A long way from home

Published: September 26, 2008

Dane Rudolph sat in a motel room with his father, waiting for that one phone call that would give the aspiring driver a chance to race in a stock car in the United States.

He spent a month in that room in Charlotte, N.C., spending his time trying to meet as many people in the racing business as he could. The 22-year-old was hoping that one of those contacts would lead to his first shot at stock car racing.

The young driver finally got his shot with Danville natives H.C. and Peyton Sellers, and was scheduled to compete at Martinsville Speedway for the first time this weekend in the Baileys 300.

Things came to an abrupt halt for the Aussie this past weekend at Ace Speedway, however, where with nine laps remaining and running in second,
Rudolph’s engine failed and his hopes of running at Martinsville this weekend went up with it.

“We lost oil pressure, causing me to abandon the race,” Rudolph said on Thursday afternoon. “Unfortunately, we’ll have to sit this weekend out. It’s been a tough one to take.”

Not being able to run in the Whelen All-American Late Model series’ premier race is a huge blow for the young driver, especially from the road he has traveled to get to this point.

Eight years prior, Rudolph was 14 years old and racing sports cars in Sydney, Australia. At the time, his ambition was to eventually race in NASCAR’s top series.

It was not a matter of getting to the U.S. that posed the challenge for Rudolph, but finding an owner willing to take a chance on an Aussie who had never raced in a stock car before.

After a month’s worth of pitching and selling, the Sellers brothers decided to give Rudolph a chance.

“His name got mentioned as a referral,” H.C. Sellers said last week at Martinsville Speedway. “They came and did a couple of test sessions the end of last year, December, and he did a real good job and we were able to work out a deal and that’s pretty much how it began.”

Growing up racing on road courses, Rudolph had to learn how to race on ovals and short tracks, the predominant track type in the U.S. On top of that, which division would also suit the Australian best became a topic that crossed his mind.

“When I first came to the U.S., there seemed like there were an infinite amount of stock car divisions to choose from,” Rudolph said. “I really thought to
myself, ‘Geez, which one do you pick?’ I managed to talk to some good people and it was through that, people like H.C., who said you’re going to run Late Model.”

Rudolph has been competing at Ace Speedway this season in Elon, N.C., where he’s ninth in points, including a seventh-place finish in his first race at the track.

“He’s done very well. With stock cars being heavier, I think that was probably a learning curve for him,” Sellers said. “He’s starting to come around and he’s been a threat to win down (at Ace Speedway). To start out the year and be there by the end of the year, I’m very pleased with it.”

Despite the awe-inspiring Rudolph felt when he first got to Martinsville, his laps in practice certainly helped get the butterflies out of his stomach and he has grown to like short tracks.

“For a road course driver, it’s very much like driving on a road course because it’s very flat,” Rudolph said. “Whereas if you drive somewhere like Motor Mile, it takes some time to get used to.”

Time has been Rudolph’s best ally, as he has grown more comfortable with each lap in the No. 18 Chevrolet. And the Australian has not and will not forget where he got his start in stock car racing.

“I feel really blessed to have come such a long way and yet found my feet with such good people like the Sellers,” Rudolph said.