“I’ve kind of been involved off and on my whole life…” is how my conversation started with Chesapeake, Virginia-native Scott Allen. After becoming a friend of HardcoreRaceFans.com on Facebook, we noticed Allen was without a doubt a Hardcore Race Fan.

“When I as about 16 in high school, I worked for a guy he had a late model,” Allen told HardcoreRaceFans.com. “I started going to the races with him and working on the race car and I’ve been kind of hooked ever since.”

Scott continued to work on the late model that ran at Langley Speedway for roughly ten years working as a general mechanic and tire changer. In 1995, Allen and his team won a pit crew competition at the Langley Speedway, beating the competition by nearly two-tenths of a second, but he was quick to admit the stop was much slower than anything you see today.

“I worked on late models for about ten years and that was probably about ten years ago. I had a daughter come along and at the time I was considering trying to do it as a living. At that time, I think you had to be gone 32 weeks out of the year, so I figured it would be better to be home with my daughter rather that be gone all the time. It was kind of convenient at the same time,” Allen admitted, “because the guy I was working for, he was getting out of it, he was getting married and starting a family.”

One of the last big races Allen went to with his late model team before leaving was at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Getting ready to qualify for the event, Allen and his crew struck up a conversation with a young aspiring driver named Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“We were going through qualifying and Dale Jr. was there,” Allen explained. “We started talking to him because we were kind of curious as to what he was running. We figured what he was running was the best of the best and he was actually asking us about Phil Warren that used to win everything over at Langley at one time. Apparently his mom used to live next to Phil or something at one time.”

Scott admitted it was hard to say if he believed Dale Earnhardt Jr. would become the star he is today. Watching him on the local level, he explained, “He never really did a whole lot in late models. Certainly the boy can drive; obviously he has proved he can. It’s a tough deal now, but I wouldn’t trade places with him.”

Since leaving the late model team, Allen has gone into business for himself in the Chesapeake, Virginia area. He now goes to a minimum of four NASCAR races each year with members of his family, hitting both races in Richmond at Martinsville.

“I spend a lot of money to go to the race track,” Allen admitted. “I bought a $30,000 travel trailer and I have a $50,000 truck to pull it. At Richmond, they have a Torque Club, I mean you kind of get spoiled up there, those seats are not cheap. I have an aunt and uncle, they have a big motorhome and we go to four races a year. They have a spot in Martinsville in the Champions Row where you sit in front of your motorhome and watch the race.”

For Allen, going to NASCAR races with his family provides a way to have fun and break away from the mundane everyday life.

“I don’t drink, I don’t do any drugs, I don’t smoke, and you’ve got to enjoy yourself somehow,” he said. “It’s fun that everyone is so passionate about who they pull for and that’s what makes it so fun.”

His daughter is now grown to fourteen years and while she is not as big a fan as he is, she still enjoys the sport.

“She’s kind of a bandwagon jumper, whoever’s running good and whoever’s cute is who she’s pulling for,” Allen said of his daughter. “She’s a Kyle Busch fan and Denny Hamlin. She likes Kasey Kahne because she thinks he’s cute.”

Scott Allen has seen both sides of the sport and now chooses to be a part of the true driving force in NASCAR – the fans. By spending time with his family and especially his daughter, Allen is passing on that tradition and love of the sport.

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