BURLINGTON, NC :: No matter how long you’ve been at a race track one thing is easy to pick up on, there are a lot of emotions at play.

If you’re in the crowd there is emotion that fans attach to their favorite driver and probably even more emotion attached to their reason for having their favorite driver to boo.

On pit road there are double, maybe triple the emotion.  Drivers eager to show their skill, prove a point, or reminding everyone else on pit road they’re a force to reckon with as well as crew members, who sacrifice time with their families to have a hand in getting their car to the track on a Friday or Saturday night.

But one emotion supersedes all, and that’s the raw emotion of a driver’s very first trip to victory lane.

In now my fourth year of race announcing, I have been fortunate enough to experience several first time winners and no two are the same.  Some cry, some get loud, most do both and all are special.

This past Friday I once again experienced a first time winner from a young man that a greatly admire and respect, Devin Steele, a 20 year old a young hot shoe from Stuart, Virginia who came on the scene last year in the modified division at Ace Speedway and by the middle of his rookie season was a steady top three presence.  But you wouldn’t know that from talking to him thanks to his humble and somewhat quiet personality.

He is easily likeable as a young kid who truly has an appreciation for the opportunity he has earned, and also has one heck of an ace in the hole with Danny Glad as his crew chief.

After post-race tech had concluded for the modifieds, Steele was announced as the official winner of Friday night’s modified race.  And at the conclusion of the final race of the night, Steele brought his blue #86 modified to the front stretch and gladly took his victory lane pictures and got his victory lane interview he most definitely had earned.

It also served as an awesome reminder that hard work DOES pay off, and that good guys CAN finish first after all.

There are days as a race track employee when stress or frustration has set in that I have seriously asked myself, “Why am I here?”  Experiencing the genuine emotion that came with seeing young Devin Steele in victory lane for the first time at Ace Speedway is one of those moments that I’ll always look back on and say “THAT is why we race every Friday night, for those golden moments like this one”.

Congratulations Devin Steele on your win, and I know there will be more to come in the future.

Good Luck, God Bless, Live Second, and I’ll see you at the races!

Tyler Williams is the announcer at Ace Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park.