The team from Manor's Eagle Motorsports topped off a stellar season by taking first and second place in the Young Guns Duel in the Desert at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Nov. 15, taking home a total of 18 trophies during the season.
Brothers Masen and Jett BigEagle raced their IMCA (International Motor Contest Association) modified cars to first and second place respectively on the half-mile long track, while their mentor and fellow Eagle Motorsports team member, Joey Galloway, placed 15th in a field of 250 top drivers from throughout North America at the Duel in the Desert.
“We always want to beat each other so we have the bragging rights on the way home,” says Masen. “Our competitors in the Young Guns were all really good racers. I didn't see one bad name on that list.”
“Once you start racing, you're hooked,” he says. “But that's nothing compared to the feeling you get when you win. You just want that feeling all the time. Obviously, it doesn't happen all the time, but you just get out there and do the best you can.”
“We had a great season,” says Jett, who captured second place in the Young Guns event. “It was an outstanding one for our team. We won 18 trophies in 27 nights of racing.”
“I absolutely did not see this coming,” adds Jett. “I had a little bit of a rough start, but I found my groove. This year, we raced at home and we travelled a bit before Vegas-to Estevan, and Minot, Dickinson, Mandan, Jamestown in North Dakota, to Rimbey, Alberta and Emo, Ontario, which is Joey's hometown.”
“Vegas is a very big track,” he says. “It's considered a half-mile and we're used to racing on quarter-mile or 3/8 of a mile tracks here. We got there in time to practice and it was definitely a learning curve, but by the last day, we had it figured out.”
The BigEagle brothers' fellow team member, driver and mentor, Joey Galloway says, “We've had a great season. I didn't drive last year because it was Jett's first year and I wanted to get him off on the right foot racing. Both boys wanted to reach the top rank for racing this year, which I think they did.”
“As for myself, I've had a really great comeback season. I had nine feature wins and this year, I won the Eagle Showdown at our home track, which meant a lot to me, mostly because Derrick, Shelley, Masen and Jett treat me like family. As a team, we've had a really great year, too.”
“With Masen and Jett's season and with their wins in Vegas, you know you're doing your job right when they beat you!” adds Galloway.
“At the Young Guns, Derrick (Masen and Jett's father) told them: 'I don't care which one of you wins, but one of you better,' and they did. Masen took first-place and Jett came in second.”
Derrick, a former racer and founder of Eagle Motorsports says, “I did say that. I used to go there and watch the Duel in the Desert and the Young Guns Race. It's a big race, and a pretty prestigious award for a young lad.”
“I told them: 'We're not driving 26 hours to Vegas to come in third.'”
“The boys have sacrificed their whole adolescent lives to do this,” adds Derrick. “When they're not racing, they're in the shop. Over 26 nights of racing this season before Vegas, there were 16 trophies on the counter in the shop. They would see them every time they walked in. Third-place just wasn't an option.”
“To get a first-place in the U.S., you're competing against the toughest racers in the country. We didn't just win on one track. A win like this means a lot,” he says.
“One of our goals was for them to be competitive on different tracks and to be able to compete anywhere,” adds Derrick. “They've raced at IMCA-sanctioned tracks in our area (in Estevan and throughout North Dakota), in Florida, and at the Super Nationals in Iowa”
“When both of the boys came first and second in the Young Guns race, it was very rewarding for them and for me and my wife, Shelley,” says Derrick. “We expect a lot out of the boys. It's been very costly and we've all sacrificed our time, but it's worth it.”
“What makes it worthwhile and often, what people don't understand is that (racing) modified is a family sport, where the whole family gets involved. The boys are on the track, I'm there, my wife is in the stands taping, grandparents come to watch, friends come to watch.”
“It's kept us together as a family and I know where my kids are every weekend and every night. I'm very proud of all three of the guys. They all eat and sleep racing-whether it's at the track or in the shop getting ready for the track.”
“We like to get out there and see all of the other drivers,” says Masen. “You're only as good as the people you race against.”
“North Dakota was great this year,” adds Masen. “On a regular night, you'd have 30 or 40 drivers there. The competition was great.”
“And at the North Dakota Classic Modified tour, you'd have 80 or 90 cars each night for seven nights.”
Masen says his experience racing on different tracks helped him to adapt and ultimately win, in Las Vegas.
“In Vegas, we raced on a half-mile track,” he says. “I'm used to shorter tracks and I usually keep it pretty straight. One of my buddies told me :'You've got to be the straightest driver I've ever seen, but that doesn't work here.'”
“You have to be aggressive. You have to be hungry, You just have to go for it,” he says. “I'm used to picking off drivers one at a time and taking my time, but in a field of 250 drivers, you can't.”
“Instead, you just do the best you can and no matter how you do, you'll improve, win or lose.”
Jett says that the half-mile track in Las Vegas was an adjustment for him, too.
“It was my first-ever time on a track that long,” he says. “My arms got really, really tired over a 25-lap feature. It's definitely not easy on the body, but you adapt.”
“There are over 300 modifieds there and lots of people in the stands. I was nervous because it was a whole different racetrack,” adds Jett. “But I focus 100 percent on the racetrack.”
Galloway says he is happy with both his individual season and the winning season the team from Eagle Motorsports has earned.
“All three of us have so many people to thank,” says Galloway. “Derrick and Shelley, our sponsors, the people who come out to watch us, and for me, also my parents, Dan and Monika Galloway.”
“To win in Vegas means we've raced against drivers from all over the world. We had such a great season and next year, we'd like to do just as good or better. ”
