Looking for a chance

With racing in his blood, Justin Westmoreland has the drive to become a pro

By Maggie Thach
The Collegian

It runs in the family. A love for cars is in Fresno State junior Justin Westmoreland’s blood. Westmoreland’s father, Keith, picked up racing as a hobby and his grandfather worked at a service station. As a child, Westmoreland, who now has raced at Madera Speedway for more than seven years, watched NASCAR races every Sunday with his father and when he was 12, Keith bought him a go-cart.

“He got the racing bug at 10 or 11,” Keith said. “That’s what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to go to movies or anything like that, just work on cars and race.”

His aunt, Margaret Irwin, knows his roots are in racing.

“He’s grown up around the track,” Irwin said

His drive to become a professional racer started when he saw Alan Kulwicki win the Winston Cup Championship in 1992. Westmoreland was inspired.

Kulwicki did what few, if any, drivers did at the time. He put together his first Winston Cup racing team and acted as both owner and driver. With only two cars and less than a full-time crew, he was the Winston Cup Rookie of the year.

“He did everything himself. That was something I really admired,” Westmoreland said.

Westmoreland’s admiration for Kulwicki is so great, it was worthy of a story in the September issue of Speedway Illustrated.

From building his own car to the major he’s chosen at Fresno State, Westmoreland is following in Kulwicki’s footsteps. But, one thing Westmoreland, a mechanical engineering major, is doing differently is the way he approaches the sport.

“The biggest thing in the sport of racing right now is that it’s a business,” Westmoreland said. “Before, it was all about ability. That’s probably 50 percent of the equation now. I’ve had to learn how to market myself. It’s a new challenge.”

Especially since Westmoreland is a self-proclaimed shy guy. He’d rather keep to himself but he knows getting sponsors is the way to move up in the business.

His sales pitch for selling himself is the fact he has accomplished so much with just what he and his father have built. Westmoreland wants sponsors to know how much he’ll be able to accomplish with their financial support.

“I’m an outcast, in a way. I’m a poor man in a rich man’s sport,” Westmoreland said. “I just need an opportunity. Teams want young people. If I’m going to move up, it’s going to have to be now.”

Coming to the end of the racing season at Madera Speedway, Westmoreland has a few options. One option he is considering is making the jump to the NASCAR Grand National West Series. It’s the lowest division of NASCAR that has TV coverage. Westmoreland figures he can give potential sponsors some exposure.

But right now, the only thing Westmoreland is trying to figure out is how to balance his full-load of classes, his job and also finding the time to maintain his racecar.

“He goes to class every day and has a part-time job, too,” said Keith. “But Justin’s got desire and ability. He makes time for racing because that’s always been his love.”

At least the things that keep him away from racing are related to it. Westmoreland’s major allows him to combine his favorite subjects, math and science, with cars and while he’s at work, he’s helping people as a Ford master service adviser at Future Ford in Clovis.

“I’m a car person,” Westmoreland said. “The thing is, if you want something, you have to make sacrifices.”

Despite the constraints on his time, Westmoreland knows his dreams and aspirations go through one road.

“If I don’t make it, that’s fine. It’s not going to be because lack of effort,” Westmoreland said. “But if I do, I’ll be doing what I love for a living.”