Brad Eddy: From Early Promise to Recent Comeback (Interview)
October 16, 2023
Introduction
From his childhood go-karting to his recent resurgence on the Maritime Pro Stock Tour (Officially: East Coast International Pro Stock Tour - ECIPST), Brad Eddy has shown lots of promise in his career in auto racing. Despite an inconsistent schedule into the mid-2010s, and some one-off appearances after, Eddy returned with a 4 race schedule in 2023 (3 Pro Stock Tour Features, 1 SLMS feature), catching the eye of newer fans, and reminding older fans of his potential, as we wonder about his future prospects
Early Years and Karting
Born in the summer of ‘94, Brad Eddy's affair with speed started early. By 2004, the summer he turned 10 years old, he had already earned the AMKA (Atlantic Motorsport Karters Association) Rookie of the Year award. In 2005, he dominated the karting scene with 16 AMKA Feature wins in 23 races, and went on to become the AMKA Karting Champion.
In 2009 he was crowned the Scotia Speedworld Bandolero Track Champion, besting competitors: DJ Casey, Dylan Blenkhorn, Shelby Baker, Emily Meehan, Jarrett Butcher, Cole Butcher, and Braden Langille.
His early career boasted over 50 feature wins before the age of 16, signaling a young racer with a bright motorsports future.
Limited Late Models/Late Model Stock Cars
Brad's entry into late model racing was marked by quick success. In 2010, at age 16, he had 7 NASCAR sanctioned Limited Late Model Races (Six top ten finishes and one top five). In the winter of 2011, still 16 years of age, he tested a Late Model Stock Car at Hickory Motor Speedway, North Carolina. His crowning achievement during this period was his 2011 NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model (now NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) Tri-County Speedway Track Championship in North Carolina.
The Maritime Connection and Pro Late Models
He would also make his Maritime Pro Stock Tour debut in 2011, running 1 race, followed by running 10 of 12 races in 2012, and would go on to run 5 of 12, 3 of 12, and 7 of 12 up until 2015, when he would stop. He had 1 appearance in 2018, and then he was gone (in the Pro Stock Tour) until this year, 2023.
He did however run the New Brunswick 250 @ Speedway 660 in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
He clocked his best Pro Late Model finish as a runner-up at Petty International Raceway in New Brunswick in 2012. Usually piloting the #72, in 2015 he would score a 3rd place finish at Riverside International Speedway, Nova Scotia driving the King Racing Stable house car #13. This year he has run the #7.
Brad has also made 5 attempts at the marquee races: Speedway 660’s 250, and Scotia Speedworld’s 250 lap annual features.
Invite-Only Race Versus Motorsports Legends
2014 saw Brad competing in the prestigious Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at South Boston Speedway against the likes of: C.E. Falk, III, Peyton Sellers, Kaz Grala, David Ragan, Ryan Preece, Denny Hamlin, Bobby McCarty, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and more (including Steven Wallace who did not qualify). Finishing the 200 lap feature on the lead lap, in 12th place is nothing to sneeze at, against some of the best Late Model Stock competition, as well as some of the best Motorsports drivers in America, period.
Inconsistent Schedules and Hiatus
Despite the initial successes and promising competitions, Brad's already limited schedule became more sporadic from 2015 onwards. This left us guessing, and raised questions about his future in the racing world.
The Comeback
2023 marked a compelling return. With respectable finishes, including a 6th place at both the IWK 250 at Riverside and at Scotia Speedworld in the Summer Clash 250, and most recently a 7th place finish in the Pro Stock Tour finale at Scotia Speedworld. His return fuels speculation and hopes for what lies ahead.
Role of Family
Brad's racing dream was nurtured by his family from the get-go. His father, Dan Eddy, himself a track champion, contributed significantly to support Brad's racing ambitions, starting from age 8.
What made you decide to make a comeback in 2023?
Racing has always been something I've done to spend time with my Dad, Dan. As long as I can remember he wanted to compete at the highest level available to us - even if we weren't necessarily equipped to do so. In Pro Stock, we had always had older but solid gear, great help, and a lot of amazing sponsors who supported us. We just never had access to the type of equipment you may see unloaded at MPST or SLMS events. The dream for both of us was to have a car with the type of equipment we would see on YouTube and through the pits.
We had a few years off from racing and Dad spent this time learning, researching, and building some contacts Stateside. That led to a budding connection with Tim Curry of Finish Line Fabrication Racecars (FLF). Tim is a master fabricator and has hundreds of wins accredited to his cars in the Northern USA. His cars consistently compete against some of the best chassis on old track with hard tires - just like here in Atlantic Canada. It seemed like the perfect chassis to try out here.
Things were lining up with financial support, and Tim agreed to build a car for us one piece at a time (Johnny Cash style as we call it) starting in 2021. We were finally going to experience the dream of running a top-tier piece! Ultimately, the car was just finished about two weeks before the 2023 IWK 250. We went and picked it up in Michigan, hauled it back with a Volkswagen Toureag on an open trailer. We got so many waves and took pictures at gas stations with other gear heads along the way. We did a few tests at Scotia Speedworld, and began prepping for the IWK.
So, our return was really about three years in the making. We built a team of fantastic people and it was great to finally hit the track with full confidence in our car!
For a promising start to a career, and what ended up not leading to a very consistent schedule into the mid-2010s, the question is, what happened? And what made you return for 4 races this year, and where do you see things going from here?
[previous answer covered some of this - continuation:]
I was very successful in the lower levels of racing and I'll always look back on that with fond memories. I think every kid who straps into a race car dreams of the day that he might break into NASCAR to compete with his heroes on TV. I also think that dreams like that never really die. If you asked any competitor locally or otherwise if they would like a shot in the (NASCAR) Truck series, I'd bet the vast majority would say yes. My Dad was one of those who never lost the dream, and when he saw that I liked racing and was good at it, he pursued it with everything he had.
After a lot of hustling, negotiations, and some Hail Mary efforts, we were able to secure a meeting with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) [note: this is a top tier NASCAR team] when I was about 15. This was a huge injection of hope that the dream might be possible for us. I passed the credential and branding checks and moved along through the "Development" considerations. Ultimately, though, the team at JGR required a cheque to go along with the contract. A cheque that was nowhere close to what we could afford.
This was a shock to us at the time. It was before "pay drivers" were a known quantity and it sucked the wind out of our sails. JGR recommended that we race alongside some of the other drivers they were considering in North Carolina - so we did. We spent our weekends racing against names like Josh Berry and Harrison Rhodes, to name a few. That led to a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Championship at Tri-County Motor Speedway. A great honour despite the season being cut short. This took everything we had as a family and we decided to put a pin in the NASCAR dream. The whole experience was a very valuable lesson and something I now look back on with some pride.
[Author note: look back on with pride, rightfully so. It’s also worth noting that Josh Berry who wasn’t a ‘pay driver’ took all the way until the past couple of years, dominating the Late Model Stock world, and having the support of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to get his big break]
After 2011, I bounced around racing part-time in legend cars and Pro Stock. We eventually sold our Pro Stock to Vance Hanes in 2013, and I raced Pro Stock a few more times with KING Racing and Mike Mackenzie. Finally, I ran what I viewed as my capstone race in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown. A fantastic way to end the whole journey. Around this time, I was focused on college and eventually moved to Alberta to work to start my career so racing was out of the question for about 5 years.
I came back to Halifax in 2018 to upgrade my University degree and I spent some time racing with Jerry Hayes, Scott & Cory Hall, and Dwaine MacKay. All of those guys are fantastic people and really re-ignited my interest in racing with a few wins and solid runs split between the teams. After one year off to build my business, we showed up in 2023 at the IWK 250!
From here I'm not sure where we go. We learned a lot about where we can improve our program for 2024 this season. Plus, Mike Ledwidge with the MPST went out of his way to express his appreciation for us coming to their shows, and Brent with SLMS was really hoping the Driveline #7 would make the trip to compete outside of Nova Scotia which was cool to see. I want to say we'll be back, but I have no solid plans. I may even take 2024 off completely to focus on business and run some road racing laps at Atlantic Motorsports Park (AMP). The ideal annual schedule for us involves the IWK (250 @ Riverside), the Clash (250 @ Scotia), the Mike Stevens Memorial (Petty), the Auto Value 250 at (Speedway) 660, and a couple of SLMS events to show our support. I think the time investment cap for us is 6 races total but we will need to gain a little bit more funding support to make that happen. We'll see what happens over the winter!
Your family seems to have been a big support. How crucial has that been in your career? Who else would you like to shout out?
My family and friends are the sole reason I've been able to have as much fun racing as I have. Both of my late Grandfathers had unconditional support and would be there for every race they could. My Mom, my Sister, and my Dad sacrificed a lot when I was racing in the South, especially. Still, they love to see me racing no matter what it's in. It's great to know that they'll support me no matter what.
A lot of old members of our team came back to help in 2023, and new members did, too! Chris Hughes, Corey McNeill, Peter Lyons, Randy Storey, Isaac Bennett, and Mike Mackenzie were the core of our team. It was great to be back competing against the best again - and I was blown away by the support from the community. Jordan Veinotte, Kale Ford, Butcher Racing, Nova Racing, KING, R&D... They all helped us out so much when we were thrashing through gremlins at the track.
I'd like to take some time to thank Granite Shore Excavation, V1 Properties Maintenance and Management, DeWalt, Napa Auto Parts, KJB Signs, ZsportCanada.com/Datsun North, After Hours Fabrication, TTM IT Services, and of course, Driveline & Driveline Service Center in Mount Uniacke.
Also, the support from fans was unreal. I never expected to hear a peep from them during driver introductions, but it seemed a few people remembered me from before. Many of them came down to the car after the race and that was especially cool for us.
Previously, your car was maintained at the race shop of veteran Mike MacKenzie, is this still the case?
Mike was a huge factor in those part-time races we ran in 2013 and 2014. He maintained our car for a while, and I even ran his car a few times. When we came back, Mike was excited to check out the new car - but he ended up helping a TON. Anybody who was in Antigonish for the (IWK) 250 would have seen us thrashing with a misfire issue all weekend. Mike went out of his way to help that weekend, and in the weeks following. I really don't think we could have competed without his help. Officially, the new FLF is maintained at Driveline Service Center in Mount Uniacke, NS - but Mike has made the trip to help out a few times!
What was the experience like, running against guys like now NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth, and one of the very best of all time in Kyle Busch?
Honestly it felt like any other race weekend - but every once in a while, I would be reminded where I was. I remember specifically running side by side and working my way through the field with the 11 car. He got by me a little later in the race and there was a caution. I remember going rolled up green and thinking "man, that guy has his car wrapped like Denny Hamlin's cup car..." and realizing I had just been racing with Denny the whole time. Honestly all the competitors that were there were great. The funniest moment of the weekend was watching Kyle Busch land in a helicopter before Qualifying and push his way through a huge crowd (including me) to get to his car. That's not the type of thing you see at a regular race weekend!
I'd also like to add that this experience made me realize just how tough the southern competition can be. To see guys like Cory Hall and Cole Butcher head south and have so much success is a testament to their abilities to drive and run a successful motorsports program. I'm really rooting for the Maritime guys that represent our area on the biggest stages. I'm hoping that one day, I can build a team to compete in the South again, too!
What Lies Ahead
It feels like we never quite got to find out just what Eddy can do behind the wheel here, but if his 4 races this season, and further insights are any indication, there is still a lot of promise left to be uncovered.
