CONCORD, N.C. – Though Garrett Manes may be one of the more soft-spoken Bojangles’ Summer Shootout drivers when walking through the garage area, he has a big heart and a big goal for his racing program at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Manes is a 16-year-old native of Powhatan, Va., who graduated high school a year early in May, moved up to the premier Pro division this season and drives an unassuming, all-white No. 1 Legend Car at the Speedway’s frontstretch quarter-mile. He is one of the Shootout’s budget racers and doesn’t have a big-money sponsor behind his pursuit of grassroots glory at the 10-race summer series.
Instead, Manes and his family have stretched every sponsor dollar they have to the maximum to compete in the first half of this year’s Shootout.
That got them through the first four races, and had it not been for a benefactor who offered funding for the team to compete in Tuesday night’s Independence Week event at CMS, Manes would have pulled the necessary cost out of his graduation fund in order to race on July 3.
“Had we not had a sponsor step up for round six … (to run that race) would have wiped out all my graduation money from my parents,” Manes said. “It was going to be all gone. But we ended up getting a lady out of Florida – Amy Van Fossen – who stepped up to sponsor that race with her law office, so now I’m free from that obligation for at least one more week!” he laughed.
“I’m excited about that because it at least gives us additional time to find more sponsorship. I think we have something going for the next couple races, but you never know in this business for sure until the deals are done and the races are run,” Manes continued. “If something bad happens, it could be the end of our summer, but right now we’re happy to have all the help we can get to keep this dream alive.”
While it has been stirring for many that Manes would go to those lengths to extend his on-track aspirations, the driver noted jokingly that his wallet didn’t necessarily agree with those feelings.
“I can tell you this much, as inspiring as it may be for someone who’s in the same position I am … that dedication can help you achieve your dreams, that is one painful statement to make!” Manes admitted with a grin. “I didn’t like the idea of it at all, but I’m looking forward to seeing some of that return back in my pocket for next week because that’s a case where it’s like … here’s your money in advance; oops, here it goes back.”
Just hours before practice began at CMS on Monday, Manes and his team confirmed they have secured additional backing from Ford Guy Automotive in Lexington, N.C., which will carry them through the seventh race of the summer.
“That deal was one we’ve been working on and I’m glad it’s come together for us,” he added. “It’s always been stretching the budget thin for us; that’s just the cards we’ve been dealt and we make the best of it every time we roll out onto the race track.”
In four Summer Shootout races so far this season, Manes has finishes of seventh, fifth, fifth and ninth, giving him a perfect record of top 10s and positioning him fifth in points near the halfway point of the summer.
