. Because we’re a small team, the high lane helps equalize the field.
Q: Tell me why a sponsor should come onboard your car.
A: I like manufacturing, environmental, and welding companies because I know how to promote them.
Q: Growing up who was your favorite driver? (Because he mentioned David Starr numerous times, I asked him to name someone other than Starr)
A: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was my favorite driver as I began racing. All-time though my favorite driver is Alan Kulwicki. My father worked for him for some time.
Q: What do you do for the team outside of driving?
A: I work on my own stuff. We only have three cars in our (JP Motorsports) stable. If I wrecked during practice this weekend, I wouldn’t be able to race today. As a dirt racer, I did everything for my race. I built the car, adjusted it, and raced it. I call companies whom I’d like to sponsor me. Like I said, I call companies which I know I can best talk about. For Chicagoland, I called over 200 companies. Finally, Jack Doheny Companies agreed to come onboard.
Q: How do you personally get to Daytona?
A: I leave tomorrow (Sunday, July 1) in the morning and I drive the motor home. I need to go to Tiffin, Alabama to get some stuff for the motor home taken care of. Then I’ll drive to Daytona and meet up with the team. Currently, there are some people at the race shop working on my Daytona car.
Q: This is the last question. What is the high and the low of being an Xfinity Series driver?
A: Being able to race full-time in the Xfinity Series. I’m 20 years old. It’s the second highest form of stock car racing. I think I can win Daytona next week. I’m excited. As far as the low, I haven’t been home in a month and a half. The next time I’ll be home is when we race at Texas. It’s three hours away from my house.
NOTE: The Xfinity Series visits Texas Motor Speedway on November 3.