After success in the karting ranks, Carson Nagy is making the move up to the Mini Stock division at Flamboro Speedway this year.
Prior to this season, Nagy spent five years at Flamboro Speedway racing in WRKC, followed by a micro sprint at Ohsweken Speedway for a year and a half. Now adjusting to a full size car, he admits there’s going to be a learning curve.
The youngster isn’t entering the division alone, though, as he’ll have support behind him. Beyond having his older brother Hudson Nagy to offer advice, Nagy is set to run seven races this season for Spira Racing, while leaning on Billy Schwartzenburg for advance. A current APC Auto Parts United Late Models of Ontario Tour presented by Grisdales Auto Parts competitor, Schwartzenburg is a past division stand-out with a couple championships under his bet.
Over the winter, Schwartzenberg said the idea came about through conversation with Ken Spira.
“I told him that although I would still be happy to drive it I would also like to have the experience of helping another young driver out as Ken did for me,” Schwartzenburg commented. “I suggested Carson because I knew that they were trying to sell the Mustang they had, not having the resources to run Hudson in the thunder and Carson in the mini. I didnt know Carson very well at the time but my brother Rich had talked to him quite a bit at Flamboro and spoke very highly of him.
“After speaking with Carson several times since then I can say that he makes a great impression, he is a very polite kid and he is really excited about the sport of racing.”
Schwartzenburg notes the Mini Stock division is the perfect spot for Nagy to get his feet wet, given the diversity it offers.
“The best part about the Mini Stock division is that it is great for both beginners and experienced drivers,” he commented. “he talent pool in the division is always deep and there is no shortage of great drivers. I always felt the best way to become a good race car driver was to race against other good race car drivers.”
Nagy says the opportunity means a lot to him in being able to learn from two guys who have been involved in racing for a long time.
“Ken (Spira) is a great car owner and has a lot of experience working with different racers over the years, and Billy is a very good driver,” Nagy said. “He has been sharing his knowledge with me. I am very thankful for this opportunity.”
He has already gotten his first lap behind the wheel, taking part in some practice sessions while putting in a pair of solid runs this Saturday night in the feature events. Nagy admitted that it was a little intimidating at first, but has grown more comfortable with each time on the track. He added that with some adjustments over the course of the test session, they were able to get faster and were running quick times by the end of the night.
Looking ahead on the season, Nagy says he wants to run as many laps as he can possibly to gain experience.
“I want to be able to complete as many races as I can this season,” he commented. “Going to be very open minded and listen and learn from all the great people that will be helping me out this season! It would be amazing to get a checkered flag at some point in the season.”
Gaining experience and as many laps as possible is something that is normally stressed by many young drivers, and the veteran drivers agree in seeing how it helped them.
Though Schwartzenburg adds Nagy being able to it with a rear-wheel car will help him moving forward in his career.
“Having done the same thing, I know how much of a bonus that is when you start to move up divisions into cars with more power,” he noted. “I’m sure that with the experience I have behind the wheel and the magic that Ken Spira and crew can perform in the pits, we will have Carson up to speed in no time. With Carson being brought up in a racing family he will come to us with some basic experience that we can easily build on.
“Our hopes this year working with Carson is to teach him how important it is to provide off track feedback on what the car is doing so that Ken and crew can get the No. 86 dialed in on track.”
When asked as to one piece of advice that he could offer to start, Schwartzenburg says the key is patience.
“Eventually your opportunity will come,” he said. “You have to be alert, aware, and ready to capitalize on opportunity.”
When he’s not racing for Spira Racing, Nagy stated he is going to run their family owned mini stock for as many events as he can to gain experience.
Given the opportunity at hand, Nagy is set to take charge of the opportunity, and knows it wouldn’t be possible without the support behind him.
“This would not be possible with out the help and support of Ken Spira & Billy Schwartzenburg,” he commented. “I would like to thank all of their sponsors for all of their support: Spira Fire Protection ltd., St. Jacobs Farmers Market, Lucas Oil, Wurth, Wolseley, Wix Oil Filters, Cambridge Source For Sports, Fleet Images, Northern ICE, Plastikote.
“If it wasn’t for all the support from these partners, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the start of my career in a race car. It is going to be awesome to work with Ken and Billy and all the team all season long! I would like to also thank my mom and dad as well as Hudson for all of their support to get me this far.”