On 25 October, The Checkered Flag caught up with Dylan Parsons to speak about his Championship Off-Street Professional SPEC-winning marketing campaign, the expansion of the category, and the 2025 season.
The total transcript of the interview is on the market under. Some textual content has been altered from the precise dialogue to enhance readability.
An article on the interview will be learn right here.
Transcript
TCF: You went from not successful any races your rookie season in Professional SPEC to successful 5 instances this yr and the championship. Final time, you informed me that 2023 was going to be extra of like a studying yr for everybody, so by comparability, what was your mindset going into 2024?
DP: To win races like that was positively the mindset. In direction of the tip of the yr, we began podiuming in ’23 after which acquired Rookie of the 12 months. We have been simply build up momentum and simply not making an attempt to wreck the truck. Starting of the season, I got here in, I examined twice earlier than the season and I’m like, “We have been prepared coming into the primary race to run with these guys,” and we received the primary race of the yr. We have been able to go.
TCF: How a lot of a confidence booster was it to win the season opener?
DP: Oh, that was big. Lena, I acquired a whole lot and a whole lot of laps on Lena. It’s the closest observe to us and to go check there, we examined there a number of instances. Going there and successful, it’s not my favourite observe of all of them, however we had aggressive lap instances and we confirmed up and knew we have been able to go. Profitable the primary race, it type of didn’t set in all weekend. We went first and second over the weekend and we have been like, “Okay, we all know we will run with these guys. We knew we will run with them final yr. We simply must execute and be there when we’ve to be.”
TCF: Bark River was type of an attention-grabbing weekend since you ran three races due to the Crandon make-up, and naturally you received two of three and completed second within the different. How did it really feel to run so effectively on what was such a busy weekend?
DP: I really raced a buggy on Friday at Bark River too, so it was wild. I knew coming into the weekend that it was going to be tremendous busy. I really acquired an additional man to return with simply because I’m like, “We’ve got three days to show this truck round and if we’ve any issues, we’re going to be busting our butts.” However Bark River might be my favourite observe. Profitable on Friday, it simply escalated. We had a flat tyre on Saturday and nonetheless battled again to get second. I believe the truck was battle examined Saturday like we had no physique left. Positively, successful at Bark River that weekend was as best-case situation as you could possibly get all through that weekend, after which we took the Champ factors lead at Bark River.
I podiumed each days at Bark River final yr within the truck too, and I’ve received a number of instances within the buggy and I believe I podiumed in side-by-side there just a few instances too. So positively, Bark River has been good to me. [chuckles]
TCF: So would you say that if you took the factors lead at Bark River, or any time earlier than that, the place you began to understand your possibilities of successful the championship have been quite a bit higher than you might need anticipated?
DP: We talked about it just a little bit. I’m like, “I’m simply anxious about racing race by race, like if that occurs, it occurs.” We type of talked about it at Lena, we have been getting shut. Nick (Visser) was working good, however he was having points the place he’d simply crash out however he beat me in qualifying each time. He was all the time quick, he was simply having tremendous points with the truck breaking or crashing. I wasn’t anxious about any of that. I simply needed to take every race one after the other and fear about successful that race or podiuming that race.
I imply, we podiumed each race this yr besides at some point at Antigo. We had a flat tyre that day, like simply from some contact; the flat tyre, some contact, I believe I had a pair, nevertheless it was by no means a failure. It was all the time, we acquired hit.
TCF: I bear in mind a few instances the place you and (Chris) Van Den Elzen and Visser and a few different guys acquired into it, like I believe at ERX you and Van Den Elzen acquired collectively. Had been there any onerous emotions between you and anybody else or did you progress on from it will definitely since you’re all pals?
DP: Effectively, that one I used to be fairly upset about. We talked the following day, we have been good, it simply… It was escalating just a little bit there. […] He’s tremendous quick however he was beginning to have issues at ERX. We crashed at ERX, after which it simply escalated from there once more. We had sat on the rostrum, we acquired over it after which like him and I acquired collectively once more.
I had been doing it just a little bit at Bark River too. We bumped on that final lap there and I made an aggressive cross for the win, however you’re going for the win that late within the season for factors, if the opening was there, you needed to go for it.
TCF: There have been another guys who gave you some good competitors despite the fact that they weren’t full-timers like Chris Parrish and Wyatt Miller. What was it like racing with these guys?
DP: Parrish was tremendous quick. He got here from System 4 and stuff like that and it will have been attention-grabbing to see him the entire season, however clearly (Ryan) Beat had completely different plans, like with Wyatt coming in and that was the plan. Wyatt was tremendous quick. I believe he’s racing that truck once more subsequent yr and he’s going to be tremendous quick. Him coming into this sport is placing extra eyes on the game due to his household as an Earnhardt and all that as a 12 yr previous. There’s just a few younger youngsters and it’s type of like, “Effectively, you bought to race them the identical as everybody else, however you bought to do not forget that they’re 12.”
However yeah, having them are available in is barely going to make our sponsors get extra publicity. Bass Professional Retailers goes to put up issues about that and our truck’s in the identical image or JR Motorsports or no matter. It could possibly put extra eyes on quick course with him coming in, similar to again within the 90s, nobody actually knew Jimmie Johnson raced quick course. That’s the place he got here from, and he went and did what he did in NASCAR for all these years. There’s the crossover of the stepping stones and hopefully Wyatt goes to that in some unspecified time in the future and he can say he raced quick course to begin to develop himself into what he’s going to do.
TCF: Professional SPEC’s been rising and getting extra aggressive over these previous few seasons from 4 vans in 12 months One. What are your ideas on the way it’s grown?
DP: I believe we had ten vans this yr. The primary race was type of like, “The place is everybody?” There have been some vans that didn’t race this yr and there’s vans that offered already. Chad Rayford who received the factors final yr, good pals with him, I used to be pushing hammers to purchase that truck since Snocross season and getting that truck again on the observe (with Avery Hemmer). She was tremendous quick at Crandon. Like I really went over and helped them check earlier than Crandon and didn’t even take my truck. I simply went over there and noticed for her. They’re like, “You suppose she’s prepared?” Yeah.
[…]
Professional SPEC was rising. I believe we had 11 vans at Fall Crandon and undecided if there’s any extra being constructed in the intervening time. There’s a pair on the market nonetheless, however I had a variety of questions after Fall Crandon on some. I do know one side-by-side man purchased a Professional Lite, however he wasn’t certain what he’s going to do with it but. It’s a carb Professional Lite and I believe he’s going to race that subsequent yr in Professional Lite and see how that goes.
The Impulse Podcast would all the time say we have been the perfect race to look at like each race. We’d placed on a present each race and there have been individuals coming as much as me on the parade and Lena, at Crandon, like, “You guys are placing on an important present. All these things.”
That’s actually cool to know that we’re placing on simply nearly as good a present as Professional 2, Professional 4, the whole lot else and we’re not the extent they’re.
TCF: Clearly, Professional 2 and Professional 4 are the massive fish within the collection, however do you are feeling Professional SPEC, being extra of a driver collection, goes to get much more fashionable?
DP: Hopefully. Professional SPEC, I believe the most important drawback is there’s all these Professional Lites that guys are seeing on the market for thus low-cost. You get to clarify to them like, “How a lot time’s on all that stuff? Like is all of it new?” You then see a Professional SPEC that’s on the market, I do know there’s two of them on the market and so they’re priced manner larger than a Professional Lite, however these engines have zero time on them. They’re model new, they’re each model new gone-through vans.
I’m on my second season on an engine and I haven’t achieved something with it; upkeep, that’s all we’ve achieved. It’s been confirmed that you could possibly take a inventory engine and race. We bounce them off the rev limiter and everybody is aware of that, however no failures and that engine’s been nice versus a few of these larger courses. They’re rebuilding engines midway via the season and Professional Lites are shopping for engines and delivery them off and getting them rebuilt straight away. It’s an enormous expense the place this engine, yeah, it’s $9000 with all electronics, nevertheless it’ll run. Wiring harness all the best way out to the alternator, you hook gasoline to it and it’ll run.
My opinion is that they’re spending greater than that to rebuild them. You simply purchase a brand new one and put it in if you suppose the time is that you just blow it up or it’s wore out or no matter, however I’m going to do some leakdown on mine and stuff like that this winter and see the place we’re at. It feels stronger now than it did final season, I’ve most likely been driving just a little bit nevertheless it doesn’t appear to be so.
TCF: How huge of a job have guys like Mike Vanden Heuvel and Matt Gerald had in constructing and creating the truck all year long?
DP: Large. Mikey, I’m going up there possibly as soon as every week and go to lunch with them or no matter, simply capturing concepts off one another. We did a pair issues this summer time all year long and made the truck quicker all year long. There have been just a few stepping stones of stuff we needed to do and we did it earlier than Bark River, we did a pair modifications and earlier than spring Crandon and it was big. We positively felt the velocity come from the stuff we did within the truck.
TCF: How huge was it to have a sponsor like Toys for Vehicles, particularly since they have been a full-season sponsor this yr?
DP: Toys for Vehicles has been superior. Invoice (Ciuplinski) and TJ (Larson), they got here to the races this yr, the proprietor and the GM of all of the shops, and so they each got here to a race this yr. It was tremendous cool. We’re type of native and we see Toys for Vehicles, they’ve a pair shops proper by us, however most individuals don’t realise that they’ve like thirty shops throughout the nation. They purchased a pair 4 Wheel Components and so they’re type of the identical factor as a 4 Wheel Components. A few of their numbers on gross sales, I by no means would have even realised that they promote a lot of Bilstein and CURT Hitches and issues like that. They’re an enormous provider for lots of these merchandise.
TCF: Final yr, you informed me you anticipated an enormous studying curve going from a side-by-side to a truck. How huge did it really find yourself being?
DP: I’m lastly to the purpose the place I really feel I can drive it the identical manner because the buggy. It’s simply ‘bounce in and drive,’ and it’s similar to you drove it like that. It was the identical factor leaping within the buggy the primary time: the primary two years, I wrecked a variety of stuff and stuff like that. That was the aim with the truck: the components have been far more costly, you might want to not wreck issues. That’s why I used to be like, “I needed to exit and show myself that I can drive it.”
Now, I can bounce in that factor and drive it nonetheless I need and it’s tremendous snug. That was positively a studying curve. Final yr, I used to be continuously chasing, it felt like traction, simply making an attempt to not spin out in traction. This yr, I may throw the truck wherever I needed to and I knew what it was going to do. I believe the Kenda tyres helped quite a bit on that. Our setup labored effectively, like we constructed the vans all on the identical time, Mikey had been working with Professional Lites which were working Kendas for years now.
Ours and Chad Rayford’s setups have been actual shut final yr. I knew that he was successful, that he’s acquired the identical setup I do, it’s simply the type of tyres I believe made our truck work quite a bit higher than the place we have been at earlier than.
TCF: On the finish of the season, you received at Crandon. You mentioned final yr it was enjoyable, nevertheless it’s additionally extraordinarily hectic due to all of the hype. How did it really feel to lastly win there, particularly on Labour Day weekend?
DP: I didn’t win the massive day however Saturday was nonetheless cool, positively. We got here into the weekend and we needed to begin the race, we needed to qualify inside a pair positions of Nick. He certified first and I acquired second, so I simply needed to begin and I received the championship. It was simply, ‘Okay let’s go race. We don’t have to fret about successful the championship, any of that.’
The excessive all weekend was up there. You may’t even clarify that prime. The weekend was superior. Saturday, it was a dream come true and it was fairly cool.
Profitable at Crandon, I received my first race there in buggy. Profitable the ring, that might have been cool to win on Sunday. However successful the championship, we did what we may do. We acquired taken out on Sunday on the primary lap and that was our solely DNF for the yr; that was my selection as a result of we got here into the pits and the tyre was all wrapped up. I couldn’t have received two laps down, however you don’t receives a commission for fourth within the Purple Bull Cup.
TCF: What are your plans for subsequent yr? Are you going to defend your Professional SPEC title or do you intend on making an attempt out another courses?
DP: That’s the plan. We purchased a semi a pair weeks in the past in order that’s going to assist out with the programme. I believe I took 5 trailers to Fall Crandon, simply between campers and further trailers and the UTV and components. All the things can be all going in a single trailer, that’s going to be tremendous good, and simply defend the Professional SPEC title. We acquired just a few different firms coming onboard for subsequent yr that we’re understanding some last particulars. That’ll assist in like, simply making an attempt to make the truck higher.
There’s nonetheless room for enchancment on making the setup higher and truck higher and there’s just a few issues I wish to change, however simply do the identical factor once more. Hopefully, so long as issues go effectively, we’re going to go to the Mint in March for that quick course race if the Professional SPEC class goes there. There was a bunch chat going round that almost all of us needed to go and it seems like Beat needs to go, so so long as we get the funds for that, we’re going to go there.
I consider Champ’s going to put up their schedule, I heard November 1st or third subsequent week or two weeks. They’ve a lot of the schedule out, however there’s nonetheless one race up within the air on the finish of the season. I’m undecided the place that’s going to be but, however we heard it was presumably west.
Tremendous pumped to go to Wheatland in Might. I’ve been there as soon as with the MidAmerica UTV collection, however I simply went and helped out Colin (Kernz) and that was the primary time ever being there. That was the time when the Professional Lites ran there and my truck wasn’t fairly achieved and I’m like, “I’m not happening there for that first time driving it” type of factor. However that observe seems superior, like that huge bounce within the again and the over/below, there’s no observe like that round right here. I’m tremendous pumped to go there. That ought to be actually enjoyable.
TCF: I believe Champ can also be including a race in South Dakota, so what are your ideas on that if it occurs?
DP: That one, I’m undecided what’s up. It’s South Dakota or additional west. There’s type of some rumbling of what’s taking place there and rumours and stuff like that. I imply, South Dakota can be cool. We race Snocross there and that city Deadwood is an excellent cool city. All the things’s proper there and supposedly the observe was going to be near city.
However I heard rumours there have been some points with permits or one thing like that. I’m undecided the place they put the observe there. It’s not mountainous, nevertheless it’s fairly hilly proper there. There’s cliffs and stuff like that. However we’ll see. I imply, hopefully we go there, it’s just a little nearer than California, however there’s rumours of Arizona or California. I’m undecided but although. We’ll see.
TCF: To play on the Snocross factor, how completely different or related is engaged on a Snocross programme in comparison with a brief course?
DP: It’s a variety of the identical factor and a variety of the stuff I realized from my programme, I’ve realized from Snocross and stuff and backwards and forwards. You’re coping with the identical individuals; Champ runs Snocross additionally, so all of the officiating, most of them you’re coping with the identical individuals and stuff like that. I’m only a wrench for one of many groups. Final yr, I labored with Nick Lorenz and we acquired second in Professional Lite factors. That was a variety of enjoyable and it’s a superb filler that I can work for a staff like that after which nonetheless do my programme in the summertime. Tremendous pumped for that. You get to see the nation too. I went to Canada final yr, Deadwood. It’s tremendous cool.
However yeah, like the identical factor. You prep the sleds on the store, you race at some point and then you definitely take all of it aside and redo it and put it again collectively for the following day. It’s the identical mindset with a snowmobile as you do with the truck, prefer it’s, ensure you get one probability to go on the observe and you bought to verify the whole lot’s excellent.
TCF: Would you ever see your self really racing in snocross or are your arms already full as it’s?
DP: I did just a little bit. I did just a little bit after I was youthful and I raced cross-country snowmobiles for a short time after which I did just a few regional snocross races, however I had extra enjoyable wrenching on snowmobiles and that type of factor. I’m too previous to race now. All these guys are fairly younger.
TCF: Yeah, I get it.
Earlier than we wrap this up, is there anything you’d like so as to add?
DP: I’m undecided. [laughs]
No, I’m simply tremendous pumped on the championship. Between Matt and I, that was the aim. That’s all the time the aim is to win the championship. I believe successful that, we’ve simply acquired to continue to grow on it and defend it subsequent yr. Simply continue to grow at it, like I’m undecided. The long run is limitless. It’s simply, how far can we go?
