Macy Causey got her learner’s permit on May 18. Four days earlier she had been trading paint with some of the best NASCAR Late Model Stock drivers in the country at South Boston Speedway.
There’s nothing new about that except the driver’s license. The 15-year-old Causey has been driving NASCAR Late Models for two years. She raced dirt Late Models for a couple years prior to that. And she raced in lower divisions before that.
This is not a whim for Causey. Racing is in her blood. She’s a third-generation female driver. Her grandmother, Dianne Teel, competed in the old NASCAR Busch Series, racing at in-state tracks, including South Boston. Her mom Rette also raced, along with her dad Dee.
Causey was selected to compete in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Combine last year, the youngest competitor ever, just 14 at the time.
She was the Late Model Stock rookie of the year at Langley Speedway in 2015 with three top 10s and one top 5.
Despite the notoriety, she remains well-grounded.
“My grandmother’s racing doesn’t put any pressure on me; it lets me set goals. I definitely want to be like her when I get older, accomplish the things she did and what she sacrificed to get there.
“It all puts pressure on me, but it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing that I’ve been recognized (by NASCAR’s diversity program). It doesn’t bother me because I’m doing something I love to do,” said Causey, who didn’t make the final cut last fall, but hopes to be invited to compete again this year.
Causey’s family decided for her to make the move to South Boston when Langley didn’t open this season. There has been a learning curve moving from the flat racing surface at Langley to the higher banks of South Boston, but with mentoring from another Tidewater area driver, Matt Waltz, she thinks she’s had a fair start.
“I’ve had a pretty good year. Coming to South Boston is a big change from Langley. Matt has been a big mentor to me,” said Causey, who has a 12th, a 14th and a 20th in three South Boston starts and qualified 10th the last time out before the race was rained out.
“It’s not too difficult to learn once he tells me what I’m doing wrong. He’s really clear about telling me and I can take it in,” said Causey, who is sponsored by OVM Financials and CBX Modular Homes.
She prides herself on her consistency on the race track and hopes that has helped her gain respect from South Boston’s large and talented fields.
“I’m not the type to go out and get in the way if I’m a lapped car, but I’m going to compete for my position. I’m consistent with what I do on the track.
School and racing is a difficult combination. Causey just finished her freshman year at York High School. Next fall she will begin home schooling in an effort to make that combination a little easier.
“Honestly the hardest part has been balancing school and racing and keep my grades up,” said Causey, who made the A-B honor roll for the past year. “My school really worked hard with me so I could race but I missed a lot of time for testing and racing. It’s not that they didn’t try to help me; they did.
“This (home schooling) will just be more convenient. It’ll take a lot of stress off my parents and my grandma. They had to pick me up from school and take me places. It was hard on them.”
NASCAR racing returns to South Boston Speedway Saturday night with the Halifax Insurance presents Whelen Night NASCAR Late Model Twin 75 racing program.
There will be a pair of 75-lap races for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock car division, a 50-lap Limited Sportsman race, twin 25-lap Modified races, twin 15-lap Budweiser Pure Stock races and a 15-lap race for the Budweiser Hornets.
Registration opens at 2:30 p.m., pit gates open at 3 p.m. and practice will start at 4 p.m. Grandstand gates open at 5:30 p.m., qualifying starts at 6 p.m. and the first race gets the green flag at 7 p.m.
In honor of Father’s Day weekend, South Boston Speedway officials have also declared this weekend’s event Dad’s Night Out. All fathers will be admitted for the reduced price of $5.
Adult general admission tickets are $10 each, with youth ages 7-12 admitted for $5 and kids ages six and under admitted free with a paying adult.
Tickets from the June 4 race will be honored at the June 18 event.
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