Lucas has memorable season at ODS

James Lucas had an excellent year in Mid-Atlantic Street Stocks at Old Dominion Speedway.  The 58-year-old Centreville, Md., driver won his second Speedway championship and won five of six races, with an average finish of 1.5, with three poles.

"It felt fantastic to win the championship," Lucas said.  "I never expected that."

Lucas was just planning to run the opener in Speedway and then retire.  But after winning the first race, he had to try another.  When he won the next race, he kept coming back.

He ran so well that he raced the whole season and snagged his most satisfying championship.

"I just appreciated the whole racing thing this year—all the people, crews and fans," Lucas said.

In the third race, Lucas smacked the wall.  When he rolled onto pit roll, a crowd of drivers and crew guys put his car back together.  He was able to get back on the track without losing a lap, finishing fourth.

"There must've been 50 people around that car helping out so I could race again," Lucas said.  "That's the beauty of racing—all those people helping you when they didn't have to."

Lucas said he also had a different attitude this season since it would be his last driving.  So he was patient on the track and waited for opportunities.

Lucas started off racing Legends in the 1990s.  For nearly 10 years, he raced everywhere—from ODS to Langley to Richmond to South Boston to South Hampton to Charlotte.

He grabbed a couple of features wins and nine or 10 divisional wins.  He even raced against Kyle Busch and Casey Atwood in Charlotte's Tuesday night Shoot-out.

"Legends are the hardest thing in the world to drive," Lucas said.  "It's like you've got four pingpong balls as tires.  Those cars just hop all over the place, and your reflexes have to be fast."

Lucas was glad to move to Speedway.

"They drove like a Cadillac after Legends," he said.

In 2003, Lucas won the Speedway championship.  Then he moved up to Late Model for two years, finishing ninth and 10th in points.  He usually ran mid-pack.

"I never did get that Late Model hookup," he said.  "It takes a few years to get going.  You've got to have good equipment, the perfect setup, a good pit crew and experience."

Lucas said his worst night was when he backed into the wall once and got the wind knocked out of him.

"Hitting the wall is like getting hit with a baseball bat," he said.

Lucas, however, said if he were 10 years younger, he'd still hop in a Late Model.

"Those 10-inch tires gave you a lot of grip," he said.  "You could wing around those turns.  And it was just a thrill."

After missing three years of competition, Lucas decided to give it another whirl this season.  He missed the acrid smells of tires and fuel and rubbing shoulders with racing people.

His last night racing was special.  He not only set a new Speedway qualifying record, but he also won twin races and clinched his second championship.

"I'm still smiling about that," he said.  "It was just great.  I just wanted to go out there and race and have fun."