8/17/2018
RacinBoys
Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight: Former baseball, basketball standout Ewing now making news in his B-Mod
By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- Robbe Ewing was one of the region's most-decorated multi-sport athletes during his playing days at Stockton High School before going on to play college baseball.
Nowadays, Ewing is making a name for himself in a different kind of sport, wheeling a race car around dirt ovals.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kenny Shaw
"It fills that void of competition," Ewing said of racing. "As an athlete, I always loved competition - and I love being on the race track and competing."
Four years after entering his first race, Ewing has made notable progress this year in the Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mod division at Lucas Oil Speedway. With four top-10 feature finishes including fifth-place runs on June 9 and July 21, Ewing is seventh in the ultra-competitive division's points.
The Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight Driver of the Week looks to keep moving up on Saturday when the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series resumes for Fan Appreciation Night Presented by TA/Petro and The Ozarks CW/O-Zone. All four divisions will be in action in the next-to-last points program of the season.
Ewing, a 2011 graduate of Stockton High School, said he's had "decent success" in 2018, while noting that he's been a bit up and down at Lucas Oil Speedway. He has feature wins in his B-Mod at Lebanon Midway Speedway and North Central Arkansas Speedway.
On the other end of the spectrum, he rolled a car for the first time earlier this summer at Caney Valley Speedway in Kansas.
"We got the car back together and I think it's been better after we rolled it," Ewing said with a laugh. "The car, which is a Shaw chassis, held up really well."
Ewing said his path into racing differs from many young drivers, who grew up behind the wheel of a go-kart or follow a family racing legacy. He always was a fan of racing, going to the track with friend Ryan Pyle and Ryan's father, Jeff Pyle, as they were involved in area racing.
"My racing passion got started a long time before I actually raced," Ewing said, adding that other sports took priority.
"Baseball kind of ruled what I did and I never really had a chance to race when playing baseball all spring, summer and into the fall," he said. "Yet I always was a fan."
While attending junior college at Neosho County College in Kansas, his racing enthusiasm continued to build.
"Humboldt Speedway was about 10 minutes down the road and I'd spend Friday nights watching the races there, when we were done with games or practices," Ewing said.
Near the end of his baseball career at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Ewing did buy a race-ready B-Mod and went racing for the first time, at Lucas Oil Speedway - without having previously turned any laps.
"I don't think we made the feature," he said. "We were doing well in a B-man and I think we spun out and I was one short of making it in. Rolling out onto the track for the first time, I wouldn't say I was nervous ... it was a little different than baseball, just kind of the unknown, a little intimidating. But you have to start somewhere."
Ewing, whose car No. 32 is the same as his uniform number most of his athletic career, has progressed a little more each year. He said some of the abilities he used to succeed in traditional sports are a help in the world of racing.
"The biggest thing is preparation," he said. "And definitely mental toughess. The mentality of an athlete translates well to the racing world."
Ewing said hid dad has played a major role in any success he's had, on the playing field or the race track.
"My dad (Brian) is above and beyond what anybody can ask for," Robbe Ewing said. "He puts in hours and hours and that car. I could never repay him for what he does on the car and, back to my baseball days, all the traveling. He means more to me than anybody will ever know.
"I also have to thank my wife, Kelsey, for letting me go and race."
Team sponsors include Dirt Track Specialists, The Hail Team, Johnson Paint & Body, Julian Concrete Construction, Eagle Machine, Loehr Construction, Harryman Harvesting, Spurgeon Yachts, Ewing Ready Mix, Laub Bros. Dump Trucking, Tommy's Construction, Kustom Auto and Whistance Farms.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. Saturday with hot laps at 6:30 and opening ceremonies at 7. Fans will be treated to food and drink specials - $1 nachos, $2 hot dogs and $2 soft drinks - plus the Show-Me Vintage Racers with a car show on the midway and 10-lap exhibition race after intermission.
The Pitts Homes USRA Modifieds will running a special 25-lap, $1,000-to-win main event. The Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods, Big O Tires Street Stocks and Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models also will be in action.
Admission prices:
Adults (ages 16 and over) $12
Seniors (62 and over)/Military $9
Youth (ages 6-15) $5
Kids (5 and under) FREE
Family pass $25
Pit pass $30
For ticket information on all events at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2018, contact Admission Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 282-5984 or by email at nichole@LucasOilSpeedway.com. Fans also can go online to purchase tickets for any event on the 2018 schedule.
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
