WHAT IS PERRIS RACER JOEL RAYBORNE UP TOO DURING COVID-19 CRISIS?
By Scott Daloisio
(Perris, CA, June 5, 2020) Round #5 of interviews with Perris Auto Speedway racers about what they are doing during the COVID-19 crisis is on the 2018 USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Joel Rayborne. The 17-year-old recently graduated from high school and holds down a job as a machinist, but he is chomping at the bit to get back in his car as soon as the USAC/CRA Series gets clearance to resume racing. Here is what the enthusiastic young driver had to say on a recent afternoon.
The PAS: You are 17 right now, but don’t you have a birthday right around the corner?
Rayborne: I will be 18 years old on August 13th.
The PAS: So, you just completed your junior year in high school, correct?
Rayborne: I am actually a senior and I just graduated last Monday.
The PAS: Congratulations on that! Did the COVID-19 crisis have any effect on your senior year? I know it has played havoc with Alyssa Smith who races IMCA Modifieds at The PAS. Lots of senior stuff got canceled.
Rayborne: So, I have been doing independent study. Basically, homeschool for the last year and a half. So, nothing really changed for me. When they went away, my teacher went away for about a month, but I still had work (studies) that I could do. I got it all done. Our graduation date is technically not until June 25th, but I finished early and graduated last Monday.
The PAS: Will you have a graduation ceremony with all that is going on?
Rayborne: They are talking about one sometime in July, but I am not sure exactly. As of now, there is no graduation (ceremony).
The PAS: How did you like home schooling as opposed going to classes at school?
Rayborne: It is really nice that you can make your own schedule within reason. You have to have around three credits a week done. I was doing about four or five just to get done. I like it a lot better than going to school every day.
The PAS: What persuaded you to pursue homeschooling in the first place?
Rayborne: They complained I missed to many days of school for racing. I would miss a Friday before every race to make sure we were properly prepared before a race instead of rushing Friday night and Saturday morning. By taking Friday off we were able to be properly prepared, got the trailer loaded and Saturday morning we would hook up to the trailer and be off to the racetrack.
The PAS: Back to COVID-19 for a moment. What have you been doing to occupy your time during this crisis?
Rayborne: We worked a deal out with DRC, and we have two DRC’s (chassis). A 2020 and 2018. I have been building those and now they are done. I have been working on the house a little. We did a small bathroom remodel. Fixing the fence, re-concreting some of the posts that were falling over. There is not much else to do.
The PAS: You are saying “we.” You and your dad?
Rayborne: Yeah. Stuff on the house we always wanted to do. Stuff we started and were slowly doing. Now that there is no racing and the racecars are done, we have been working on the house.
The PAS: Has your dad been working?
Rayborne: No, he has stopped working. He worked from home until April 19th. Now he is waiting to go back to work.
The PAS: You said you have been working on the house, but what else have you been doing to occupy your time?
Rayborne: Iracing. I raced a sprint car race with the USAC Iracing Series at Knoxville and Eldora. I raced in a midget race in USAC Iracing at Eldora as well. I ran the Speed Shift Iracing leagues with Midgets and the POWRi league as well.
The PAS: Were you into Iracing before this pandemic hit?
Rayborne: I think I got started in Iracing about four or five years ago. My grandpa is actually the one who showed it to me. My buddy built us a computer and my dad had a simulator from when my grandpa bought himself and my dad one when he retired. That is how I got started in Iracing and have been doing it ever since. I have been doing it since dirt was never even around on there. I have done it with winged sprint cars, non-wing sprint cars, and midgets. I have also been running the CSI Pavement Sprint Car League. That is actually a blast to run.
The PAS: How do you do in that stuff?
Rayborne: The pavement sprint car I have only run one race. I finished 12th. In the midget stuff, I think I had a couple top 10s. In the USAC Knoxville sprint car race I finished 13th I think and the Eldora one I finished 16th. It is real tough to drive the sprint cars on there for sure. It was fun to battle with those guys.
The PAS: How much do you think that helps you in racing your real sprint car?
Rayborne: We do not have a motion base or anything. Not having a motion base, you do not feel the car and you do not react with the car. It doesn’t so much compare to real life. It keeps your reaction times up because we race midgets on little small tracks. I think that is about it.
The PAS: You are a machinist?
Rayborne: Yeah, I work at a company called Nocturna.
The PAS: You are 17 and a machinist. How long have you worked for Nocturna?
Rayborne: Two years. He was really busy one summer and he asked if I wanted to come help. It is on the way to my dad’s work. He drops me off about 4:30 (AM) and that way he can be to work by 5:00. I work from 4:30 to sometimes 2:00, sometimes 3:30. I have been here at 4:30 in the morning and we have had so much to do I stayed here until 8:30 at night. It just depends on what we have got to do. Today I am making a couple race car parts.
The PAS: Is that a full-time job?
Rayborne: I worked two or three days a week. The rest of the days I did schoolwork. I did a couple extra credits to get done. During the summer I was here for two months or however long summer was. We are kind of slow right now.
The PAS: I know you are into RC Racing and Fishing. Have you been doing any of that stuff?
Rayborne: All the RC tracks are closed. Our buddy Lavandis, I have been playing with him on some drag racing cars. He has got his up to 120 or 130. I have only been able to get mine up to 102 miles per hour. I have to figure a couple things out. I have been doing that a little bit. We used to go every night that we could to Tony’s Hobbies. I have not been fishing in a while. We were going to go with some buddies until this (COVID-19) all happened.
The PAS: What kind of fishing are you into?
Rayborne: I used to do it a lot as a little kid, but I have not done it in a while. We used to go out on my dad’s grandparent’s boat. All ocean fishing. We would fish in the harbor or go a couple of miles offshore and we would go to Catalina probably 20 times a year. Went to San Clemente Island once. All ocean fishing.
The PAS: What is the biggest fish you ever caught?
Rayborne: I don’t actually know. I guess a crab would be bigger than any fish I ever caught. We used to go lobster fishing, but we would catch more crabs than lobsters. We caught some King Crabs. I haven’t been fishing since I was probably 12 or 13.
The PAS: Back to racing. When we finally get back to racing this year, what is different on your cars?
Rayborne: Like I said, we have a brand new 2020 DRC and we have a 2018 DRC. Some of the best cars (DRC) on the market right now. Our spares package is a lot more built up. So, we are prepared for anything that can happen. We were going to maybe try some of the Sprint Week races this year, but I am not sure if those are going on or not.
The PAS: If I were to tell you we are racing this Saturday, would you be completely ready?
Rayborne: Yep! If we were racing on Saturday night, I would go through the bodywork on it. I would tell my dad lets take a trip to Mel’s (Mel Murphy) to get a set of tires because we are out of tires from last season. We would have to get some fuel. Prep the trailer and load it. That is about it and we would be ready.
The PAS: Lets make sure you get all of the sponsors in.
Rayborne: A&J Racing, DJ Safety, ROW Signs & Graphics, Justice Brothers, Nocturna Machining, Competition Suspension, DRC Chassis. My biggest supporter would be my dad. He basically does it all. He is the truck driver, checkbook and all the rest. I could not do it without him and my grandma and grandpa.
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- Rodney Rayborne on Jun 11, 2020
- Article Date: 6/5/2020