In this series finale, Spencer Boyd reflects on his 2021 NASCAR Truck Series Season. (Image: Landen Ciardullo | TPF)
Catching up with Spencer Boyd is always a treat. He is always quick to honestly share how things are going on track. As we reflected on his 2021 season, Boyd shared some of the highs and lows for his Young’s Motorsports No. 20 team. After reflecting on a few racing moments, he also ‘dished’ on some of his food-related sponsors from the years.
For the final time, enjoy Terra Talks with Spencer Boyd!
Although the season didn’t go as planned, Spencer Boyd still managed to find plenty to smile about. (Image: Michael Guariglia | TPF)
Terra Jones: To start, I want to reflect on a few races since we last spoke. Let’s look back at Las Vegas. I was listening in on your scanner and at the end of the first stage, you and your crew chief were just talking about pit strategy. In the discussion, you both mentioned that you had a feeling that a caution was coming. Sure enough, as soon as stage two started, the caution came out. I hear drivers talk about that feeling quite often on the radio. So talk to the non-racers. What is it that makes you feel that especially at an intermediate track like Vegas?
Spencer Boyd: Yeah, at Vegas, I can just feel the energy. There hadn’t been a caution yet, I don’t believe, and things were getting really racy out there. It’s Vegas. It’s fast. And it’s really easy to overstep the line. Then, you got that restart and you know someone’s gonna slip up and tag someone in the left rear. So I just felt really confident that there was going to be a caution. We needed to do what we needed to do there. Just gamble! It’s Vegas! (laughs) And it worked out for us!
Jones: That’s really interesting. You can definitely feel it, even watching on TV, at superspeedways, and sometimes at short tracks. But I hadn’t really noticed it at an intermediate. After I heard that, I tried to keep an eye out more at those tracks. Now, speaking of short tracks, we had Martinsville a few weeks ago. You finished 15th. That was your third 15th place finish in a row there. I hear from a lot of drivers that this is not an easy track to figure out, however this consistency shows that you’ve figured out something. What is it that works so well for you and that you like so much at that track?
Boyd: I made my NASCAR debut at Martinsville with Mittler Brothers and we had a really fast truck, that was in 2016. I wrecked with 50 to go running fifth, actually, with Spencer Gallagher of all people, same name! But it’s a track that is very similar to what you do growing up local, short track racing. You’re heavy in the gas off the corner, kind of modulating the tire spin, and the tires are degrading throughout the run. There’s heavy braking and you’re just wheel to wheel and you kind of use people up, let it float up in the corner, and race people hard. It’s a place you can get away with leaning on each other.
“Keep the nose in it and be able to use the bumper later in the race.” – Spencer Boyd (Image: Michael Guariglia | TPF)
I typically run better at tracks like that. Then, it’s just survival. One thing I always talk to my crew chief about, the name of the game is to keep the nose in it and be able to use the bumper later in the race. Then, be there at the end. In all, 15th for us is good. And it’s just crazy that it’s happened three years in a row!
Jones: And it’s fun to watch, too! All right, we’re going to shift gears to a not-so-fun topic. We did talk about it a little bit earlier this season, but let’s touch on qualifying. Twice this season, you didn’t qualify for a race. Then, you barely made it in at Phoenix. Now that we’re in the off-season, what is something that you can do to be better prepared next season? Is this something that the simulator can help with or do you just have to wait for practice sessions? Talk us through that if you will.
Boyd: Yeah, practice is going to help us a lot. Qualifying hasn’t been a strong suit of mine. And it’s tough. You don’t want to point blame on team or setup or things like that. For me, I personally have struggled with qualifying and my teammates have done well. So it’s one of those points where you’ve got to reflect and look in the mirror and say, “Personally, I’ve got to get better at going out there and laying a lap down quick.”
Typically, when I practice, I get better and better every lap and that doesn’t necessarily equate to being a good qualifier. So just trying to take advantage of practice and just focusing on mock runs and don’t really focus on what your car is gonna do five or 10 laps into the run. Which, in turn, hurts you on the race strategy, for sure.
But you have got to make these races and it’s unfortunate that I struggled this year. I spent most of my career in the safe zone when it comes to being locked into races. And, you don’t want to say that to take the easy way out, you want to say, “We’ve done a good job putting ourselves in positions to be locked in races.”
“Personally, I’ve got to get better at going out there and laying a lap down quick.” – Spencer Boyd (Image: Landen Ciardullo | TPF)
This year was more of a struggle for me. So it’s definitely going to be a lot of simulator work, trying to just focus on going out there and being fast for one lap. Then, when I get to the race track and it’s actual, just focus on going out there and practice taking the green and maximizing my get-up-to-speed lap.
Jones: Thank you for sharing all that…and for not hanging up on me after I made you talk about that again. (laughs)
Boyd: (laugh) It’s something that’s tough to talk about, but the only way to get better is to understand the challenge.
Jones: Definitely! Let’s talk about something more fun! You’ve had a lot of food-related sponsors over the years. Has this been intentional or just the way things have worked out in the way you’ve focused your partnership efforts?
American-based and veteran-owned businesses are a trademark of Spencer Boyd’s brand. (Image: Michael Guariglia | TPF)
Boyd: Well, you can see me on the grid, I know how to eat. I’m not the littlest guy out there! (laughs) Honestly, I love cooking. I put on my Instagram that I’m a pitmaster. I’m far from being the greatest pitmaster, but I do enjoy it. I think NASCAR is a huge tailgating opportunity. When it comes to the fan tailgate, it’s a great time. I like when I get to tailgate at XFINITY and Cup races and have a good time. So marketing-wise, it’s a good strategy. I’ve been able to align myself with Banana Pepper Sauce and Dan-o’s Seasoning, ORION Cookers. There are so many that have helped me in my racing efforts, but I’ve definitely enjoyed them in my off time too!
Jones: Our family tries to support as many sponsors as we can, so you just keep the food sponsors coming! We’re enjoying them as well! Now, before we move on to some lasts, I want to look at the season as a whole. Take your efforts behind the wheel, calls from your crew chief, help from your spotters, work done from the shop to pit road, and combine it all. What grade would you give the 20 team this season?
Boyd: Well, there’s definitely an actual grade and then there’s the grade of, “Hey, I feel like everyone worked really hard.” We had a couple of different spotters throughout the year, it just worked out that way. I felt like we made some gains throughout the year. Maybe the last race at Phoenix didn’t quite show it. But we struggled at Phoenix the last few years. But, a few years back, we had some good runs. So you know, realistically, probably a C. Missing races isn’t good. It’s something where you’ve got to look at it and say the effort was there with a lot of people, and Young’s has given me a great opportunity to race there for a third year. We’ve just got to clean a few things up.
I felt like the superspeedways, we always run well. It was great to see my teammate get a win! So as a whole, I think Young’s Motorsports did a good job. But as far as the No. 20 team, we probably fell short of expectations. And a lot of that weighs on me. So I’m looking to just get better.
Jones: I think fans could tell from comments and interviews that things didn’t go quite as planned. At the same time, you seem like a really positive person that can find the best, even in a bad situation. So what are some highlights for you and your team from the season?
Boyd: Yeah! Qualifying at Daytona, kicking it off. I don’t remember exactly where we qualified, but we out qualified our teammates and we had a really good truck at Daytona! We wrecked coming to the checkers in seventh and finished 13th, but that’s kind of out of your control. You’re holding on! But the superspeedways felt good.
“It was great to go back after a…tough second half and have speed at Martinsville.” – Spencer Boyd (Image: Michael Guariglia | TPF)
It was great to go back after a little bit of a tough second half and have speed at Martinsville and kind of pick up where we left off. Then, the mile and a half tracks, at times, it felt like we did good. At Vegas, we made the most of the situation.
Texas is always a big race for Young’s because Tyler Young’s family, Randy and Becky that keep this deal going, their business is there, and they live and are from Texas. So as a team, we try and get down there, have a big party and race really good in front of their clients. And I felt like all three of us had good trucks there. So those are kind of the highlights of the year. Definitely some tough times. But at the end of the day, I felt like all in all, we did better at the tracks where we thought we could do better.
Jones: That’s a great perspective to have. Now, it’s time for the last quarterly question: If you could race against any driver, whether it’s someone up-and-coming, someone from another series, or maybe someone that predates you, who are you racing and where are you racing them?
Boyd: Oh, yeah! So, you know, I’ve ran a handful of Cup races and got to check that box when it came to racing Jimmie Johnson and then Dale Jr. in XFINITY a couple of times, so that’s really cool. I would say I have a lot of respect for Jeff Gordon. So I’ve always thought it would be cool to race against Jeff, I never got to do that. Then, I’ve got to go to a good track for me. Richmond is one of my favorites. I’m pretty outspoken about it being my favorite racetrack! (laughs) Racing against him there would be really special, and he’s definitely good there too!
Jones: Yeah! That would be a good race! It’s the last Truck Series interview for this season. As we look to next season, who should your replacement be? Who do you think fans want to hear from on a regular basis?
Boyd: In Trucks, I’m gonna say Sheldon Creed is an awesome driver, but obviously he’s moving on to XFINITY. I think he does stuff outside of just NASCAR. Trucks, in general, I’d probably say Zane Smith. He’s an awesome racecar driver. I think he’s gonna do really good things in the 38. And if you follow him on Instagram, he does a lot to get better at being a racecar driver. So that’s cool to follow along.
With the series finale in the rearview, do fans agree with Spencer? Should Zane Smith in the No. 38 take the wheel for 2022? (Image: Luis Torres | TPF)
Jones: That definitely sounds like one the fans would enjoy! Finally, you may or may not be able to speak to this yet, but there hasn’t been an official announcement from you regarding next season. So, when can your fans expect to hear your plans?
Boyd: Yeah, so exciting stuff! A lot of people know I do the marketing grind and I feel good about next year. It looks like over the next couple of weeks, we’ll get that out there with what I’m doing. But having a lot of fun! A lot of people are jumping on board with me, even after the year we had! (laughs) I feel real fortunate people are sticking with me!
I want to extend a huge thank you to Spencer for taking the time to talk life on and off the track during the 2021 season! Be sure to give his social channels a follow (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) and get ready to hear about his plans for 2022.
