Dave Hess Jr: The Wizard's Return Takes a Turn

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"I didn't know what to do with myself for that year and a half," Dave Hess Jr. said, referring to what seemed like a halftime in his successful career as he prepared for the upcoming 2018 season.  "I kind of enjoyed it and we got away, but I had to keep myself busy on the weekends or I was sitting there wondering and thinking about racing."

Hess is nicknamed "The Wizard" and it is an earned moniker indeed. His style and aptitude for making his car fit into places few others seldom dare while displaying a keen sense of defense with the lead, mixed with an uncanny knack for finding the perfect time to make an aggressive but controlled charge to the front had legitimized his reputation as a driver on the verge of great things.

And then he took a break. But the absence of racing from his life seemed to only fuel the yearning to get back behind the wheel the longer it went.  The question became not if to restart his career on the track, but when. It can be a scary time for a driver making a return, provoking questions about how long it might take to regain form, and what if the success enjoyed before doesn't quite return at the same level.  Hess has put all those questions to rest, climbing behind the wheel of the Terry Suppa owned Rayburn in 2016 while picking up where he left off in terms of wins. And in 2018, his return is set to take another turn that may just take him to another level altogether.

For Hess, the decision to go racing seemed natural, his father enjoyed a very successful career in the Northern tier of Pennsylvania, while his Uncle was a part of the racing fabric at the same time.

"I probably go back to when I was 10 or 11 years old," Hess said.  "I started going with my dad and my uncle who were both running open wheel Modifieds so I remember being at the track with dad and in the pits running around and probably not being a whole lot of help, but I was enjoying the heck out of it. I ran karts from age seven to about age 14 and that was the first year that we put together a Stock Car and ran a full season of those at Stateline and Eriez. We won 12 features right out of the gate that first season so we were hooked from then on. We jumped right into the Limited Late Models in my second year and we struggled. We went right back down to one win from thinking that we were on top of the world. By the time I was 16, we were in a full blown Late Model and we did a lot of Open Wheeled Modified racing too. We ran back and forth in those classes from the time I was 16 until just a few years ago so we've had a good 20 year run of running both classes."

While Hess enjoyed the Late Models, his enjoyment of Modifieds and the success he had in them as evidenced by a UMP DIRTcar Nationals career that saw him take home a championship in 2010, prompted a decision on which type of car to focus more of his energy on.

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"It's definitely too much to keep up with both of them, we tried to do double duty on the same night and any night that we tried that lately it seemed so hectic. Even with one car we were running around and there wasn't enough help and I don't miss some of that in a way. The Modifieds were just such a different type of racing than the Late Models it seemed like there was always a way to pass if you get a good field of cars. Sometimes in the Modifieds it seemed like a caution fest but if you didn't have one, the racing was so much better whether it's the smaller tires or whatever it is about the class it was easier to pass and it can be a lot of fun. I miss it some. We won a couple of Modified races last year in a car from a friend of ours, we ran two races and won both."

Perhaps what may have helped pull the Waterford, PA driver in the direction of the Late Models was getting to watch the developing career of another legendary driver from his geography.

"I was always a big fan of Chub Frank when I was young and was watching everything he did. He was so dominant back then and he was always helpful too. If I would go ask him this and that he would give me helpful hints other than a few occasions where we had a little scuffle or an on track altercation." Hess said with a chuckle as if recalling a memory he can now call a fond one these days.While he racked up wins and accolades from the media in the Late Model and seemed to be right on the verge of becoming a serious touring driver, a mix of a new family of his own, and the economic realities of racing, coupled with the lack of help with getting cars together and maintained led him to a decision to take some time away from the sport.

"We had been doing the Modifieds and Late Models all over the place for years and I ended up having a son of my own. He's three going on four now. So right after he was born, we had one of our best seasons in the Late Model back in 2013. And the following year, in the same car we started to miss just a little bit and my head wasn't quite in the game where it always was with the kid at home and a lot of the crew were starting to be short on and I remember towards the end of the season at Eriez we ended up losing a motor and I could tell it was going to be an expensive fix and we kind of just pulled the string right there and said that we were done for the season. We needed a break, indefinitely from racing. The next year I didn't even go to the racetrack except for a few times at the end of the season and I started getting the itch again.  I knew I wasn't going to be done with it and that's when I got the opportunity. Suppa, through a friend of mine had offered to drive his crate car the year before and wondered if I would be interested in running some crate races. But, I was looking to take the season off so I turned him down and the following year he messaged me again and said he was thinking about putting a Super Late Model team together and was wondering if I would be interested or was still taking it easy.  I thought about it a few weeks and got back to him and said that I would give it a go."

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One immediate obstacle upon his return was the time it would take to get a feel for the car again which was compounded by the fact that his new team brought an alien car to the mix as Hess would not only have to get used to the cockpit again, but to a completely different type of Late Model. It was a move that would not only work out well, but prepared him for the challenge facing him this season.

"I wasn't really sure with the Rayburn cars, I had run Rockets my whole career and Rayburn had been out of the loop for a little while so I was kind of worried that we were going to struggle a bit with it. But right out of the gate, the car was great and we just kind of all clicked. I think if it wasn't for bad luck I could have had two of the best seasons we ever had. We had tons of bad luck but still ended up with seven wins this past year and six the year before and three championships while having crazy bad luck. We had piles of seconds too. With Max Blair running up here, he's been real tough to beat on a regular basis, we just had a pile of second place finishes behind him and the few nights that we could get it done, it was really good. I'll tell you one thing, with my crew, you know dad...he always liked to watch and he would be a little bit of help if he needed to be and I had a few family members and uncles that were there to help a bit especially towards the end, help was getting hard to come by with the Suppa crew, he had him and Brad both with a ton of experience and so having two crew guys like that watching the cars and paying attention to setups and talking to Rayburn, it was really nice to have two guys that were that capable that I could be able to talk with when I would feel something and be able to get out of the car and relay back and forth, it was something I wasn't used to having. This season me and Mike Knight are going to work together and we'll be getting our cars from Chub and Boom (Briggs), and working with them on setups too so I'm kind of excited by that too, just to be working with them and talking with them again."

The split from the Suppa team was an amicable one, and one that should give him an opportunity to do things and learn things he might not have had before. The relationship between the two sides still remains strong though and it is not out of the question that they may collaborate again one day in the future.

"The only reason we decided to split ways was basically that we were helping with the motors financially for this past season especially. We ran one of my motors quite a bit and helped with a few motor freshenings and what not and finally dad decided this year that he really didn't want to put as much money into it without being the owner. He said he only thought he would do it a few more years. So he pretty much gave me the offer. If I wanted his help, he wanted to go back to being the owner. I told Terry that I would keep in touch and we could still try to work together and what not but we were going to go back to owning our car. I even offered Terry to come help us, to pay him to crew chief but I kind of figured he would stick to being a car owner. Who knows, maybe if this deal doesn't work out or something changes, maybe we'll end up back together. I did enjoy my time working with those guys for sure."

For Hess, 2018 will be about getting back in a different car, getting comfortable and watching the wins come his way. He is aware of the challenge ahead of him and realistic and astute about how much adjusting he will have to do, and what to prepare for.

"I'm not too worried about it. I guess I was a little worried about it with the Rayburn's because I just knew 10 years ago they were awesome. There were years there where I wished I wasn't on the Rocket deal that we were and we could jump around and try them. It had been so long since you had heard of anyone doing much in them that I was pretty hesitant when the time came, but the car really fit my driving style on certain tracks they build instant traction, a lot more than I thought they would have, and they were really awesome on a rough, heavy race track which Rayburn has always been but we had some luck making them good in the dry slick. I'm pretty sure this Club 29 car will be much better. I think the Club 29's, the Rockets and the Longhorns are all very similar. It will probably take me a little bit to get back used to it because the Rayburn's are definitely different. In talking with Chub, he'd mentioned that I'd have to get used to not having that pull bar system again. If you brake the car sideways in the corners you'd lose your momentum. It's kind of had to get these cars back up to speed again, just like the Rockets where that Rayburn really had instant traction where you could shut it down and go. I'm going to stick with my Genesis shock package so I'll have a little bit to learn with what I need to do with those to make them work but it shouldn't take us long to figure it out."

When he does figure things out, he has the potential to be one of the most dominant drivers in the area. Hess has a multitude of feature wins to his credit and is coming off back to back ULMS championships having already managed back to back track championships at Lernerville Speedway in the first half of his career, a track his father had been crowned champion before.

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"When I first started racing down there it was intimidating and dad had some championships there, it was one of his fondest race tracks and he took me down there a few times when I was young. It would go from so wide open and tacky fast to icy slick. It was tough to grasp when I was young. There was a point during those championships that it was definitely my favorite race track anywhere. We had just so much fun running down there. I think we won three in a row one time and they would start you 12th if you won two in a row and then I had to start 18th because I won twice from 12th and we still won from 18th. Now the cars have changed so much, they've become so aero dependent so it doesn't race the same. There's still good races down there and when it's right, it's still one of my favorite tracks. I hope we can get down there more often."

So what does the future hold for Hess? Racing, racing and more racing, in his own equipment, with his own team. He'll still be calling Eriez and Stateline Speedways home in 2018 and traveling at his whim, but will still be a threat when stiffer competition comes to town having already beaten the World of Outlaw Late Models once in his career in 2013 at Wayne County Speedway. Beyond this year, plans are o keep racing and perhaps get his young family more involved over time.

"I've got a young son and a daughter now too. I'd definitely love to get them involved in it too and we'll see how that goes. Racing changes so much over every year, we'll just have to wait until the time comes and see what's left of the sport by that time. I definitely foresee us putting another solid five years, especially with this deal here. I'm excited. Hopefully we can get some wins going with these cars in this area and start developing them a little bit. I think Chub and them are going to try to become a dealer in this area so we'll be trying to help them out. I won't be travelling far for at least the next couple of years. But we all have talked a few times here that maybe four or five years down the road, if everything's going right and the timing's right and I'm healthy enough that we'd love to take a full year and travel with one of the series. I know we could stack up if we had the right car and enough backing. I'd love to try that some day."

And whether that day comes or not, Hess will still plan on being part of the fabric of the sport in one way or another. He's currently at a point in the game just past halftime and has already experienced what many racers will never have the opportunity to in their careers. The second half, could bring any scenario imaginable from regional dominance, or a national touring season to remember. Wizards make anything possible, and make it look easy. At his best, Dave Hess does as well.

"I love the sport. I love the competition, especially in the Late Model division around here. We're all good friends and we can still compete hard. Great people. Great friends. And I love going out to these tracks and putting on a show for these fans. It's all we know."