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From the Tower to the Track, Kasten Gets First Taste of Five Flags at Blizzard Series Finale

By Chuck Corder

Becca Kasten has made two appearances at the Snowball Derby.

But the 22-year-old Wisconsin native has neither practiced nor raced at the most prestigious short-track event in the nation.

Kasten spent time live blogging the race and the jam-packed week’s events for Speed51.com, the authority for short-track racers and its fans, inside the tower at Five Flags Speedway.

But that changes this December where she hopes to be one of the top cars to beat in the 45th running of the Snowball.

Before that, Kasten gets to turn her first laps at America’s Favorite Home Track in the Buddy’s Home Furnishings Blizzard Series season finale Friday night.

“Five Flags is the most, well-organized track in the country,� Kasten said. “I’m excited about it.

“As a northerner, we have our big races. But when I came to watch the Derby, I felt nervous and I wasn’t even driving. It’s such a big deal. If it’s not the biggest race, it’s definitely one of ’em.�

Kasten will help highlight a full field of Super Late Models at the famed half-mile, asphalt oval.

It’ll be a marquee night Friday in addition to the Blizzard Series closing out the regular season by crowning a track champion.

Bubba Winslow hopes to lock up his second straight Super Stocks title with Randy Thompson right on his bumper while the Sportsmen and Bombers standings tighten up courtesy of Double Points Night.

The gates open at 5 p.m. today and admission to the grandstands is as follows: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors; $12 Military/Students (12-17); $5 Children (6-11); Under 6 is Free. Passes to get into the pits are $25.

Kasten will steer the No. 51 owned by Speed TV personality Bob Dillner. Dillner, who is one of the founders of Speed51.com, admired Kasten’s work ethic when she volunteered providing Snowball Derby content for the website a few years ago.

“Bob loves short-track racing and real people,� Kasten said. “He liked what I projected and he could tell that by the way I talked racing.�

Kasten is seemingly the perfect driver for Dillner, who consistently promotes the idea of more female drivers in the sport, such as Danica Patrick, Kenzie Ruston, who has made several appearances in Pensacola, and, of course, Pensacola’s own Johanna Long.

Kasten bears a fond admiration for Long, the 2010 Snowball Derby champion who has turned heads in her rookie season on the Nationwide Series.

“One thing about Johanna,� Kasten said, “that’s different than a lot of the other girls you run into in racing, is that she’s really genuine. When she talks to you and says ‘good luck,’ she means it.

“That’s hard to find in racing, girls and guys. That makes it a lot easier to cheer for her.�

By most standards, Kasten is a late bloomer when it comes to racing. Her background is a stark contrast than most drivers fans become familiar with.

She didn’t start racing until she was 16 and when she did it was on a lark.

“I never really followed NASCAR and my family was never really mechanically inclined,� Kasten joked. “One morning, I woke up and wanted to try that because it looked like fun.�

After an initial, steep learning curve of a little more than a year, the spontaneous Kasten began to break through with late model wins.

In her family-owned car, she became the first female to collect checkered flags at both Madison (Wisc.) International Speedway and Wisconsin International Raceway a few seasons back.

“I racked up some pretty cool honors, but it started off pretty ugly,� Kasten admitted. “I wasn’t a kid that jumped in a fast car and won right away. I had to figure out the racing game. If I had the knowledge then when I was 16 that I have now, I would’ve won a lot more races.�

The Belmont Abbey College student in Charlotte, N.C., credits the superior intellect of crew chief Toby Nuttleman with helping her star rise.

After laboring through several mechanics that acted as her chiefs the first years in a late model, the partnership with Nuttleman helped her turn a corner.

Kasten boasts six top 10s in several late model series across the Midwest this season.

“In my opinion, he’s probably one of the top five crew chiefs in the country, as far as late models go,� Kasten said of Nuttleman. “Up (north), he’s highly respected. I do a good job driving the race car sometimes, but I would not be nearly as competitive as I am without him.

“I really appreciate that because I realize this is much more of a team sport than the casual observer realizes. I’ve been in enough bad cars that when I’m in a good car, I know it’s not all me.�

The blogger turned driver returns to Pensacola on Friday.

This time, though, Kasten gets a new perspective of the track she’s only seen from above.

“This is quite a different racetrack than I’m used to running,� she admitted. “A lotta cars that will be there have a million laps at Five Flags. For us, it’ll just be a test run and a learning curve. Hopefully, we learn a bunch.�

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