No doubt about it: Austin Blair was full of surprises on Saturday at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois.
Thanks to a last-minute opportunity, Blair was a surprise entry in the ARCA Midwest Tour Illinois Lottery 50, the support race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Drivin’ for Linemen 200. The 17-year-old from Fairview Heights, Illinois surprised many of the series veterans in his debut in an asphalt Super Late Model.
In a turn of events that could have been ripped from the pages of a Hollywood script, Blair was presented the opportunity to drive the Justin Oertel-prepared CJ Materials & Recycling KBM Toyota Camry in the early afternoon.
“On Friday afternoon I was just helping the speedway staff to prepare for the NASCAR race,” Blair began. “Then just a few hours later I was busy getting my gear bag ready to go racing on Saturdaynight. Series promoter Gregg McKarns knew that Justin had a back-up car in the trailer and worked with me to make it all come together.”
Blair raced Quarter Midgets and Bandoleros extensively from 2006-2010 before graduating to Midgets on California dirt tracks for Cory Kruseman at the age of 11. At 12 years of age he began driving the K&N asphalt Midget in the United States Auto Club Ignite Series at tracks in Nevada and California. Most recently his career has included karting, road racing and Midget racing in the St. Louis region. The St. Louis ARCA Midwest event was his first-ever time competing in a full-bodied race car.
Blair had only a few minutes before practice to meet the crew and look over the car. Blair qualified 10th in the 22-car field at 33.771 seconds for an average speed of more than 133 mph. In the Illinois Lottery 50, Blair ran as high as third place in the early going before a right-front tire issue forced a pit stop with just eight laps remaining. Following the tire change, Blair was able to work his way back up to 12th place in the final rundown.
“When I was passing the fourth-place car on lap 10 we made just a little bit of contact in turn one and I believe that’s what got the tire,” Blair explained. “It was really starting to fade away just prior to the caution period so the tire change saved us. Justin really had the KBM Toyota dialed in and we really had a legitimate shot at a top-three finish.
“That was my first time ever racing anything where I was actually sitting on the left side of the car,” Blair added. “I hadn’t planned on making a pit stop but that went well and we had a good finish. I can’t complain at all about how our day turned out — especially when you consider I was hanging banners on the fences yesterday and was racing today. I have to thank Gregg McKarns for his endorsement and Justin Oertel and everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports for taking a chance on me. Hopefully I met their expectations.”
Blair, a senior at nearby Father McGivney High School, is still finalizing his racing plans for the remainder of 2017 and 2018.
“I ran the Chili Bowl in January with the Jake Neuman Racing team and we have plans to run at least four races in the POWERi National Midget series next month. I had to reschedule my non-wing Sprint Car debut for Cory Kruseman at Ventura earlier this year due to weather so I’m still trying to figure out when that will take place. My family and sponsors had been working on an ASCS Sprint Car to race later this year but I really enjoyed the ARCA Midwest Tour, so we might want to wait before we put a wing on anything. I want to race everything at least once and have to be ready to take advantage when opportunities present themselves. I know, at some point, I’m going to have to make a decision as to what form of racing to concentrate on. I really enjoy it all.”
Austin Blair PR
