The winter season plays out in varying degrees of cold and snow depending on the part of the country that you live in. Residents of Michigan hear the phrase ‘lake-effect snow’ a lot during the winter months. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, this means cold snowy weather charging across a body of water and morphing into ‘Super Snow’. Since Michigan is bordered by four Great Lakes, and filled with over 10,000 inland lakes, you can only imagine what people who live there endure from October through April.

Just a few miles north of Lansing, MI, is the small town of DeWitt. On any cold, wintry night, you can hear the snow plows cruising the streets and the electric snow shovels clearing out driveways and sidewalks. Inside the homes of DeWitt, people stay as warm as their budgets allow, and think of ways to make life in the coldest months enjoyable.

In one particular home, you will find a teenager’s bedroom that has been decorated in a racing theme (black carpet, silver walls, and lots of trophies). While the inhabitant of this room does have gear for deer-hunting and snowmobiling for his enjoyment during the winter months, it is the racing that is the centerpiece of his life. 17-year old Chad Finley has been blessed with the talent to drive things that go fast, and the trophies that he has been finding places for are a testament to that.

He says that he realized he had to race something to be happy at around the age of nine. Growing up in a family containing members who are racers certainly helped set the stage for this revelation.


Chad Finley

“My Dad and uncles both grew up racing and were very successful,” relates Chad. “My Dad has been so far and won so many races and accomplished things I only dream of with ARCA and trucks and Nationwide series racing. My Uncle Doug [Finley] is also very talented and never had much of a desire to go past late model racing but has racked up over 100 local short track victories in his career.”

Jeff Finley, Chad’s father, has indeed raced in multiple types of racing. His ARCA statistics alone include one win (1999) at DuQuoin, twenty-four Top 5 finishes, and thirty-eight Top 10 finishes. Other racers are found in Chad’s family tree as well, providing more genetic racing DNA for him.

As far as his immediate family goes, this includes his father, Jeff, his mother, Christy, older sister, Teia, step-brother, Jake, and step-sister, Taylor. They witnessed Chad breaking into racing in Go-Karts in East Lansing at age ten. At his first event he won the heat race and finished second in the feature. He finished third overall in his rookie season; then earned two championships and other accolades in following years.

“East Lansing is really close to my hometown,” says Chad. “It’s not quite home but it is close enough. It’s where I got my start at and it’s a place I’ll always hold close to my heart.”

He moved into stock cars at the tender age of fourteen, had a full season at age fifteen in 2007 and was Rookie of the Year, making him the youngest racer in Michigan to earn that achievement. He has shown his fire in ASA Late Models, Outlaw Super Late Models, Super Pro Late Models and the CRA Super Series.

How can he juggle all of this racing with school work? He will be graduating in 2010, and much is expected academically from seniors in high school.

“I am graduating early in March. I am going to after school classes to get extra credits to graduate early. I don’t have any trouble keeping up and I get a 3.8 GPA,” he reports, clearly putting to rest any concerns about his racing interfering with his education.

Despite working hard on both his education and racing career, he still manages to find time to race in an online NASCAR simulator league three days a week. And while he says he tries not to pay too much attention to the girls who may be attracted to a hot up-and-coming racecar driver, he admits he does have a girlfriend, Harley, who races as well. Perhaps he is learning early on that many relationships are the most successful when a common interest is shared, and that a racecar driver’s lifestyle can only be best understood by someone who has an interest in it? If so, that is pretty mature thinking for a young man from a small town in the Wolverine State.

Finley needed his apparent personal fortitude in one particular race that affected him more than any other he had run in up to that point.

“It was when I was Go-Karting. I won a national championship race in Daytona a day after I lost my uncle. It was very tough, but it’s a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It was very special and emotional.”

Does the maturity he seems to have in excess for such a young person extend to racing?

When asked what his attitude is on the track, he answers, “I know when to be patient but I also know when to be aggressive.”

Fair enough. Let’s pick at him a little more. Perhaps about something a little controversial, like drug-testing for drivers.

“I think it’s an awesome thing. It regulates safety more than anything else,” he matter-of-factly answers.

All right, then. Does he believe in any pre-race rituals, or good luck charms for his car?

“Not really.”

Well, then, let’s go for his confidence level in situations even seasoned drivers may squirm in. What if an ‘unusual’ or, let’s be honest, a somewhat embarrassing sponsor offered to be his primary sponsor? Could he handle the responsibilities and expectations, even if it were say, a feminine hygiene product, or a company who makes enemas?

“I’d be awfully grateful,” he says, again sounding wiser than beyond his years. “Anyone that wants to support me is more than welcome to do so, and the more supporters the better.”

No wonder this young man is going places. Speaking of sponsors, and going places, he will be racing in the ARCA series in October at Rockingham. His sponsors include Auto Value Bumper-to-Bumper Certified Service Centers, AutoParts2020.com, and Brad Keselowski Racing .

When asked what he will say to himself when he first arrives at the historic track, Chad says, “Race the track and be patient. Take care of your stuff. You can win here.”

Has anyone else offered any advice? Who would be likely to counsel him for this event? He says that most likely his dad, Jeff, and his crew chief, Wayne Setterington, Jr., will offer what they know. From his past accomplishments, and current attitude and successes in racing, it doesn’t seem that Finley will need a whole lot of racing baby-talk.

Does he have any racing heroes? Kenny Schrader.

“He’s racing all the time, and has the desire to win in anything he drives.”

Which drivers would he love race hard and win over? His first reaction is family, then he moves on to a NASCAR legend.

“In local short track racing I’d love to beat my Uncle Doug at Owosso Speedway in a green-white-checkered finish. In big-time racing I’d love to race Mark Martin hard and win.”

Are there any tracks that he fears, or ones that he dreams of racing at?

“I have always wanted to race at Bristol, but I have done that, so another one would be Darlington,” he replies. “I don’t really fear any race tracks. There are always going to be challenges but that’s what brings the best out in you, and makes you want to win at those tracks so much more.”

He says this of his Dad, as a clue to where all of this drive, confidence, and energy he exudes comes from, “My Dad has influenced me beyond belief. I try to do everything that he does, and that pushes me to be a better racer and a better person off the track.”

In wrapping up the interview, and asked what he expects he will be doing ten years from now, he replies, “Hopefully racing in the Cup Series if not Nationwide. I’d just be very fortunate to make my living racing. It’s a dream of mine.”

After talking with this talented, confident, and smart young man, I am betting his dreams will come true.

Go to Chad Finley’s website