A Huge Opportunity for Aspiring Racers
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| On Oct. 9, NASCAR and Rev Racing announced the 15 drivers participating in the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine. |
To get to Florence Motor Speedway, you drive through the cotton fields surrounding NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough’s home town, pass a country store called “Becky’s Place” and turn right off East Smith Street.
Follow a sandy dirt road a few hundred yards to the speedway, climb a set of rickety wooden stairs, and you’re on top of the main grandstand at this jewel of a short track.
To the 13 NASCAR Drive for Diversity aspirants who tested their skills in late model stock cars on Wednesday, however, Florence is more than just a 0.4-mile bullring. For them, it’s a Field of Dreams.
Lanie Buice started racing when she was 10-years old, and she hopes her performance in NASCAR’s two-day Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine will continue to advance a career that began with the chance visit to a go-kart shop.
“I was driving with my dad to work one day, and I saw a go-kart shop on the side of the road,” said Buice, now 16, after turning her first laps at Florence. “I had one of those little lawn go-karts when I was younger, and I saw the go-kart shop, and I begged him to take me in…
“The next week, we had a go-kart, and we went to the track. We went every single week and just made laps, made laps, made laps at a lot of different tracks. We tried to move around a lot and tried to develop me.
“I thought I’d be in go-karts forever, but I flipped the go-kart when I was 13 years old—right when COVID hit and we were practicing—and I broke my collarbone. Mama was like, ‘Hey, I think we should try something else.’”
The invitation to the Drive for Diversity Combine affords Buice the opportunity to take the next step in her career under the banner of Rev Racing, the competition arm of the D4D program.
“Being a candidate for the Drive for Diversity is huge to me and my family,” Buice said. “I know it’s a huge deal for other drivers just like me. We don’t have the funding to continue to develop higher-up. Really, I depend on sponsors to put me on the track on the weekends.
“I’ll be extremely thankful if I’m chosen to be one of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity drivers… I don’t want to stop. I want to keep going. I love it.”
Interestingly, the D4D drivers aren’t told their lap times either during or after their runs in the late models. Buice thought she did well but had no way of knowing exactly how fast she ran. That’s by design.
“It matters to us at the end of the day, as far as the evaluation,” said Brandon Thompson, NASCAR vice president of diversity and inclusion. “But we don’t want them as focused on that, because there are other things that go into the evaluation.
“How are they able to adapt? How are they able to take the feedback and coaching they’re given from the competition staff and apply it and translate that to speed? Also, how consistent they are and how much improvement they may make.”
The evaluations, which include Tuesday’s go-kart session in Concord, N.C., the late model trials in Florence as well as a media component, will determine this year’s D4D class, which will be announced later this year.
Thank you @NASCAR and @RevRacin for the opportunity to take part in the 2023 @AdvanceAuto Drive for Diversity Combine. Overall fun experience with the drivers and others involved in the sport. I hope to return next year for the 2024 season. #teamchevy #NASCAR75 #nascard4d pic.twitter.com/CR3Gdur7X0
— Justin Tyree Campbell (@jcampbellracing) October 13, 2023
“It gives me a lot of freedom to work on iRacing, to go to the gym and continue to try to develop my racing career…
“I absolutely love racing. It is my element. I thrive in it. I love talking to people—everything about it. Being at the race track all the time really helps. I’d rather do that over going to a homecoming or a prom or something—I really don’t have an interest in that.
“I want to be at the race track.”
Fifteen ‘Drive for Diversity Driver Development’ Drivers
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| Name: TJ DeCaire Age: 16 Hometown: Land O' Lakes, Florida Car type: Pro/Late Model Stock |
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| Name: Regina Sirvent Age: 20 Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico Car type: NASCAR Mexico Challenge, Late Model Stock |
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| Name: Paige Rogers Age: 20 Hometown: New Haven, Indiana Car type: Pro/Late Model Stock |
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| Name: Nathan Lyons Age: 14 Hometown: Concord, North Carolina Car type: U.S. Legend Car |
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| Name: Lucas Vera Age: 16 Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina Car type: U.S. Legend Car |
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| Name: LaQuan McCoy Jr. Age: 12 Hometown: Fort Mill, South Carolina Car type: Bandolero |
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| Name: Lanie Buice Age: 16 Hometown: Jackson, Georgia Car type: Late Model Stock |
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| Name: Justin Campbell Age: 18 Hometown: Griffin, Georgia Car type: Late Model Stock |
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| Name: Jayda Mack Age: 14 Hometown: Chino Hills, California Car type: Pro Late Model |
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| Name: Jalen Mack Age: 18 Hometown: Chino Hills, California Car type: Pro Late Model |
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| Name: Eloy López Falcón Age: 18 Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico Car type: NASCAR Mexico Challenge, U.S. Legend Car |
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| Name: Cassidy Keitt Age: 14 Hometown: Lexington, North Carolina Car type: U.S. Legend Car |
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| Name: Cameron Carraway Age: 12 Hometown: Castro Valley, California Car type: Restricted Late Model, Micro Sprints |
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| Name: Caleb Johnson Age: 15 Hometown: Denver, Colorado Car type: Pro Late Model, U.S. Legend Car |
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| Name: Arthur Gama Age: 18 Hometown: Porta Alegre, Brazil Car type: NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race |
Thank you @NASCAR and @RevRacin for the opportunity to take part in the 2023 @AdvanceAuto Drive for Diversity Combine. Overall fun experience with the drivers and others involved in the sport. I hope to return next year for the 2024 season. #teamchevy #NASCAR75 #nascard4d pic.twitter.com/CR3Gdur7X0
— Justin Tyree Campbell (@jcampbellracing) October 13, 2023
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