Commentary by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected]

Winston-Salem, NC(August 21, 2011) — We’ve all seen these young, up and coming drivers blow through this region like a tornado on their way to at least attempting to make it in the upper levels of NASCAR.

Some of these drivers aren’t really that good, but because of money they are able to buy rides all the way up the ladder, others are good, but don’t gain the experience they need at each level to move up to the next. Most of those racers suffer when after only a handful of Bandolero or Legends races, they move straight into a Late Model Stock Car and without even winning or at least becoming consistent, they move right on to the ARCA series or even the NASCAR Pro Series East or West.

These drivers may have a pocket full of “Daddy’s money”, but they aren’t getting what they need to be successful at each level they wish to compete. Nine times out of ten, these drivers fail as they hit a level where the difference between their parents money equals out with other kids, drivers or teams money. We’ve all seen it time after time, when some young kid was touted as the next big thing, but after a minimal amount of success, they immediately make a move up and soon enough, they find themselves out of racing.

We’ve seen examples recently of those drivers who are doing it wrong, but we’ve also seen a couple of drivers doing the progression right and not just taking advantage of “Daddy’s money”. Denny Hamlin obviously did right, becoming one of the most successful Late Model Stock Car drivers in the early 2000’s and quickly becoming a force for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title in the last few seasons. Matt DiBenedetto made a name for himself in Late Model Stock Cars, not to Hamlin’s level, but then moved up too rapidly from there going through the East Series to the NASCAR Nationwide Series quickly. His time in the Nationwide Series wasn’t a failure, but it didn’t last long and now he’s back in the East Series rebuilding his career.

There’s other drivers around the region that are doing it right, but maybe none more so than a pair of brothers from Winston-Salem, NC, that aren’t transplants here, just trying to make it racing, but true racers from this region that have a great chance to make it. Easily comparable to the Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, who are two of the top racers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series today, the Bassett Brothers, Ronnie Jr. and Dillon are making their mark in this region.

The Bassett brothers like the Busch brothers got their start in small Inex sanctioned cars, while the Bassett’s were top dogs in the Bandolero division and the Busch’s were tops in the Legends cars. Another similarity to the Busch brothers is their personalities as Ronnie, Jr. is much like the older of the Busch boys, Kurt. He’s calm, cool and collected and is a smart, calculating driver, while his brother Dillon is very similar to the younger Busch, Kyle as he’s nothing like his brother. Dillon is wide open, wild and raring to go at any point and time and while their styles are different, they are both able to get the job done on the track.

Now the Bassett’s have moved to full-size stock cars with the older brother, Ronnie in the UARA-STARS Series and Dillon is racing in the Limited Late Models at Ace Speedway. Both drivers started to find success last season in their full-size cars with Dillon grabbing a win at Ace and Ronnie winning a pole at Lonesome Pine Raceway in the UARA.

This season, the success has been greater for both drivers, though Dillon was the first to reach victory lane this season in his Limited Late Model, but once he got on a roll at Ace, Ronnie was up on the wheel in the more competitive UARA-STARS Series in his Late Model Stock Car. On May 6th, the younger Bassett grabbed a pair of wins at Ace and nearly a month later they were able to go to victory lane on the same night as Ronnie dominated a race at Anderson Speedway on Friday, June 3rd and Dillon won another pair of races at Ace.

While Dillon was able to keep his wins following a tough technical inspection process at Ace, Ronnie, Jr. was dealt a different fate as he was stripped of his win at Anderson after UARA officials found an issue with the cam in his GM Performance Crate Engine. Despite the disqualification it was a big weekend for the two brothers, both whose stock is rising in this racing region.

Heading into this past weekend, Ronnie had one single official victory and two trips to victory lane this season in one of the most competitive series anywhere and Dillon has had his win streak continue to nine wins. On this weekend, the two would get the chance to win on the same night again as Dillon continued his pursuit of the Limited Late Model championship at Ace and Ronnie Jr. returned to the site of his first trip to victory lane at Anderson. It would be a chance for Dillon to record his tenth straight win on the 4/10 mile d-shaped oval just outside of Burlington, NC, while Ronnie would have a chance at redemption from his early season disqualification at Anderson just outside of Greenville, SC.

Ronnie expected to be the driver to beat as the UARA-STARS Series headed back to Anderson, but he didn’t have the brute speed that he had the last time the series hit the track and he led every lap. This time he wouldn’t qualify on the pole and started his Fat Head Racing entry 13th in a stout field on a gritty, tough South Carolina venue. It wouldn’t be the night he expected from the start, but with 150-laps to get the job done, the young racer was ready to make his way to the front.

On the other hand, Dillon back at the pristine North Carolina venue just down the road from the Bassett family home was fast in practice, but would by track rules have to start in the rear of the field. Dillon would line up 15th as he’s been handicapped since he started dominating the Limited Late Model division and forced to start shotgun on the field. Dillon has become used to starting this far back in the field and racing his way to the front, but it would be a big challenge to see if both brothers could come from deep in the field to win.

Ronnie would be the first of the two brothers to take the green flag at Anderson as he set out on a pace to get to the front and save enough car to have something to challenge for the win in the end. He drove a solid race, picking up position after position as needed as he raced his way toward the front of the pack. The youngster knew it wouldn’t be easy to get from 13th to the lead, but he could have fooled the fans in the stands as he made his way to the front. By the time the checkered flag fell on the race, the young driver proved that his first win at Anderson had nothing to with the illegal parts and proved that he didn’t need to start up front to win.

Shortly after, Ronnie Jr. took his car to victory lane, his brother Dillon would be on his way to taking another victory at Ace. Dillon after starting last made a bee-line to the front of the field and picked up his tenth straight win on the tough track. Both the Bassett boys made their parents proud as they drove their hearts out and came from deep in the field of both races to win two races on one night.

The Bassett shared victory lane on this night, only 232 miles apart while their father Ronnie, Sr. was in the pits working on Dillon’s family owned Limited and their mother, Lisa made the trip to Anderson to watch her young son pick up his second straight UARA win. It’s exactly what people following these two young drivers have come to expect as these two have both shown that despite having differing styles and personalities that they are both on their way to becoming great drivers.

This past weekend was a culmination of what these two young drivers have been working for and as a family it’s more than Ronnie Sr. and Lisa could have ever expected. These two kids are making their parents, family and friends proud and all the while they are setting an example for the slow progression that kids are supposed to make while trying to make it to the upper levels of NASCAR. Ronnie, Sr. and Lisa aren’t getting in a hurry, but rather giving their kids time to mature and gain experience at each level and that’s why both kids have been so successful moving from Bandolero’s to Limiteds and to Late Model Stock Cars.

Ronnie, Jr. may have less wins than his younger brother, but he’s been racing tougher competition, but Dillon is making his mark too. With ten wins in a row for Dillon and three trips to victory lane this season for Ronnie, Jr., it’s certainly been an incredible season for the young drivers and their families. Can the incredible season for these two continue? We’ll have to wait and see, but one things for sure, Dillon is on his way to a championship at Ace and Ronnie, Jr. has asserted himself as one of the drivers to beat in a tough Late Model Stock Car series.

The Bassett’s are doing it the right way, the Bassett kids are doing it in a winning style and having a blast all the way. This family eats, sleeps and breaths racing and if you hang around them you know that they love what they are doing. While Ronnie, Jr. and Dillon will almost certainly find themselves moving up the racing ladder over the next few years, the Bassett clan still has three other kids, two more sons, Brandon and Chase and a daughter Sam, who you might just see wheeling one of these cars soon.