Martinsville presents a tough challenge for a driver who has never been there. Credit: Autostock

From Texas to Trucks, Riethmeyer totally ready

A&M college student getting long awaited shot at Martinsville race

One year ago, Bradley Riethmeyer was sitting in a upper-division geography class at Texas A&M and wondering if his driving career was over.

On Friday, the 22-year-old Texas native will be at Martinsville Speedway, trying to qualify for the Craftsman Truck Series Kroger 200.

	Bradley Riethmeyer says he has raced on a few tracks with the same characteristics as Martinsville. Credit: All-American Driver Challenge
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"This whole thing has been a learning curve," Riethmeyer said. "I think that we're going to learn every second we're there. If we don't make the race, it'll be disappointing because a lot of people who have come on board.

"We're going to take it one step at a time, concentrate on practice, then try to put down a pretty good lap during qualifying."

College Station is only 1,300 miles from Martinsville, but for Riethmeyer, the journey between the two was anything but easy.

Coming up through quarter-midgets and Legends cars, Riethmeyer showed he had the gift for going fast early on. By 2003, he was running ROMCO Super Late Models in Texas as a 19-year-old, winning one race and earning rookie of the year honors.

The next year, Riethmeyer won the championship, but a lack of cash forced the family's racing operation to shut down.

"We just didn't have any more money," Riethmeyer said. "I didn't want my dad to lose his auto repair shop and take another mortgage out on the house."

So Riethmeyer returned to college for his senior year, fully expecting to complete his degree. That is, until he ran into a competitor at a race in San Antonio one night who mentioned the All-American Driver Challenge.

"He said, 'You should really try out for it,'" Riethmeyer recalled. "That night, I went back to the motel, got on the Internet and looked it up."

However, the registration fee was $300. That was more than Riethmeyer's father, a former racer, thought he should spend for what he felt at the time was "fly-by-night."

"My dad was kind of against it," Riethmeyer said. "He didn't know much about it and said, 'You don't need to go enter that.'"

However, Riethmeyer and cousin Mike Umscheidt, who currently works as a crew member for A.J. Foyt's IRL operation, took a chance and made the trip to Houston to qualify at a go-kart track.

"My dad called me while I was making some laps," Riethmeyer said. "I kind of entered against his wishes."

Not only did Riethmeyer make the final cut, he was outstanding. With no midget experience, he set the fast time at Hickory Motor Speedway, and impressed the judges with his skill and presence.

That landed him a full-time ride this season in a USAC midget, where he won two races and finished third in the USAC Carolina/Virginia Series.

"It's been a learning curve, even coming from Late Models to midgets," Riethmeyer said. "You go from a heavy car with a lot of horsepower to a little car with small wheelbase. It definitely taught me how to drive a car that's loose.

"Now I understand why guys like Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne have such good car control."

In addition, Riethmeyer kept in contact with fellow Texan Robert Richardson, helping out there this summer.

"He asked me if I wanted to run a Truck Series race," Riethmeyer said. "I wasn't going to turn that down."

With help from Richardson, AADC and new sponsor Unique Pizza, Riethmeyer has been testing at Caraway Speedway in an effort to get some seat time.

"I've felt really relaxed," Riethmeyer said. "It didn't take that long to adapt. The biggest thing was getting used to the radial tires. I had never been on them before."

Martinsville can be one tough track to crack for a rookie driver, but Riethmeyer said he's driven on a similar configuration before.

"There's a track in Houston that has about 12 degrees of banking, concrete corners and asphalt straights, even though it's only a one-third-mile," he said. "Actually, Caraway is kind of like Martinsville, except there's a little more banking.

"Driving in the Super Late Model Series, I'm used to going to all different tracks. I think I'll be able to adjust for it."

And what does his father think about Riethmeyer's decision now?

"Now he's all for it and believes in it," he said. "He's here helping work on the truck. He's all for my racing."

For Bradley Riethmeyer, it appears to be $300 well spent.