“The Reaper” moved up two places in the Series points at the Atomic Speedway weekend for fourth place
CONCORD, NC (September 5, 2024) – Ryan Gustin went into his first season with Todd Cooney Racing No.19R expecting to build from scratch and grow for the future.
Through the five months since his first 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models Feature win in May at the Dairyland Showdown, the Marshalltown, IA driver is having his career-best season with the Series by earning his most wins (four), laps led (103), top fives (18), and top-10 (24) finishes in a season.
Gustin’s journey of learning to drive an Infinity Chassis in 2024 is a different pace from his previous years of racing a Rocket Chassis for Tri Star Promotions from 2021-2023, during which he picked up five Series wins and a best points finish of fourth in 2022.
“There’s been so much I’ve learned through this year honestly,” Gustin said. “We started with a bang, then struggled in Florida and those first couple of months. A lot of it was me figuring out how to drive these (Infinity) cars. They drive differently from a Rocket or Longhorn. To begin, I couldn’t turn in a 40-acre field and now we can go back to the same stuff that helps us go around these places.
“It was more of me not being comfortable driving these cars the way they need to be driven. From my years of driving a Rocket, you had to let it all hang out every lap where you don’t need to do all that in these cars as much. You still need to drive as hard as you can, obviously, it’s just been a different driving style that I’ve had to understand more about.”
Before embarking on a journey toward dirt Late Model racing, Gustin built up his resume in Modifieds with a USMTS National Championship trophy to boast. In his later years, he formed a relationship with Scott Bloomquist to help him get on his feet.
Gustin credits the Mooresburg, TN legend with helping expand his understanding of the Late Model and the off-track memories that will stick with him forever after Bloomquist’s passing on Aug. 16, 2024.
“(Scott) helped with anything,” Gustin said. “It’s definitely not the same. If I had a question about anything, I could call him at any time of the day or night and he always had the answers. It’s been rough for us, but the sport and the racing will never be the same without him. At the end of the day, we can race as hard as we can in his memory and make him proud, that’s what we’re trying to do.
I got to know him for years, and he took a liking to me for some reason. So, we got to take our cars to his shop and fix some things and it was way better after that time because he pointed us in the right direction. I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done. He was a great individual. If you knew the guy, you had a great relationship with him. All I can say is when the fridge was full of (Crown Royal), good times were going to be had.”
While he enjoys sitting fourth in the Series points with seven races remaining, “The Reaper” is only focused on winning more Feature races as he and the TCR team have set out to expect.
He knows how momentum can swing in either direction after four years on the World of Outlaws tour, so it has been his job to find the speed his team continues to work for until the last checkered flag flies at World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 6-9).
“All of us were new going into this (Todd Cooney Racing) deal outside of me and Noah (Bushman),” Gustin said. “It was all different from everything I ran before. It’s taken me some time to figure out the cars from the engines to chassis and a lot of key components that make it run.
“I think we’ve gotten a good grasp on it now. It’s hard because you can easily go from hero to zero in a matter of a couple of races. Everyone gets faster, nobody gets slower. We’ve had to consistently stay on top of our stuff, and you have to be working to get towards the top. We’ve been doing a great job and I think it’ll be good things to come.”
September in the south has Gustin optimistic about the races at Senoia Raceway (Sept. 14), Talladega Short Track (Sept. 15), Boothill Speedway (Sept. 27), and Rocket Raceway Park (Sept. 28).
However, Gustin has to go up against Robeline, LA driver Cade Dillard, whose extensive experience at the tracks around his home will help decide who keeps fourth in the Series standings. Dillard is sixth in points, 64 points back from Gustin.
“I think (the south) will be good, but (Cade Dillard) has a lot of laps at those places more than anybody,” Gustin said. “Senoia and Talladega will be good tracks for us to see how we’ve improved since earlier in the year. It’s been a long time since I’ve raced in those Louisiana or Texas tracks, and that was with a Modified.
“You take any of the top guys in this pit area, take them to a new track and they’re gonna be fast because everyone is that good that they don’t need too many laps. It’s gonna be about nailing the setup of the car out of the box for any of the guys that are racing for wins.”
Gustin continues his career-best year with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models at Senoia Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 14, then the completion of the Alabama Gang 100 at Talladega Short Track on Sunday, Sept. 15.
For more information about the upcoming events in the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models season, CLICK HERE.