Thinking about what ‘could be’ in 2022 is very exciting for Jesse Little. (Image: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)
With nearly 100 starts in the top three series of NASCAR, Jesse Little has had his fair share of seat time. However, the 2022 season will find him sharing driving duties with Kaz Grala in the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado.
Excitement can be heard in his voice as Little considers what this upcoming NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season could bring. In our first installment of this recurring journal, Little reflects on his path through the sport, advice from his dad, Chad Little, and how his journey has made him a better driver.
Terra Jones: First of all, congratulations on the news that you’ll be running half the season with Young’s Motorsports! With this news, what goals do you and the No. 02 team have in place for those races that you are running?
Jesse Little: I appreciate it! It’s a nice new opportunity for me. And it’s honestly refreshing to really be able to set some positive goals. For me, realistically, I’ve been in a position racing where my goals have always been…to just get a little bit more than I should be able to in the equipment and cars I was with. Now I’m finally at a team with a group of people that, realistically, being competitive is possible and doable.
So for me, it’s so exciting to sit down and set goals that are not only attainable but also very, very successful. We’re going to go into Daytona here in a week, heck, Young’s Motorsports won the last superspeedway race in the Truck Series! So, that’s what’s fun to think about, and kind of fun to keep on my mind. I’m going to these racetracks that I now have a ton of laps at. Short of the last 18 months, I have been racing Trucks since 2015, so, it’s something that I’m very comfortable with, and very confident with.
And now, I have an incredibly important tool, as a driver. That is a strong team with good resources. So my goal for this year, right off the top of my head is I don’t see why we can’t, when I’m in the seat, run top 15.
And then the other side of it, I know my teammate Kaz Grala, is extremely talented and knowledgeable and has the experience. And honestly, we’ve bounced around the idea, between him and I at lunch, that it’s not too much to think that this No. 02 couldn’t go out and maybe contend for an Owners Playoff spot. So that’s kind of our big picture. And, and that’s the kind of the level of seriousness we’re bringing to this.
Jones: That’s really exciting! And, you answered my next two questions. I was wondering how those goals differed from goals with Kaz behind the wheel and then your own personal goals.
So you’re not new to the NASCAR scene, but fans actually might not know a lot about you. So if you would, share how you fell in love with racing and your path to and through the sport.
Little: Yeah, my story doesn’t deviate too far from the other fathers and sons of racing. What is neat, and I like reminding people of, was when my dad, Chad, retired, I was only about four or five years old. So I honestly don’t remember him racing. I don’t have a lot of memories of being at the track watching him. But what was neat for me is, as I got older, and I got to more races with him, I saw people come up and get his autograph. And I saw people in the industry come up and shake his hand and ask how everything was, and I was almost able to kind of paint my own imagination of how he was and what kind of driver he was when I was little. So that’s kind of what I fell in love with.
And then when I got to be about eight or nine years old is when I started falling in love with the sport from a driving standpoint and wanting to pursue it. And then like everyone else, the older I got, I was lucky enough to race bigger and heavier, faster cars from then on. So that’s kind of my quick little background.
In 2012, I moved to what was the K&N Pro Series. I did that for about three or four years, and then made my first Truck start in 2015 for our family team at the time. I ran that for about five years. And then I ran Xfinity the last few years with both Johnny Davis (JD Motorsports) and BJ McLeod.
Jones: You mentioned being able to see how so many people respected your dad after he retired. What is some of the best advice he’s given you as you have advanced through the ranks of motorsports?
Little: You know, it’s funny answering that question because when I was younger, it was, “take time to soak it all up, listen twice as much as you talk.” And then as I got to the national series, when I was only 17, 18, 19 years old, it was, “Be respectful, know your place, but at the same time, now’s when you can make a name for yourself.” And “learn to network” – that was the biggest thing. “Learn to talk to the right people and carry yourself well and start to build your brand.”
While Jesse Little’s story is similar to that of many second-generation racers, he has forged his own path and looks ahead with excitement. (Image: Michael Guariglia | The Podium Finish)
Now that I’m in my early to mid-20s, and I kind of have started to carve out my path in my career. Now we’re talking a lot more and he’s given me a lot of good advice on the business side of things – how to navigate relationships, partnerships with owners and sponsors and potential partners, and people in the garage. And then as a driver, how to be the leader of the team, and how to communicate to get the most out of your guys. So it’s been an incredible relationship and I’ve been very lucky to have him in my ear all along the way.
Jones: That’s really neat to hear that he’s had advice for all angles. Now, you mentioned partners. I wanted to talk a little bit about your partnership with Shriners Hospitals for Children. How did that all begin?
Little: That’s my favorite story to tell, to be honest. Since I’ve been little, my uncle, my dad’s younger brother, helped him on his race team as a tire changer in the early 90s, and then went on to work with the team throughout the years. And so my dad’s family was always into racing.
As I got to the age of starting to drive, my uncle and my dad owned our K&N and Truck teams. Growing up, my biggest fan was my cousin, his daughter, April. She was born with Cerebral Palsy and is about five years younger than me. And, so it was always something I was aware of, had knowledge of. And she came to a ton of races with us. When I got old enough that I started wanting to explore certain charitable foundations, she was a patient at the Greenville Shriners Hospital. Then, once I had met a couple of the right people, it was clear that this could be a really successful partnership for both of us and, in turn, benefit a lot of people. And as I’ve gotten older, we’ve learned how to turn it into something more beneficial for both.
Jesse Little considers himself the “lucky guy that gets to carry the colors” of the Shriners Hospitals for Children. (Image: Michael Guariglia | The Podium Finish)
Their involvement with David Ragan in the past has helped me out a lot and I’ve been able to lean on him heavily as he’s kind of handed over the reins somewhat. We’re extremely thankful for their help and all the amazing work that they do. And I’ll be the first to say, I’m just the lucky guy that gets to carry the colors!
Jones: That is really incredible! I’ve been able to speak with David a couple of times about his involvement with the hospital network. Most recently was just last summer, he was sharing how frustrating it was with all the COVID restrictions that he had not been able to go in and see patients. So, hopefully, that’ll turn around soon.
Little: Yes! Fingers crossed!
Jones: I know you have a podcast. I admittedly am not a podcast listener. But for those that want to know more, go ahead and share a little bit about it.
Little: Yeah! I would say it’s strictly NASCAR industry talk. But, a lot of it doesn’t really have to do with stuff on the track. It’s called The Lucky Dog Podcast. And really what it is, it’s designed to be a fun conversation between myself and guests that I have on that are in the industry that you might not get to hear on TV every weekend. It might be crew chiefs, it might be owners, it might be drivers. And these are the guys that run 15th on back. They’re the ones that are the grinders and they might not get their story told, but they certainly have a strong impact, so hence the name Lucky Dog. We’ve enjoyed it!
We’ve put out one season, last fall, and had some great guests on and we’re getting ready to release our second season here in a couple of weeks, surrounding Daytona with some other awesome people on, so it’s fun! It allows me to kind of put some more content out there and hopefully people enjoy it!
Jones: That sounds like a great listen! All right, just a few more for you. Here’s the Quarterly Question: We’re in the middle of the Winter Olympics. If you could show up and have a fighting chance to medal, what event would you participate in?
Little: Fighting chance, given the skills we have right now?
Jones: Oh, no. More along the lines of what you think is the best or most fun event.
Little: For Winter Olympics, I’ve always been partial to the halfpipe, growing up just being a snow skier. But the older I get, it’d be hard not to say like the Super G or the slalom! I’m a huge snow skier in the wintertime and I always enjoy watching those events!
Jones: Good deal! We talked about all your career starts and how they’ve come in a number of different series, with different teams. Some fans might immediately look to the negatives of all that jumping around, but how do you feel it’s made you a better driver?
Little: Oh, right off the bat, I would say learning to adapt to multiple situations. It’s easy for a driver to get comfortable and be lucky enough to have consistent resources around them. But for me, I’m not that lucky with the funding. I’m not that lucky with the ability to write a big check and go pick my ride. So for me, I’ve had to get creative and I’ve had to kind of work at it and stay hustling. And with that, I think the main positive is I’ve built a vast network. I’ve met a lot of people in the industry that I think would say positive things about me and hopefully I have built a good reputation for myself. It’s taught me how to communicate and communicate differently and find what makes each person tick, in a positive way.
Jesse Little’s path through NASCAR may not have been the easiest but, he can easily find the positives. (Image: Michael Guariglia | The Podium Finish)
Jones: That’s a great way to look at it! Finally, the beginning of each NASCAR season brings in new fans. So if I’m a new fan tuning into the Truck race next week, give me some reasons I should cheer for you.
Little: Reasons to cheer for me? I don’t know if I’ve ever been asked that! That’s a great question. I would say right off the bat, if you enjoy authenticity, you’re gonna get it with me. I’ve been around the block and have been able to see and do some cool things and so I hold true to myself and who I am. I won’t tell you what you want to hear, put it that way. I’ll tell you how I see it and to be honest, I think most sports fans enjoy that, as far as the personalities I enjoy.
Then on top of that, I’ve always kind of thought of myself as doing it the right way. What I mean by that is I’m not gonna win a race by turning the guy coming to the checkers. I’m going to do it smart. I’m going to do it respectfully and race people the way I want to be raced, and that means racing them hard. That means racing them aggressively but obviously not wrecking them.
A huge thank you to Jesse Little (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and Young’s Motorsports (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) for helping make this interview possible! Be sure to follow their social channels for all the latest news!
