Jul 1, 2016 01:27 AM EDT
Driver Profile: Jayson Smart #8 Creekside Entertainment Street Stock
Media Contact: Beth Marcelle – pr@outlawspeedwayllc.com
For Immediate Release: July 1st, 2016 – Don Romeo photo -
(DUNDEE N.Y.)- Starting his racing career at 15-years-old when the track was known as Dundee Raceway, Jayson Smart has let nothing get in his way of furthering his racing career.
The 39 year-old Army Veteran out of Penn Yan, N.Y. has faced many obstacles in his time racing, but always found a way to overcome them.
During his 9 years enlisted in the Army, Smart was stationed at Ft. Eustis Army Base in Virginia, and served three separate tours overseas in Kuwait and Iraq. Just weeks before his 4th tour overseas in July of 2008, he was involved in a devastating motorcycle accident, and was forced to retire due to a traumatic brain injury.
Smart had to re-learn his basic motor skills; his doctors were doubtful that he would have the ability to walk again, let alone drive a racecar.
Just 2 years after the accident, Smart moved back to New York and bought a 4-cylinder, and he was racing again in April of 2010. Coming from a family who has been racing since 1958, getting back behind the wheel was something that felt natural to him.
After 5 seasons of racing 4-cylinders and capturing multiple feature wins, Smart bought a Street Stock and moved up a class for 2016. So far this season, he likes the competitiveness of the class, and he anticipates good things coming soon as he gets a better feel for his new car.
During a recent interview Smart was asked, what keeps you motivated to keep racing each week? He replied, “I love racing, it’s always been a part of me! I may not be able to do some things as good as I used to, but I didn’t forget how to drive a race car.”
