NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — “How are you doing tonight? Are you ready to see some racin’?”
An older woman, now with an endorsed autograph card in hand, responded in the affirmative. The driver meet-and-greet session occurring on New Smyrna Speedway’s frontstretch was underway, the clock ticking down to the start of the 2020 ARCA East season. The question was posed to a fan by a modern-day short track-racing star, whose gentle tenor seemed to suggest he wasn’t nervous for what was technically his first NASCAR-sanctioned race since 2012.
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Stephen Nasse had just turned 17 when he made two starts in this very series, finishing 20th and 22nd, respectively, at Richmond and Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. To be fair, he looked pedestrian then compared to an impressive array of young drivers in both of those races, like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suárez, Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace and Brett Moffitt. He and his family team were overmatched.
Between then and this breezy February night during Speedweeks, Nasse came of age in the world of late model racing. He’s earned wins in the Baby Rattler in Opp, Ala., SpeedFest in Cordele, Ga., the Short Track Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway and, last year, the Winchester 400, after leading 392 of 400 laps on a high-banked half-mile track where the pace is never not relentless.
Anyone who watched Nasse’s career unfold understands his internal settings were pegged to attack mode years ago and somewhere along the way, the handle broke off. He’s perpetually aggressive, eye candy for spectators, eye-rolling for competitors. His driving could be enough to sell him, but his ways as a firebrand get him over with fans. He’s either booed or cheered; Nasse does not elicit a tepid reaction.
The boo birds will note he wrecked William Byron under caution in 2016 and followed suit with a Twitter tirade in which he called Todd Gilliland a “rich prick.” He traded punches with fellow short-tracker Donnie Wilson in 2018. Less than a year later, he threw a helmet at the pit crew he rented for the Snowball Derby, kick-starting a fight which he rationalized afterward with amazing clarity.
With a rap sheet like his, it would seem he’s easy to hate. But the long line of autograph seekers, which has forced a succession of starts and stops in his chat with The Athletic, underscores there are fans eager (and patient) to share a moment with the one race car driver who might be a bigger lightning rod than Kyle Busch.
Nasse, who turns 25 in May, was not included on The Athletic’s list of the top 50 NASCAR Cup Series prospects for 2020. For starters, he’s a little too old for someone not regularly in a NASCAR pipeline series — Chase Briscoe, also 25, is considered an older prospect, backed into a desperate win-now corner of his own making, and he’s driving in the Xfinity Series.
More importantly, there seems to be a reasonable motive for Nasse standing pat in late models: He’s not entirely motivated to chase the money and fame bestowed by NASCAR. An opportunity hasn’t come along, because, as he says: “I just haven’t looked for it.”
“Everybody wants money. And we just haven’t wanted to bring it,” said Nasse, whose tone is reflective and not at all petulant. “I feel like I’m at a good point in my (late model) career where I bring something to the table. I feel like my feedback is pretty good. I feel like I can keep my nose pretty clean, you know, depending on the circumstances. At the same time, some people do like that I don’t take any crap. And I run hard.
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“I don’t know what’s going to happen and there hasn’t been any big deal that’s been holding me back, but I enjoy racing super late models and pro late models. They’re obviously a lot cheaper, and I feel like I made a pretty good name for myself doing that already and have a pretty decent fan base.”
Nasse is in no hurry to shorten the autograph line, taking time with each visitor, providing them all with a warm greeting. He’s Florida-raised, from Pinellas Park specifically, so fans are familiar. He won the World Series of Asphalt championship at this very track in 2018, a seven-race slate in which he never finished worse than fifth, beating out a slew of highly regarded prospects like Sam Mayer, Derek Kraus, Harrison Burton and Ty Majeski.
At this moment, he’s exactly where he wants to be.
“I’d love to see the super late model side of things change and pick up and do that for the rest of my life,” he said. “There are guys like Kyle Busch who would love to be racing super late models, but you go where the money is.”
Nasse not only likes the world he inhabits; he thrives in it. And that’s saying something.
Late model racing is its own audacious ecosystem, most often the seediest part of the short track racing industrial complex. Cars are built and sold from third-party vendors, as are components and parts, and these aren’t small-money endeavors — there’s a trade show and everything. Naturally, the biggest fish in this sea are emboldened with the most leverage. In late model racing, politics holds more importance than talent, money and the ability to cheat efficiently.
All four of those priorities intersect each December at the Snowball Derby, a super late model race held at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. The massively popular event exceeded its usefulness long ago. To compete “properly,” a single team will spend $25,000, which doesn’t include an optional private test session that is now more of a prerequisite than a recommendation; for the same amount, a team could choose to compete in three or four races on a more measured budget at a track local to them. Repetition being the key to driver development, it’s clear the Derby isn’t for those seeking a bang for their buck.
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The event’s reputation is that of an overpoliced exercise in ego. In the last 14 years, five race winner disqualifications after postrace technical inspection: Johnny Brazier (2006), Brian Ickler (2008), Chase Elliott (2013) and Christopher Bell (2015) all preceded Nasse (in 2019) in having their trophies taken away. The happenings in the tech shed at Five Flags overshadow last year’s on-track action, and the accusations Nasse made on Twitter following his disqualification were predictable:
It’s unclear how much of an advantage a titanium piston head had, and Chris Dilbeck denied the accusation of tipping off the Five Flags tech shed. The race victory was handed to second-place finisher Travis Braden.
Afterward, Nasse received positive messages from the likes of Gary Balough, a 1,000-race winner in his short track career, and NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Mark Martin. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also provided him words of comfort.
“Me and Dale Jr. have kept in communication for quite some time now,” said Nasse. “He came up to me at the super (late model) race at Lucas Oil (in Indiana) and we had a little chat in person. That was really awesome. That was really unexpected. He’s always reached out to me on Twitter. We talked after (the Derby).”
By comparison, all series falling under NASCAR’s purview are more regulated and consistent and less gross, likely coming as a surprise to those who only watch NASCAR and think poorly of its officiating and decision-making. It speaks to Nasse’s character that he’s found something he likes about the late model world — that, or he’s a glutton for punishment.
Nasse finished sixth in his ARCA East return. Given the nature of the race — it was difficult to pass and defined by an ill-fated three-wide attempt which led to a red flag — this was a good result.
“These cars are actually a lot of fun,” he said, pointing to his ride, adorned with the number 09, which weighed about 1,000 pounds more than the late model to which he’s become accustomed. “I’ve enjoyed myself these last couple days, more than I thought I would.”
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There isn’t really a plan beyond this one race. A full ARCA East slate could help alter his trajectory as a prospect, but he isn’t pushing all that hard. Jett Motorsports, the team for which he raced late models the last two years, is looking to tackle ARCA on a more regular basis, filling the desires of buy-a-ride drivers. Nasse was here to deliver a proper baseline.
“Who knows what I’ll do, and get into, but we’ll see.”
He likes his team, and he’s at ease with his place within this pocket of the auto racing milieu. Of course, he’d consider a ride in a top-tier NASCAR series, but only if it makes sense — to him, there is no appeal in merely filling a field, all for the benefit of glitz and glamour.
“If I could make a career out of racing, that’d be awesome. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “My thing is, I’d just like to run good. I could work with somebody and make the team better, hopefully, but if it got to a point where things weren’t going well for a long period of time, to me, it’d be tough to keep doing.
“I would hate to get in that position.”
(Photos courtesy of NASCAR)