MIDDLETON, Del. — With Spencer Bayston attending his sister’s wedding, veteran racer J.J. Grasso will race the Sam McGhee Motorsports No. 11 in all four All Star Circuit of Champions races in Central Pennsylvania this weekend.
The feel-good news made its way around social media this week, but Grasso has ruminated on his big pinch-hit opportunity for over two months.
It’s a deal that came together in the middle of June, shortly after Bayston joined the McGhee team.
When the team’s crew chief, Kevin Osmolski, offered Grasso, a racer who has long overachieved with limited resources, the four-race deal, it instantly became the 36-year-old’s biggest shot in a sprint car.
Then Bayston broke through for monumental wins with the All Star of Champions and World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series in July, and Grasso’s eyes widened.
“I was like, ‘Holy moly, these guys have some power,’” Grasso said. “(The McGhee team) felt like I was the man for the job. Hopefully, I can prove them right.”
The four-race slate starts Thursday night at Grandview Speedway. Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, and BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday round out weekend.
Grasso is a Middleton, Del., native who only races 10 to 15 times a year. That’s all he can afford with his family-backed team and schedule.
He is two hours away from the Central PA scene and shoulders great responsibility as a quality inspector for an undisclosed aerospace company. Not to mention his life as a husband and father, which are frequently enjoyed at a Lewis, Del., beach in the family camper.
But this weekend, the entire Grasso family will support the racer of 20 years to perhaps score the biggest win of his life.
Though he hasn’t won in a 410 since 2017, Grasso knows how to get it done. He is the 2009 and ’13 United Racing Club champion, one of the top 360 travel circuits, and finished second in the series points in ’10 and ’11.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity,” Grasso said. “It’s almost a little unreal as it approaches. Hopefully, I can do good.
“I’d like to get some top-10s out of it, if not a win,” he added. “That’s certainly not out of the realm.”
Statistically, Grasso is best at BAPS of the four contrasting clay ovals he’ll take on this weekend.
During the PA Speedweek show at the four-tenths mile track earlier this year, he was one of the nation’s winningest cars away from setting quick time. Brent Marks knocked Grasso off the top spot in qualifying and eventually rolled to the feature win.
Grasso finished in the event.
He also qualified for the World of Outlaws event at Bridgeport Motorsports Park and registered another top-10 in the Kevin Gobrecht Classic at BAPS on May 2. His other two runs include finishes of 11th and 13th at Bridgeport and Lincoln, respectively.
Grasso last raced Grandview in 2019, where he finished 11th amongst a stiff PA Speedweek field.
As for Williams Grove, it’s been since 2017 since he raced at the trickiest half mile in Central PA.
“It’s been a few years,” Grasso said. “But I raced it on iRacing this week if that counts?”
Opportunities like these give Grasso a taste of his dream of racing with a national-touring series in a high-profile ride. He said he’s received some enticing offers through the years to become a touring driver, but nothing worth uprooting his family.
“We can’t really just go on the road at this point,” Grasso said. “If this was 10 years ago, I’d be beside myself if I could get a full-time ride. But I’m definitely grateful to have been in the back of somebody’s mind to be a fill-in driver for the team we are talking about the quality of driver they currently have.
“I hope we can have a good weekend together,” Grasso added. “And go have some fun.”