Franklin Central junior winning awards
By Al Stilley
Senior staff writer
Third-generation stock car driver Jack Dossey III teems with confidence when competing in Championship Racing Association stock car races in the Midwest.
The Franklin Central junior already has won the 2014 McGunegill Engine Performance Late Model championship and Rookie of the Year honors at Anderson Speedway, as well as three consecutive races this year through June 12. He was second in CRA Sportsman points last year and was the top rookie.
“I have won some significant races,” Dossey, 16, said. “If I set my mind to it, do my best and give it my all, I can come out with good results. My mom and dad raised me to be confident.”
His dad, Jack Dossey Jr., won seven Late Model season championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome, a record six World Championship Figure-8 Three-hour Endurance Races and numerous short track races and Legends Cars features. His wife, Jennifer, is the behind-the-scenes anchor of the family’s racing program, which is based in Franklin Township.
Jack Dossey, the family patriarch, won a stock class championship at the Speedrome.
“He (dad) tells me to be aggressive but be smart,” Dossey III said. “He’s experienced everything that I may have issues with on or off the race track. He is a tremendous mentor in every aspect of racing.”
Dossey Jr. recalled, “My dad was a pretty good driver, but in my career he wasn’t there to keep me calm. I was a hothead and that doesn’t work. The days of Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart are gone – you don’t want to do anything negative on or off the track.”
Dossey III is a graduate of FasKarts, Legends Cars, three figure-8 races at the Speedrome and stock car races at the vacated Mount Lawn Speedway, where he was the youngest winner of the prestigious Raintree 100.
His next outing will be in a CRA Sportsman race at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg at 7:45 p.m. Friday.
He is being groomed for a full-time run in the ARCA/CRA Super Series in 1916 and will get a taste of that competition at Anderson (July 18), Lucas Oil Raceway (July 24) and Winchester Speedway (Sept. 6 and 7).
“Right now we just want to get our feet wet and have fun to get ready for next year,” Dossey III said of the ARCA/CRA SuperSeries.
He is fifth in the CRA Sportsman Series and leads the MEP LM Series at Anderson, where he recently set a track record of 12.839 seconds June 12.
The youngest Dossey has adapted to each step along the way without being intimidated by veterans or new race tracks. “Sometimes I forget my age,” he said. “I try to act like an adult on the track and compete with them. Being this young is not as bad as it looks because I’m getting the experience that I need.”
The Dosseys are not only working on getting more racing experience to keep climbing the ladder – hopefully from the ARCA/CRA Super Series to ARCA national events and into NASCAR – but they are making several appearances this year to promote races.
They also plan to feature one of their No. 20 Hart’s Auto Center/Mike Heimel Auction Chevrolets at various auto shows this winter in the Midwest. They will need far more sponsorship for the full SuperSeries than they have now.
Jack Dossey Jr. said he is proud of his son’s fast learning curve. “He has learned how to take care of the equipment that he races, and he has patience. Early in my career I didn’t have much patience. For his age he is very mature, real smooth, and he’s not rough on equipment. He’s smooth but aggressive. He doesn’t really let the competition get into his head.”
The team consists of crew chief Tim Neal and Jackie Neal plus Pete Harlow, Pete Alcorn and Kenny Etter, who were with Dossey Jr. for more than 20 years at the Speedrome.
Dossey III works at Hart’s Auto Center, owned by his dad and uncle John Dossey, on the Near Eastside
Dossey Jr. and wife Jennifer have been married for 28 years. She was his staunch supporter for many years at the Speedrome. “She is the backbone of this operation,” he said. “She is the one who keeps us organized and prepared for our next race and the future.”
Senior staff writer
Third-generation stock car driver Jack Dossey III teems with confidence when competing in Championship Racing Association stock car races in the Midwest.
The Franklin Central junior already has won the 2014 McGunegill Engine Performance Late Model championship and Rookie of the Year honors at Anderson Speedway, as well as three consecutive races this year through June 12. He was second in CRA Sportsman points last year and was the top rookie.
“I have won some significant races,” Dossey, 16, said. “If I set my mind to it, do my best and give it my all, I can come out with good results. My mom and dad raised me to be confident.”
His dad, Jack Dossey Jr., won seven Late Model season championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome, a record six World Championship Figure-8 Three-hour Endurance Races and numerous short track races and Legends Cars features. His wife, Jennifer, is the behind-the-scenes anchor of the family’s racing program, which is based in Franklin Township.
Jack Dossey, the family patriarch, won a stock class championship at the Speedrome.
“He (dad) tells me to be aggressive but be smart,” Dossey III said. “He’s experienced everything that I may have issues with on or off the race track. He is a tremendous mentor in every aspect of racing.”
Dossey Jr. recalled, “My dad was a pretty good driver, but in my career he wasn’t there to keep me calm. I was a hothead and that doesn’t work. The days of Dale Earnhardt and Tony Stewart are gone – you don’t want to do anything negative on or off the track.”
Dossey III is a graduate of FasKarts, Legends Cars, three figure-8 races at the Speedrome and stock car races at the vacated Mount Lawn Speedway, where he was the youngest winner of the prestigious Raintree 100.
His next outing will be in a CRA Sportsman race at Lucas Oil Raceway in Brownsburg at 7:45 p.m. Friday.
He is being groomed for a full-time run in the ARCA/CRA Super Series in 1916 and will get a taste of that competition at Anderson (July 18), Lucas Oil Raceway (July 24) and Winchester Speedway (Sept. 6 and 7).
“Right now we just want to get our feet wet and have fun to get ready for next year,” Dossey III said of the ARCA/CRA SuperSeries.
He is fifth in the CRA Sportsman Series and leads the MEP LM Series at Anderson, where he recently set a track record of 12.839 seconds June 12.
The youngest Dossey has adapted to each step along the way without being intimidated by veterans or new race tracks. “Sometimes I forget my age,” he said. “I try to act like an adult on the track and compete with them. Being this young is not as bad as it looks because I’m getting the experience that I need.”
The Dosseys are not only working on getting more racing experience to keep climbing the ladder – hopefully from the ARCA/CRA Super Series to ARCA national events and into NASCAR – but they are making several appearances this year to promote races.
They also plan to feature one of their No. 20 Hart’s Auto Center/Mike Heimel Auction Chevrolets at various auto shows this winter in the Midwest. They will need far more sponsorship for the full SuperSeries than they have now.
Jack Dossey Jr. said he is proud of his son’s fast learning curve. “He has learned how to take care of the equipment that he races, and he has patience. Early in my career I didn’t have much patience. For his age he is very mature, real smooth, and he’s not rough on equipment. He’s smooth but aggressive. He doesn’t really let the competition get into his head.”
The team consists of crew chief Tim Neal and Jackie Neal plus Pete Harlow, Pete Alcorn and Kenny Etter, who were with Dossey Jr. for more than 20 years at the Speedrome.
Dossey III works at Hart’s Auto Center, owned by his dad and uncle John Dossey, on the Near Eastside
Dossey Jr. and wife Jennifer have been married for 28 years. She was his staunch supporter for many years at the Speedrome. “She is the backbone of this operation,” he said. “She is the one who keeps us organized and prepared for our next race and the future.”