KU, Chargers ex Darrell Stuckey gives pre-race invocation at Kansas Speedway
Darrell Stuckey grew up watching Kansas Speedway come to life from the ground up.
But Saturday was the first time that the former Washington High, KU and San Diego Chargers standout visited the facility.
Stuckey was on hand to deliver the pre-race invocation for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 200.
“I actually watched this being built a long time ago, because I used to live off Ann Avenue (in KCK),” he said. “When this first started, it looked like State Avenue ended. You would look, and under the underpass at 435, it looked like it ended. You would see this mound of dirt, and it was crazy because that dirt sat there until almost the end.”
Stuckey got the invitation to participate in Saturday’s pre-race festivities through former KU basketball player Wayne Simien.
“It’s just a blessing. Just the grace of God. There was an opening and I was referred by Wayne. It was good,” Stuckey said.
Stuckey planned on sticking around and enjoying the unique noise and fury that NASCAR offers.
“For me it’s just the detail,” he said. “For me the artistry of any sport and competition is in the details. To be able to maneuver and control something so vigorous and strong and rebellious. The speed of the car is rebellious. It takes great poise and calmness to control it.”
Stuckey played for the San Diego Chargers from 2010-16 and earned a 2014 Pro Bowl nomination. His playing days are over, though.
“I’m retired. I’m enjoying fatherhood and being a husband right now,” Stuckey said.
Hemric takes Xfinity Series pole
Daniel Hemric survived last week’s elimination race to make the make the final eight in the Xfinity Series championship race.
He took another step toward the final four after winning the pole for the Kansas Lottery 300 with a lap of 29.365 seconds.
It was his fourth pole of the season (and fifth overall) and his first in two starts at Kansas Speedway.
“That’s a lot of throttle. I never thought you’d run that much gas in one of these cars around here, but that’s a fun time,” Hemric said. “This is probably my least confident race track out of all of them in the playoffs. To do what we’ve done so far, I’m extremely proud of that.”
Blaney’s crew has local flavor
Ryan Blaney will be racing Sunday to prolong his postseason when he starts the No. 12 car at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. He’s nearly in a must-win scenario to advance to the round of eight.
It’s a big weekend in Kansas for Blaney, in other words.
It’s one a couple members of his crew have been eyeing, too.
Justin Jennings, the front-end mechanic on the Blaney car, and Chris Tidwell, the underneath mechanic, both consider Kansas Speedway something of a home course. Jennings is from La Grange, Mo; Tidwell from Emporia, Kan. They each spent considerable time as kids at Kansas Speedway.
“As soon as it opened, my family got season tickets,” Jennings said. “As I got older, I started coming with my dad to every race.”
Tidwell used to be a regular visitor in Kansas City, though in a different role than his current one on the Blaney team. He was primarily a driver and often appeared at Lakeside Speedway.
But his love for NASCAR was further cemented watching Cup Series events at Kansas Speedway.
“I attended the first one here,” said Tidwell, who planned to drive home Saturday to visit family. “What I remember is it was so miserably hot. I’m glad they moved it to later in the fall.”
— Sam McDowell contributed to this report
This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 5:20 PM.