I’m very excited to announce my new series: The Humans of NASCAR. I’ll be asking drivers the same 13 questions (or variations of them). The goal of this series is to take a look at the drivers behind the race cars you see on track in order to better appreciate the personalities of our sport.

My first victim was Brett Moffitt. Moffitt, who won the Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend, has faced more than his share of adversity throughout his career. He has overcome it with flying colors, though, and looks to make his way up in the sport.

This interview took place on Thursday, June 28, 2018 at Chicagoland Speedway.

How was your trip to Chicagoland?

It was good. Obviously our race team had a heck of a battle to get here this weekend, sponsorship wise, but once we got that all figured out earlier this week, it was a short flight up here this morning, and I’m ready to get on track.

How did you get into NASCAR?

I started racing go karts when I was a kid, actually as a hobby, because my mom told my dad we needed a hobby together, and I started racing go karts with him. My dad was never really into stick-and-ball sports, so that’s what we started doing, and it just slowly developed, and I had success at all the rankings coming up, and one day we finally figured out a plan that we might be able to make this into a career and into a job. Thankfully it all worked out, and we’re still here.

What are you most looking forward to this weekend?

It’s always fun coming to these mile-and-a-halfs, we’ve been really strong on them. I think we’ve everywhere, but it seems like our mile-and-a-half program’s really good. I’m really just looking forward to getting back to a mile-and-a-half, and we’ve got a new sponsor on board this week, Fr8 Auctions, so it’ll be fun to have them here, and hopefully take them to victory lane for their first time.

Who’s your favorite driver?

Jimmie Johnson, for sure.

Yeah, I’d imagine you grew up in that seven-time era.

I did, I did. When I was really young, I was a big Jeff Gordon fan. I’ve got signed clocks, a letterman-style Jeff Gordon jacket, [one of] the big puffy ones. Then as I got older and matured, I kind of transformed into a Jimmie fan, because of his work ethic, and his dominance. Most people hate when somebody wins all the time, but, as a competitor, even if you don’t like it, I think you have to respect it.

If you could have anybody as your teammate, who would they be? They don’t have to be a driver.

Probably Selena Gomez [laughs]. She’s my celebrity crush. As a driver, though, probably Jimmie, just because I look up to him, and every time I’ve asked for information from him, he’s been very generous and given it to me, even though we’re not teammates. As a teammate, I can only imagine how much he could help.

Tell me something unique about yourself that’s not related to NASCAR.

I love golfing. That’s about it. I like lake surfing, I just like being outdoors.

What’s the most emotional you’ve been while watching/competing in a race?

[In terms of] Watching, I would say watching greatness happen. Whether it be watching Jimmie winning seven championships, or at the end of the year, I’m happy for whoever the champion is in each series, because I know how much work goes into it, and to see a season-long effort pay off is huge, especially with the new format, where you’ve gotta go to Homestead and perform. You can’t just go and start the race and be the champion. I think watching the final races at Homestead is always pretty emotional. As far as driving, winning at Iowa a couple weeks ago, being my home state, and on father’s day weekend was huge. My eighth place finish in Atlanta in the Cup car was right up there with it, just as a breakthrough race.

If you could change one thing in NASCAR, what would you change?

The race lengths. I think the Truck Series has really good racing because it [has] short races, and you’ve gotta go. Some of the Cup races are a little too long. I think you keep the staple races, like the Daytona 500, or Indianapolis, or the Coke 600, but some of the others they could shorten up. I think it would make a little better racing, because you’re not just biding your time, you’ve actually gotta go.

What do you want your signature “thing” to be as you grow your racing career?

I don’t really know if I have a signature thing, [but] I like when people appreciate my work ethic.

What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve overcome thus far in your racing career?

Oh, there’s been a lot of them. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs for sure, with MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) shutting down. I was under a multiyear contract with them, so that was pretty heartbreaking and left me with no direction to go. It was really tough to find a team after that. I’d made my bed with them, and I was planning on being there a while, so I wasn’t looking for anything else, so that was tough. Red Horse [Racing] shutting down last year was another hard one to get by, because I was finally in a great opportunity in the Truck Series, and thankfully everything has worked out to come here.

What’s your pre-race jam?

I don’t really listen to music pre-race. I do listen to rap, though, if I’m trying to get pumped up. I would say anything rap.

What’s the most awkward conversation you’ve had with another driver?

[Laughs] It’s always awkward when you wreck each other, but in fairness, some of my better friends at the racetrack are those that [I initially got into it with], which is how we even started talking. I wouldn’t say drivers talk a lot, and after you yell at each other, you gain respect for each other.

Is there anything else you want to tell fans who read this?

Keep watching. The Truck Series has great racing, and make sure, whether we’re racing Thursday night or Friday night, to tune in and cheer for the 16 truck.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

Reddit

