Racing remains at forefront for Windham’s Derek Kneeland

By Ed Pierce

For Windham auto racer Derek Kneeland, the only way to define your limits is by going beyond them.

Kneeland, 38, continues to be a busy man in auto racing this year, trying to find time to race his own car at local tracks, driving part-time for Mike Bryant Racing in super late model select events, and serving as a spotter for Kyle Busch, Austin Hill xfinity, Nick Sanchez trucks in NASCAR events.

Derek Kneeland of Windham has been racing since he was
8 and now works for Richard Childress Racing as a 
spotter in NASCAR events. He also finds time to compete
on local tracks in his super modified racecar, finishing fifth
in a race at Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire
on June 22. COURTESY PHOTO   

Racing runs in Kneeland’s blood as his father Jeff competed in the 1970s and his grandfather was the general manager of Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough at one time. Derek started racing go-karts when he was 8 years old, and it ignited a dream of one day taking the checkered flag at a NASCAR race.

As costs to compete in NASCAR rose sharply, Kneeland found another avenue to become involved at that level and he took on the job as a spotter during a race in Pennsylvania 16 years ago. Those spotter duties grew over time and Kneeland now has served as a spotter for drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.

“Bristol is my favorite race as a spotter,” Kneeland said. “It’s busy, there’s a lot going on, a lot of information, it’s loud and an exciting environment. Keeping up with the differences in divisions I spot is the hardest thing, different drivers, different vehicles, the job itself is still the same, give info, and try to describe the things I see the best way I can to be a valuable asset to my drivers and teams.”

He is currently working for Richard Childress Racing as a spotter and typically is out on the road for 38 weeks every year. That can be an exhausting schedule and doesn’t leave much time, but he is planning on racing his own car this summer at Lee Speedway in New Hampshire on July 26, Oxford Speedway in Maine on Aug. 4, Berlin Raceway in Michigan on Aug. 7, and possibly the Oxford 250 on Aug. 25 and the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway in Florida.

As a NASCAR spotter, Kneeland relays information to the driver of the team he works for, keeping them alert of what is occurring on the track. To get a complete look at the racetrack, he is usually positioned on top of one of the grandstands or support buildings.

“For me I think the hardest part is I don’t get to race weekly like most do because of traveling around the country working my NASCAR duties, so there are a few things I need to clean up to figure out such as how to go faster and be better as a driver. And money obviously, it takes a lot of money to race these cars and be competitive.”

He said racing his own car is more of a hobby than something he calls his career.

“I love it, done it since I was 8 years old,” Kneeland said. “I’m just fortunate to be able to do it a handful of times a year with my busy schedule.”

According to Kneeland, his greatest fans are his family, including his wife, Carley, his two stepsons Kolby and Logan, his parents Jeff and Kelly Kneeland, and his sister, Tasha.

He said all his family and friends have been supportive of his life in racing.

“My dad and my cousin Rusty Poland and my good buddy, Nick Brown, we all work together on my car and Rusty’s,” Kneeland said. “It’s definitely a family sport. My parents and my wife every weekend tune into the NASCAR app to listen to me spot for my drivers as well. They love it all whether it’s getting to watch me behind the wheel or listen to me do my job on a weekly basis.”

His proudest moments in racing include his first Cup win at Michigan with Kyle Larson, being a part of an Xfinity championship with Tyler Reddick and a Superspeedway win with Kyle Busch.

His career as spotter has taken him to NASCAR tracks all over the nation and as a driver, Kneeland has raced in Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, North Carolina, and Florida. He says the biggest race he’s competed in is the Oxford 250 because he raced against NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski in that event.

“I still have a couple things left to check off my list,” Kneeland said. “And they are tough ones. A cup championship and a Daytona 500 win.” <

Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame inducts Windham racer for three decades of excellence

By Ed Pierce

One could say Bobby Babb Jr. of Windham was meant to be an auto racer. His dad, Bobby Babb Sr., won a feature race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway the very night he was born and passed on his love for racing to his son. That love for racing has led Bobby Babb Jr. to enshrinement in the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Retired auto racer Bobby Babb Jr. of Windham
was enshrined in the Maine Motorsports
Hall of Fame during a ceremony on 
Oct. 22 at the Augusta Civic Center.
Babb's racing career spanned  more than
three decades and included numerous
victories at racetracks in the state.
COURTESY PHOTO    

Babb Jr. was inducted into the Hall of Fame at an event in Augusta on the evening of Oct. 22, capping an illustrious career spanning more than three decades on racetracks in the state. He’s lived his entire life in Windham and graduated from Windham High School in 1981.

“I started racing the night that I turned 16 on July 3, 1979,” Babb Jr. said. “I drove through 2008 and again in 2012. I raced for 31 years, and my son Brad is in my car now.”

With his induction into the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame, Babb Jr. joins his late father who also was inducted for his career accomplishments in 2007. He is the 10th racer from Windham to be inducted into the group of storied racers.

Babb Jr.’s own racing history is the stuff of legends. He raced at the Beech Ridge track in Scarborough from 1979 through 1982, and then competed on the NASCAR North Tour in 1983 and 1984. From 1985 through 1987, he competed at the Oxford Plains Speedway before returning to race at Beech Ridge from 1988 through 2008 and one final time in 2012.

All of Babb Jr.’s races came in the Late Model Sportsman Class, which eventually became what is known today as the Prostock Class. He was no stranger to taking the checkered flag, winning numerous races, and racking up five seasonal championships at Beech Ridge in 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Babb Jr. was honored with two “Driver of the Year” titles at Beech Ridge and was awarded as the “Driver of the Decade for the 2000s” there. He was previously inducted as the 50th member of the Beech Ridge Hall of Fame and took home five Maine State Championship NASCAR trophies during his long career.

“My biggest win was every one of them,” Babb Jr. said “It wasn’t easy to win any of them because of the competition. I competed against my father, Dick Wolstenhume, Homer Drew, Ralph Cusack, Bob Randall, Mike Maietta, Mike Johnson, and Bub Bilodeau, to name just a handful of them. They were some of the toughest racers anywhere.”

For role models he credits his father, Bobby Babb Sr., and Dick McCabe, as the inspirations whose path he wanted to follow during his racing career. McCabe is a retired NASCAR Busch Series winner, and he also won the Molson Tour twice and the NASCAR Busch North Series championship twice. He also competed in races at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire and in the Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. During a 30-plus year driving career, Bob Babb Sr. won two track championships at Beech Ridge and finished first in more than 80 feature races through the years at Beech Ridge, Oxford Plains, and the Arundel Speedway.

As a young man, Babb Jr. started working for his father’s business, Robert Babb Logging, in 1981 and he still works there today and is part of the crew team for his son, Brad Babb, who is a Super Modified racer competing at the Star Speedway in Epping, New Hampshire. His daughter, Kelsey, also has raced at tracks in Maine.

In reflecting upon his career in racing, Babb Jr. says his most rewarding victories came when watching his children, Kelsey and Brad, and his son-in-law, Mike Ordway Jr., win races.

“I miss trying to outthink and outdrive someone for the win, but I still live it now watching Brad going for wins, trying to figure out his next move,” he said.

According to Babb Jr. his induction to the Maine Motorsports Hall of Fame was bittersweet.

“Bruce Elder called me last October and told me I was going into the Hall of Fame. It was just over a month after my dad passed away,” he said. “It was very emotional for me that night but my wife Carla had known about the Hall of Fame induction and had let my dad know about it when he was in the hospital. Before he passed, he knew about it, so I want to thank her for that. I’m very proud of being put into the Hall of Fame with my father who was inducted in 2007 and I’m honored to be in the Hall of Fame with McCabe, Drew, Wolstenhume, Seavey, Maietta, Johnson, Randall, Bilodeau, all of them.”

His advice to young drivers looking to launch a racing career is simple.

“Watch and listen to older more experienced drivers, stay focused, be determined to make it and have fun doing it,” Babb Jr. said. <

Windham racer Kneeland revs up NASCAR career

Windham auto racer Derek Kneeland owns his own Super
Late Model car and has been competing in racing since he 
first climbed into a go-kart at age 8. He now works for 
NASCAR racing teams as a spotter for drivers such as
Tyler Reddick, Austin Hill, Corey Heim, Daniel Dye,
and Kyle Busch. COURTESY PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

Derek Kneeland’s passion for auto racing runs deep and it not only has become his career; it’s led him to places he’s never been before and experiences he wouldn’t have had otherwise like the Daytona 500.

Kneeland, 36, grew up in Windham in a racing family and the need to compete on the racetrack is in his blood.

“My dad Jeff raced back in the 1970s and my grandfather used to be the general manager of Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough back when it was clay,” Kneeland said. “My family worked the ticket booths and concessions, so I was pretty destined to get involved somehow and we started racing go-karts when I was 8 years old.”

He currently owns his own Super Late Model racecar and tries to race as much as he can when he has free time from his work with teams in NASCAR races. That career began as a spotter during a race in Pennsylvania 14 years ago and has evolved to jobs in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.

“Each year is a little different on how much I can race due to my NASCAR schedule and obligations,” Kneeland said. “This year I will race three or four times. I travel around to race kind of wherever I can when I’m able. I race with Pro All-Stars series and the Oxford, Granite State Pro Stock Series. I’ve won a few heat races but my best finish in a feature/main event is fifth last year at Oxford.” 

 

He currently works for Richard Childress Racing spotting for the #8 car of Tyler Reddick. Kneeland also spots for RCR's Xfinity team with Austin Hill in the #21 car, and in the truck series he spots for Kyle Busch’s Motorsports #51 truck shared by Busch, Corey Heim, and Buddy Kofoid. In the Arca series, he spots for the #43 car of Daniel Dye. 

As a NASCAR spotter, Kneeland relays information to the driver of the team he works for, keeping them alert of what is occurring on the track. To get a complete look at the racetrack, he is usually positioned on top of one of the grandstands or support buildings.

“For me I think the hardest part is I don’t get to race weekly like most do because of traveling around the country working my NASCAR duties, so there are a few things I need to clean up to figure out such as how to go faster and be better as a driver as a whole. And money obviously, it takes a lot of money to race these cars and be competitive.”

According to Kneeland, the toughest track he’s raced on was a track he competed at during the “Money in the Bank” event at the Berlin Raceway in Michigan on June 8.

“Both ends were different,” he said. “One end was long and sweeping and one was tighter, and I had to slow down more. It was challenging to find the balance needed to be fast.”

His biggest fans are his family, including his wife, Carley, two stepsons Kolby and Logan, his parents Jeff and Kelly Kneeland, and his sister, Tasha.

“Everyone is super supportive. My dad and my cousin Rusty Poland and my good buddy, Nick Brown, all work together on my car and Rusty’s,” Kneeland said. “It’s definitely a family sport. My parents and my wife every weekend tune into the NASCAR app to listen to me spot for my drivers as well. They love it all whether it’s getting to watch me behind the wheel or listen to me do my job on a weekly basis.” 

He says that sponsors are tough to come for his own racecar, but each year it seems like he’s been lucky enough to have a few that stick by him for the select races he competes in. His sponsors include Sumerian Irrigation, Bonang Concrete, SOS towing, One Stop Earthworks, Logan Oil, Drew Excavation, and Pierson Heating and Cooling, along with some family and friends that step up throughout the year. 

So far Kneeland has raced his own car at tracks in Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan and North Carolina, and he plans to race in Florida at the end of this year. He says the biggest race he’s been in behind the wheel himself is the Oxford 250, where he raced against NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski.

“My next race is Friday July 15 at Lee Speedway in Lee, New Hampshire,” Kneeland said. “It’s also the same weekend that NACSAR is racing at Loudon, New Hampshire, so I’ll be coming over to Lee after we have practice at Loudon that afternoon.”

As far as the future goes, Kneeland said he’d really like to get a Feature win on the racetrack before he’s done whether it’s a weekly race or a touring race.

“I don’t really have a timeline on when I’m going to get done,” Kneeland said. I’m just enjoying it for now and I try to help my cousin Rusty Poland as much as possible, so I think when I’m done racing myself, I’ll probably have Rusty race for me some.” <