Jason Hogan, NASCAR Southeast Series driver, was asked to test a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride alongside of Rusty Wallaces son, Steven and other competitors. Hogan tested the Billy Ballew #15 at Peach State Speedway in Georgia on December 11-12 and by all indications, the test went very well for everyone involved. The group would like to put a deal together to run a part-time schedule, starting with the inaugural Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 13. Ive done some big Super Late Model races with Richie Wauters and he set up this whole test deal, said the 21-year-old Hogan. Ive also known Billy (Ballew) for several years, so you can bet I was wide open for the opportunity they gave me. These days, just to get a test with a team is an accomplishment for your career. In racing today, there are very few people who will put someone in one of their cars or trucks when theyve never driven for them before. It was a blast, but even more, it was a real learning experience. It was the first time Ive been behind the wheel of a Craftsman Truck and it was a lot of fun to drive. I really liked the feel of the radial tires and I took to them pretty quickly. It was actually a little more fun to drive than my Super Late Model and anyone who has been in one of those cars knows how much fun they are.
Wauters, a veteran crew chief in the NASCAR ranks echoed Hogans thoughts. He was real fast and real impressive. NASCAR had a bunch of drivers they were testing at Jefferson (where Peach State Speedway is located in Georgia) and they all looked good, but Jason and Steven were the best of the bunch. Jason is a good kid; I think he has a lot of potential if given the chance.
It was the first time Hogan had ever been behind the wheel of a premier series car on a short track. For the past year, Hogan has worked as a driving instructor with the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Atlanta, Talladega and Nashville Speedways. He has roughly 2,500 laps at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Craftsman Truck Series is logically the next step I need to take. The new NASCAR Touring deal was built to have Elite racers move up to the Winston West or Busch North Series, but that isnt feasible to us because of our location, so the Truck Series is where I need to go. Its producing some of the best racing out there today and it has a great TV package with SPEED Channel. There are a lot of talented drivers in the Truck Series right now and I just want a chance to compete with them. Jason and the Billy Ballew team (Ballews team finished in the top-20 in CTS points in 2003) are looking for sponsorship assistance to run the March 13th Atlanta race and possibly more if feasible. Anyone interested in getting involved with Jason can find out more about him at www.jasonhogan.com.(51 Sports PR)(12-19-2003)
