(Interview) Victory & Lessons: Jarrett Butcher Prepared for 250, Championship Run
#54 Jarrett Butcher at the 2024 IWK 250 - Photo Courtesy of: JT Racing Pix
August 8th, 2024
Butcher Racing
At this point, the 'Butcher Team' is a house-hold name in the Maritime Region. Consisting of a loyal, hard working, and talented team of good people, curated over time and sticking together. The combination of driver skill, calibre of team, and resources to compete, make them a potent force. Beyond supporting their own team, though, they do, and have helped others, as well; including supporting other types of racing in the region.
#54
Jarrett's time behind the #54 has really solidified over the past season and a half, with his break-out year last year, winning the most races on the Pro Stock Tour, and ending the season with a very close runner-up to #2 Ashton Tucker at Petty International Raceway's Mike Stevens Memorial 254 marquee race.
This year, Jarrett has a 31 point gap over 2nd place, 6 races into the 10 race schedule. Behind him, there is a tight race, allowing for numerous candidates to potentially mount a challenge, depending on how the remaining 4 races transpire.
I had a chance to sit down with Jarrett - in this article we will look at his reflection on the past season and a half up until this point, and where his head is at looking toward the remainder of the year.
Seeing how well #25 Gage Gilby has been doing this year, how do you feel, as a young driver yourself, having Gage extend a lot of credit and thanks to you for helping make his season possible?
It feels pretty cool. Their whole group is a great bunch of people. I've grown really close with them as friends, and on-track competitiors. I've seen Gage has excelled really well for only having 6 races in a Pro Stock. I think he'll go on to probably win a race quicker than I did, hah.
He still has a lot of learning curves to do, but he's hopped over a lot of them already. I'm really happy to see it, and I hope he can keep going with that momentum that he's built up in his first season.
Do you feel like you're sort of owed a 250, in a way? After coming so close more than once?
Yeah, a little bit. Not so much this 250 (Summer Clash 250 - Scotia Speedworld), because I feel like I haven't had the good results here, as I've had in other 250s, like the Mike Stevens (Memorial - Petty International Raceway) last year, or the IWK (250 - Riverside International Speedway) this year, and last year I didn't have the finish result in 2023 at the IWK, that was kind of my fault.
We had a fast car in 2023, and then in 2024 we had a really fast car. We made a couple of mistakes, including me as a driver, I made a couple of mistakes, a few things happened on track that I felt I could control. Craig has won 2, 250s now in a row, and it took him I think 20 years to win his first one. He obviously has experience to win a second one, and make those quick decisions, or late race restarts, he really knows what to do.
Yeah, he really has the right car for him, and it's dialed in, great driver, he has that experience, and has the respect of the other drivers.
Yeah exactly, there are only a few drivers that can just show up to a race. Not many drivers can just show up to 1 race and do really well. Dylan Blenkhorn did it last year, Slaunwhite did it this year. It just goes to show that they came prepared.
It really sucked to lose the IWK (this year), the Mike Stevens race last year - we were okay at the mid-part of the race, but we figured our car out and were good for the second part of the race. But the IWK, we showed up there we were prepared, we unloaded and we were happy, but just fell one spot short. But we'll go back there next year, hopefully better, and hopefully finally check it off the list.
Yeah, it's like you mentioned another time, finishing second can almost feel like a loss, or worse in a way because you're so close. But at the same time, if you're going to lose to anyone - losing to Slaunwhite at Riverside, and Tucker at Petty, there's no shame in that.
No, there's really not. At the time finshing second place really does suck at the time, but if you finished 2nd, and if you have that momentum, eventually something will work out in your favour, you know? And if you show up every now and then as a winner, or as a competitor, the chances of you winning are less, but if you're there week-in, week-out, or in this case year-in, year-out, eventually something should work out in your favour.
If I split this into two sides - first looking at your starts in the USA last year and this year, I would say you probably didn't get the finishes, or things didn't work out how you would have hoped for - with North Wilksboro Speedway & Five Flags Speedway last year, and Hickory this year.
Yeah it definitely didn't go the way I wanted it to. Honestly when I go and look back at all of those races, Hickory, there was a lot of mistakes that I take responsibility for as a driver. Wilksboro, I screwed up in qualifying. Five Flags: I think we had a better car than what we raced. I just don’t think I consistently hit my lines. Hickory: I jumped in the car with very little practice, and it was only a heat race, so I should’ve just settled in and just taken the position that was given to me, and just raced it. But the car was really good, and I caught onto it quicker than I thought I was going to. So I probably pushed it a little harder than I should have.
Maybe got ahead of yourself a little bit?
Yeah, a little bit.
It seemed like a bit of a racing deal, too.
It was a little bit of a racing deal. I don’t think there was much give or take on either drivers’ end. So it was a live and learn experience. That’s the only way you’ll get any better - live and learn.
On the opposite end of that, though, you have your racing up here — and also, worth nothing that you have, to be clear, had success South of the Border before. You had a podium at the Snow Flake, right?
Our first year we had a podium, we finished 3rd. It’s been a little downhill since then, in the USA.
You’re also racing there so rarely, though, too.
That’s right, that makes it a lot harder, too. When I go down to the Snow Flake, it’s about 2, 2 1/2 months out of the seat. I wouldn’t say I use it as a excuse, but a lot of those guys race down there all of the time. That’s why Cole races down there as much as he can, and even leading up to the Snowball while still racing up at home, that’s why he’d try to do a couple of big races down there, to get the seat time.
It’s also against the best of the best.
Agreed.
On this side of the border, you had your break-out season. You had your first win, the most wins on the tour, and finished second to Slaunwhite in the points. This year you’re leading the tour, and started off with a win in your first two races, and again have the most wins. I’ll give my thought, and I’m curious about yours. What you would consider, realistically, the perfect year from now on. I’m thinking: If you get the 250 this weekend, with the Tiltload & Superior Foundation relationship, and at your home track, you go win the championship, and then you go down to Florida, and say get a top 5, maybe even a win at the Snowflake.
I mean, that all sounds great. Any win is great. I don’t think there’s ever a perfect year [Yeah, to be fair, a perfect year would be to win every single race] yeah, but to be fair, that all sounds about as close to perfect as you can get, you know, until you do something better. Definitely winning the 250, especially at my home track, and with Atlantic Tiltload, Superior Foundations sponsoring the race; that would be top tier in my racing career at the moment, and I really hope to do that.
And winning the championship - we’re on a good road right now to hopefully win the championship, or be in contention at the end of the year for the championship. But anything can happen, there’s still 4 races left. Last year I had a good year, but there was a couple of races, like the IWK 250, where I didn’t race my smartest race, and that’s kind of what took me out of the championship hunt. This year, even when I’m having a bad race, I need to be a lot more cautious with how I try to finish those races.
PEI (prior race at Oyster Bed) honestly wasn’t my best race, and we can’t let any of those happen, or we’ll fall behind pretty quick, and we can’t get too comfortable. The less mistakes the better, you can only do so much, and you can get caught up in someone else’s mishap, but if you have all of your stuff done right, and you’re running up near the front, the chances are less than if you are running near the middle, or the back.
[I give my opinion that I think it is realistic for him to win the 250 at Scotia this weekend, although the competition is very tough - and it is realistic for him to win the championship, and also the Snowflake - Jarrett comments on the Snowflake:]
I like to think that. As a driver if you’ve been successful, or you have the confidence to go down there and do all of that stuff, you put a lot of pressure on yourself. Any mistake, you make feels really amplified, and you’re really hard on yourself.
Going into a big 250, Jarrett seems very candid, and honest with himself about his strengths, and also holding himself accountable for mistakes, and wishing to grow and improve. Considering how close he was to an IWK 250, and a Mike Stevens win, and his current points leadership, and positive momentum on his side, a motivated, hungry, and adaptable/willing to learn #54 is going to be a car worth keeping a close eye on this weekend, and for the rest of the season, both here and abroad.
https://maritimeprostocktour.com/2024/08/07/2024-summerclash250/
