Andrews makes emotional sprint back to victory lane

SANDUSKY — Chris Andrews saw an opening and he took it. Took the checkered flag, too. Andrews, one of the area's top 410 sprint car drivers, charged from third place to first on the last lap of the Ohio Sprint Speedweek race at Waynesfield Raceway on June 18. A week later, Andrews smiled and shook his head while reliving his late pass to win. "I don't how we did it, but the leader had a 1-second lead with one to go," said Andrews during an interview at his race shop. "We made up over a second in one lap. Honestly, I don't remember the last two laps. It just happened so fast and you react. Last-corner pass at the line. It was awesome." Andrews went to the outside and passed Bryce Lucius — and up-and-coming star in the highly competitive sport — to earn his second career Speedweek win in the annual series sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions. The first came in 2013. Andrews, 38, is in his 22nd year racing sprint cars. He gave an emotional interview after the race, a satisfying outcome after a rough few years. "Everybody dreams of winning a race that way," he said. "Go through the last corner and the seas part and there's a hole. That's an All Star win; it's not a local win. That's probably my most memorable. "The last couple years, the (Hoosier) tire they have us on is so different," Andrews said. "Tires change every three or four years, but they all have relatively been the same. This tire, I hate it so much. The last three years have been a struggle. I've never tried this hard yet had bad results. Not tasting victory for so long caught up to me. It was emotional; it was pretty cool." Andrews said his chosen sport is tougher than ever. "I feel like everybody's so close now," he said. "Everybody has good motors, shocks, crew chiefs. It's much harder today than it was 10, 15 years ago." Andrews got the big win on his favorite track. He prefers the high banks at Waynesfield, which is located in Auglaize County southeast of Lima. "It looks like a go-kart track, like no way a sprint car could go on that track. It is fast," he said. "It's so high they can't even water it with a truck or it'll fall down. They have like an irrigation arm that has to spray it. "I like to get up and pound the cushion. I've been known for running the top of the track. As the tracks have changed at Attica and Fremont and the tires have changed, I can't do what I used to do, which has been tough to deal with. But you go to Waynesfield and it feels old school." Early start Andrews got behind the wheel at a young age, driving go-karts at Goofy Golf, which was owned by his parents, Roger and Diane. "I grew up there, raising hell on go-karts as a kid," Andrews said. "I got into actual competition and moved into some cars at Sandusky Speedway. I went from that to 305 sprint cars at Attica. Once I got there I was hooked. It's a pretty addictive type of racing. The camaraderie and all the people, it's like a whole other family." Andrews' first win in a 305 sprint car came in his rookie year, in 2004 at Attica Raceway Park. He drove a car his dad bought from Christian Walton — with whom he raced go-karts — when Andrews was just 15 years old. "Probably didn't know any better," Andrews said of his first win. "Just bouncing off the cushion and going places I shouldn't have gone, but it worked out." Andrews was the national 410 rookie of the year in 2007. Racing star Kyle Larson was part of that rookie class. "It was a very good start," Andrews said. "We always joke, that's the only blemish on (Larson's) résumé." Andrews' first win in 410 sprints — which feature bigger engines and more horsepower than 305s — came in 2009 at Attica when he outraced All Star Greg Wilson. He ranks it as one of his top five wins. "Slide-job city, going back and forth. It was amazing," he said. "Attica used to be a lot higher banked and more my style." Selling trucks Andrews has won about three dozen races in his sprint car career, which he balances with his day job. He is the founder and CEO of Ohio Truck Sales, which is located on the site of a former junk yard on the west side of Sandusky. He bought the 13-acre property at auction in 2016 and has built a successful business that now includes up to 100 reconditioned trucks on his lot. It's a far cry from 2010, when Andrews opened his business. "We had a single-bay garage. I literally started with one truck," Andrews said. "Hired one of my buddies. We did like two or three trucks the first year, then it was eight, 15, 25. It started spiraling out of control. "I kept hiring all my buddies and I joked that I was out of friends to hire; I had to hire actual employees. Now it's a full-blown reconditioning center for trucks." Andrews, who lives in Perkins Township, also owns Fleet Financial — a finance company — in Westlake. His sprint cars are housed across the street from his truck business. The 2006 Perkins graduate usually can be found in either place. "We're too stupid to know when to quit," he said. "When things don't go good you keep trying harder until it works. That's not just me; that's everybody in the sport. It's the best of the best. The most strong-willed people do this or they wouldn't be here every week." One of the sponsors that helps with some of the expenses in a very expensive sport is Real American Beer, which was founded by legendary professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. "When Hulk Hogan was alive we would always go down to his bar (in Clearwater Beach, Florida) and he would be there on Monday nights doing karaoke," Andrews said. "We'd go there three, four times a year, it was such a good time. "When he started the beer, I called the company and said, 'Man, you've gotta be part of sprint car racing.' We pitched the idea and they jumped on. I think it's been a good fit." The Outlaws Andrews is gearing up for the annual World of Outlaws show at Attica. The top sprint car drivers in the world will take the spotlight at the half-mile dirt track July 14. There is a fine line between the Outlaws and the local guys. Andrews' two-lap qualifying time last summer in the Outlaws event at Attica was .24 seconds slower than WoO star David Gravel, who won the 40-lap feature race. "We're racing with guys who literally do this for a living," Andrews said. "We have the same things they have. Carson Macedo's engine might come off the line and then mine comes off the line. It's all the same stuff, but they race 90 times a year and get paid. "Typically when they come to town they're better, but a lot of times we hang in there with them. If the stars align, you can be right there." Andrews was a track champion at Attica in 2006, 2009 and 2018 and has one top-3 finish in an Outlaws show. He is thankful for his crew, led by crew chief Scott Bartsan. "We have such good guys on our crew. No questions asked, they just get it done," Andrews said. "They come in after work and put in tons of hours. It's really good therapy. We probably spend enough time on this that it qualifies for another job." Andrews has mellowed on the track after racing for more than two decades and appreciates the relationships he's built in the racing community. "My younger years I used to wreck a lot — a lot," he said. "All you're thinking about is getting in the corner. You have no plan at all for what's about to happen. When you get older you calculate things more. All of the drivers I race with, we all look back 15 years ago and how much stuff we tore up. "Our younger selves were a little more egotistical. As we all get older, if your buddy crashes, everybody is there to help them. We'd rather beat you on the track than see you get knocked out. For the most part, we have to trust each other at 110 miles per hour."