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NASCAR XFINITY Series

Hot Lap with Howie DiSavino III

Howie DiSavino III is “just a normal dude” trying to make it in one of the top tiers of NASCAR. (Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)

Howie DiSavino III might be a first-generation racer, but the 20-year-old driver from Chesterfield, VA is no stranger to the sport.

DiSavino came to love racing after he was gifted tickets to a race at the age of eight. From there, he set a goal to race in NASCAR and his parents were behind him, helping him chase his checkered flag dreams. 

Throughout his time in the ARCA Menard’s Series, DiSavino brought home two top 10s over three partial seasons.

In 2021, Jordan Anderson took a chance on the young driver to round out his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. DiSavino tackled five races in the series, finishing four with an average finish of 26.6.

At the close of 2021, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Tommy Joe Martins announced he would be stepping away from the full-time driver’s seat and shifting to a co-ownership role within the sport, partnering with Caesar Bacarella to form Alpha Prime Racing (formerly Martins Motorsports). APR was created with the goal of building up young drivers and helping them gain the experience needed to excel in the sport. With this, DiSavino became one of the numerous drivers to fill out the organization’s lineup in 2022.

DiSavino’s first time behind an Xfinity wheel came at his home track of Richmond Raceway. Unfortunately, with the shortened practice session of only 20 minutes compared to an hour or more in previous years, he did not qualify for the Toyota Care 250. But for DiSavino and Alpha Prime, this was merely the first of multiple races for the up-and-coming racer in 2022. 

His second start came the very next weekend at Martinsville Speedway. There, DiSavino turned heads in the short practice session, running ahead of fan favorite, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The young racer went on to qualify P22 and was off to a great start at the short track in southern Virginia. But sadly, just 38 laps into the race, his driveshaft exploded, ending his night early.

A good night turned bad at Martinsville Speedway. (Photo: Howie DiSavino III Racing)

With a few months off between races leading up to a run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, DiSavino spent time golfing, hanging out with family and friends, and working on the family farm, capturing it all for his fans on social media.

Prior to this third NXS start, I was able to speak with the Alpha Prime driver to hear more about his journey, career mentors, goals, and more. 

Terra Jones: To start, I want to compare and contrast your time in ARCA and Trucks to now in Xfinity. Obviously, different machines between those series, but it’s still four tires, a steering wheel, and a foot on the gas. I’m sure there’s been a lot you’ve been able to carry over, but what are you having to learn to do differently in Xfinity?

Howie DiSavino III: I think one of the biggest things personally is just more of the braking mechanism. It’s super tough. Like in the ARCA cars, you could hit the brakes and the car would just slow down. These cars, you really have to get on the brakes hard. And I think the best way I can explain it is at Martinsville, for instance, where we’re on the brakes really hard, I basically had to stomp on the brakes like there was a five-year-old running out in front of me! 

Jones: Wow!

DiSavino: Yeah! Exactly! So it’s like one of those weird things where when you’re driving a regular vehicle, you barely give the brake pressure and you’re slowing down. These cars, you got to get them hot. So that’s one of the really tough things that I had to learn. And it even carried over to Richmond where I didn’t drive in hard enough nor hit the brakes hard enough. I just kind of coasted into the corner. It’s been a rollercoaster throughout the whole time.

Jones: That is really interesting to hear! Now, I am sure you use the SIM to work on skills, but what other ways are you able to gain “track time” without actually being on track and in an Xfinity seat?

DiSavino: SIM time is important. Track time-wise, I watch a lot of in-car cameras. That’s one of the big deals for me so I can actually close my eyes, visualize the track, hear when they’re hitting the brakes, hear when they are gassing back up, you can tell how much gas they’re using and whatnot. So that’s huge to us, just watching film. 

And on top of that, training is huge as well for reaction time and all that good stuff. That’s definitely a big change for me. I’m used to Late Model racing where I’ll just show up on a Friday night and race. I didn’t train that much! (laughs) It was just a 40-lap race. Now, we’re doing 200-lap races to where you have to train cardio-wise, muscle-wise, all sorts of stuff. So, I would say the biggest thing just watching film and getting on the SIM, and then, training your body for heat and hydration, all that.

The goals for Howie DiSavino III and Alpha Prime racing are to “learn as much as possible about these cars and keep clicking off laps.” (Photo: Ryan Daley | The Podium Finish)

Jones: That makes sense! Now, I don’t want to dwell on Richmond, but hopefully, we can put a positive spin on things. What were you able to learn during the short practice session and qualifying at Richmond to better prepare yourself for Martinsville where you had a solid qualifying effort?

DiSavino: I really think the biggest thing was they let all of us out on the track at once. I really couldn’t learn the race track because constantly they were like, “Inside, inside, inside!” and the fast guys were flying around there. So I really didn’t get a chance to get but a few, good laps in. And on top of that, the SMT stuff is great. We can watch how hard to press the brakes and gas, but until you get there, it’s quite intimidating.

Jones: I’m sure! 

(Photo: Daylon Barr | Howie DiSavino III Racing)

DiSavino: So with that being said, I think the biggest thing at Martinsville was I was pretty angry at myself for not being able to qualify at my home track. I went out there and I just gave 110%. And now I understand the cars more too, which is good because we’re going to New Hampshire and it’s kind of like Martinsville, just bigger. 

Jones: Yes! New Hampshire is this weekend, and that has to be encouraging. I’m not sure what your Fall schedule looks like, but looking at this weekend and the rest of the season, what are some goals you and Alpha Prime have in place for your upcoming races?

DiSavino: For this race? Well, as you know, at Martinsville, we had to exit early. We had a drive shaft blow through the car. So I only got 38 laps in. This race? We really just want to finish the race. That would be super good for us. Personally, I think top 25 would be a good “we made it” type of deal – a good goal. But based off of the way that car has been running here recently, I don’t see why we couldn’t get a top 20.

For the rest of the season, I think it kind of stays the same. Learn as much as possible about these cars and keep clicking off laps and try to qualify up front and stay up front. That is our biggest deal. So I think for the rest of our races, which it’s Kansas, Talladega, and Martinsville, those races are pretty stout. So I feel like if we keep our ducks in a row, we’ll be able to knock out those goals.

Jones: Thank you for sharing that! I always love hearing the answer to that question, no matter the driver! I’ll finish up with a few “off-track” questions to help readers get to know you better.

Let’s talk about mentors for you. Who are some more experienced drivers or others within the industry that you go to for advice as you advance your career?

DiSavino: My biggest one is Austin Theriault. He’s also my manager, but he’s one of my huge mentors that really has grown me as the driver that I am today. Joey Coulter is another one. He’s my driving coach. He helps me out on the SIM, with film, everything. Honestly, those two guys right there are the biggest guys for help. 

Back when I was racing in the Truck Series, Jordan Anderson would help me out. Spencer Boyd, he’s one of those guys that I can sit down and talk to, and he would just tell me, based on his past experiences, what he would do. 

Howie DiSavino credits his previous team owner, Jordan Anderson, as one of many mentors in his corner. (Photo: Landen Ciardullo | The Podium Finish)

So I have a lot of people in my corner, but not as many as people think just because I haven’t ran that many NASCAR races. It’s just one of those deals for me where, the people I go to, I know I can trust them. 

Jones: Those are definitely great ones to have on your side! Okay, I’m going to have you promote yourself for a minute! Give me three reasons our readers should be a fan of yours.

DiSavino: The biggest one is I love to connect with fans. I answer all my private messages. I love to hear their story on why they love racing and why they chose me to be their driver or things like that, you know? Emotional connection is one of the biggest deals for me personally.

I’m just one of those kids…I don’t really come from money. I’m doing this solely off of sponsorships and partnerships. I feel like NASCAR is just so money-made to where all these drivers have the family money or they have these big sponsorships. I don’t come from the money side. I don’t really have a bunch of sponsorships right now. I’m hoping in the next couple years, I’ll be able to amp up a little bit! 

And I guess the third reason is connection-wise. I’m a farm boy. I grew up on a farm. I’m just a normal dude, just like everyone else. So yeah, I feel like that really resonates with people a lot!

Jones: Those are great! Very relatable reasons! And finally, tell us a couple of songs on your pre-race playlist. What gets you hyped up and ready to go on race day?

DiSavino: Oh, that one’s a tough one! So I’d have to go with Sold Out by Hardy. Freight Train by Alan Jackson. I got some Morgan Wallen songs. Honestly, anything really country. I listen to rap sometimes, it just depends on the mood. Oh, yeah! One weird thing is, I listen to really sad country songs to get me angry before a race! 

Jones: That is a different take on things, but, hey! If it works! 

 

A huge thank you goes out to Howie DiSavino III and his manager, Austin Theriault, for making this interview possible. Be sure to give Howie (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)  and  Alpha Prime Racing a follow across their socials (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and look for them on track throughout the season! 

As a life-long NASCAR fan and lover of words, I'm fortunate enough to put the two together here at The Podium Finish to bring our readers and motorsports fans news, features, and interviews from the world of wheels. Originally from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, I moved westward to graduate from Middle Tennessee State University. I now reside in central North Carolina with my husband, our three boys, and our dog, Charlotte. While my heart is at the race track, I also enjoy watching baseball, as well as college football and basketball. 

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