Tom Ellis got hooked on racing because of his mom.

Ellis’ mother would take him and his brothers to Northeast SCCA events where she did timing and scoring. The boys were able to roam the track freely back then and Ellis learned to love the sport and the atmosphere at the race track.

“Almost every weekend of those summers, we would be heading to regional and national competitions to participate and it became a great place for youngsters to learn about cars and the commitment and dedication it took to succeed in a sport,” Ellis remembers.

Then, in 1979, he discovered NASCAR.

“Like many, I had a passing interest in the sport until the blizzard in February of that year locked us into our homes in the Northeast and the dramatic Yarborough/Allison fight at Daytona played out in front of us on live TV, then I was hooked.”

Ellis began watching the races each weekend and the sport became the tie that really binds his family.

“Even if life gets real busy, we almost always find time to catch up on a Sunday afternoon to talk about that week’s race.”

Twenty years after he watched that famous fight on television, Ellis finally got to see a NASCAR race in person. He attended the spring Busch (now Nationwide Series) race in Charlotte in 1999. Since then, he has been to over 30 NASCAR events, including an annual trip to the All-Star race.

“We have terrific tickets every year for the All Star race, and that has really become our home event over time,” Ellis explains. “Every year we try to bring as many first timers to the race as possible, and none ever seem to go home disappointed. Of course, that might have something to do with our waterfront, okay it’s just a pond, and campground where we park the RV’s and put on a three day tailgate with many of our good friends who also enjoy good food and good people.”

The tailgating is what he really loves.

“From the setting up of our RV’s, to the never ending cookouts, to the games and music, and the obligatory trip to the haulers to spend money nobody has on merchandise we want, but don’t really need, it’s a great time before we even get inside to our seats at the track to watch the race.”

Ellis claims he is a Jeff Gordon fan, but he has not completely devoted himself to the No. 24.

“My favorite driver is Jeff Gordon, but I like other drivers and teams as well.(I am) partial to any of the former open wheel and road course stars, primarily Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish, Robby Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, and Scott Speed. I also like to see the Armed Forces sponsored teams do well, (I) have always liked Ryan Newman, but even more so now with the Army car… and this year, it’s nice to see Tony Stewart doing so well after branching out on his own, and who can’t root for Mark Martin?”

Basically, rather than liking only one driver, Ellis dislikes one and cheers for everyone else.

“Like so many fans in the past few years, I also take the ABB approach, which of course stands for ‘Anyone But Busch’.”

Ellis’ fiancée Maria is also a NASCAR fan, but she has a soft spot for Carl Edwards and the other Ford Racing drivers. Basically, between the two of them they like anyone who is not nicknamed Rowdy.

In the future, Ellis is looking to add to his NASCAR race repertoire.

“Next on my list are the restrictor plate tracks, (I) haven’t made it to one of those yet. I would say in order of preference right now it would be Daytona (then) Talladega. Then some of the other ones I would like to check out someday include Infineon, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, and Texas.”  

At 45-years-young, Ellis has enjoyed NASCAR for over two-thirds of his life and it seems as though he and Maria will have a lot of NASCAR fun in their future.

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