Gage Gilby: A Rising Talent in Maritime Racing (Interview)
Gage Gilby celebrating his 2023 Maritime League of Legends Championship
March 16th, 2024
As young Gage Gilby hones his skills in a legends car, he is making waves and leaving a lasting impression. Hailing from Enfield, the first generation racer Gilby's journey in motorsports has been impressive, marked by a series of prestigious achievements.
Gilby's racing career kicked off in 2017 with a bang, as he managed to get himself noticed for the right reasons in his first and only start in a Bandolero. In 2018 he claimed the title of Beginner Bandolero Rookie of the Year and Champion at Scotia Speedworld’s track division, becoming acquainted with some wins, and some podium finishes, as well as making his first trips to other tracks - Oyster Bed for a race, and Petty for a race, where he also ran well. This early success was just a glimpse of what was to come, as Gilby continued to grow as a driver, especially at his home track of Scotia Speedworld in the years that followed.
In 2019, he further solidified his reputation by capturing the Bandit Bandolero Championship. His talent and determination were undeniable, and his ascent through the ranks of Maritime racing was picking up steam. He again won the Bandit Bandolero title at Scotia Speedworld, and expanded his amount of racing at other regional tracks.
In 2020, he made the leap to the Outlaw Bando division, showcasing his versatility and adaptability behind the wheel as he also began some Young Lion Legend races. Despite facing new challenges and tougher competition, Gilby rose to the occasion, also making a start at Center for Speed, Shediac.
In 2021, Gilby stuck to the Young Lion’s Legend division, clinching the titles’ of Young Lion Rookie and Series Champion at Scotia Speedworld. His achievements on the track spoke to his dedication, hard work, and commitment to improvement and race craft. Gilby's ability to excel in a competitive field has earned him some deserved name recognition.
But Gilby's journey was not without its challenges. A scary incident in 2022 left his car destroyed beyond repair, threatening to derail his season. However, with the unwavering support of his family, friends, and team, Gilby bounced back stronger than ever, demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity. He would see varying degrees of success in many different places by this point: Speedway 660, Nashville, Florida, Riverside, and he won the rookie of the year in the Maritime League of Legends Tour.
In 2023, Gilby's perseverance paid off as he secured both the Scotia Speedworld track division championship in his Legend ride, and the Maritime League of Legends Touring Series championship, along with the Citrus Speedway Florida series Championship in the Winter.
As Gilby looks ahead to the future, none of us can know for sure what will happen, challenges are absolutely to be expected, but his potential is clearly there, as well. While he intends to continue running some Legends stuff, he also has a Pro Stock car with his family team now, and he will be competing on the Maritime Pro Stock Tour this year (2024). Gilby appears poised to continue his growth, and the season will be taken one race at a time, to see where things go, and what the schedule ends up looking like. With each lap around the track, he is writing the next chapter in his racing story, leaving his own unique mark on Maritime racing for years to come.
Interview
For Andrew Gilby, father of Gage: Being that your son is a first generation racer, how did his involvement begin? Were you interested in racing yourself, as a fan, or involved in any other capacity? Or was Gage exposed to racing in some other way. And what was it that made you decide to make the leap and get him in a racecar?
Growing up as a kid I used to go to the Friday night show at Scotia (Speedworld) and watch the races with my father and uncle. Also being from the East Hants area, of course, Scott Fraser was the local stock car hero and we followed his career as well as his family. Aside from that, I have always been a big Nascar fan, and have watched most every race dating back several years!
When Gage was a young child he was always looking to drive something. He would even sneak out to the garage and try to start whatever had a key in it. Many times I would try to start the lawn tractor or four wheeler and the batteries would be dead from the key being left on! So we learned when Gage was very young that we had to remove all keys from anything motorized!
As time went on we followed the Butcher Brothers (Cole & Jarrett) in the bandoleros and legend cars, and being a long time friend with Craig Langille we followed Braden (Langille) as he progressed up through the ranks. Craig and I had a few discussion regarding bandoleros and we were literally having lunch one day and he said let me call Dan MacKay and see when he is renting the track again. One thing led to another and we met Dan and Chase at the track and they were gracious enough to let Gage try their car! That was the very start of Gage’s racing career. We bought an older bandolero a few weeks later and started a race team!
For Gage Gilby: You've had a lot of success so far in your early racing years. Do you have any specific races or achievements at the level you ran in 2023 that you have on a bucket list to achieve?
In the legend car I would have liked to of ran better at Riverside when the MLOL Tour was there. The way our schedule worked we did not have time to go there and test and we were not as prepared as we would normally be. We battled set up and tire issues that made it for a tough to be competitive there last year.
For Gage: Would you say you have any specific weaknesses that you're working on as you continue to show improvement?
My biggest weakness is probably getting feedback to the pit crew that can help adjust the race car to make it better. Sometimes we both get it right and other times it takes a few attempts and corrections before we get the car where it has to be.
For Gage: If you're expecting to make the jump to Pro/Super Late Model racing in the future, do you have any impressions on what it will feel like, that first time when the field is coming to green, and you're side by side with someone you've probably been watching for years?
The first time coming to the green flag will be very exciting and intimidating all at the same time. I have to earn the respect of the other drivers so I am going to try and give them as much room as possible and try to not make any mistakes that cause them issues. The racing can be very tight at times and I will have to learn quickly how to race around the bigger cars.
For Gage: Are there specific aspects you expect you will excel at or adapt to easily, and are there some differences you make that may make it tough?
I think I will be able to adapt and find speed fairly quickly and after a few test sessions be in the ball park set up wise at the different tracks. But the Pro Stock cars are a lot bigger and things happen much faster, so learning how to pass and race around the other cars is going to be my biggest challenge. Also the races are a lot longer, so staying focused and consistent is going to be much harder.
