Measmer returns to hometown track for Memorial Day Weekend modified race

During Bobby Measmer Jr.’s childhood, the Concord native often fell asleep on the fenders or in the seat of a relative’s race car, so it only seemed natural for him to follow a path into motorsports.

However, his mother wouldn’t allow him to drive a race car until he celebrated his 18th birthday.

It was then the Central Cabarrus High School graduate headed to K&C Auto Salvage, where he worked, and bought a Honda Civic hatchback that he entered in the four-cylinder, front-wheel drive division at Concord Speedway. With a $100-a-week salary, it took Measmer two weeks to pay for the car he drove home and raced.

Today, the 29-year-old Measmer is a shop mechanic at Kannapolis-based Stewart-Haas Racing. On the weekends, he drives full-time in NASCAR’s Whelen Southern Modified Tour for Hughes Motorsports.

He also competes in selected KOMA Unwind Modified Madness Series events, which this year brings him home to Concord Speedway on May 22. Measmer also is searching for financial support that would allow him to enter the PASS South Super Late Model Series event scheduled for that same night.

“I don’t care if it’s horse and buggy, I’m racing at Concord,” said Measmer, who competed in PASS for two years. “The last time I ran in a PASS race at Concord – the Old Glory 150 – was May 29, 2010. I was running third. I got wrecked, spun out and hit the wall right in front of my wife where she was sitting. She was pregnant.

“The next morning my little girl was born, so that race actually put my wife into labor. It was definitely an interesting night. I’ll never forget it.”

Concord Speedway and the Measmer family have been connected since 1989. Measmer was 3 years old when his father and a cousin began competing at the triangle-shaped, half-mile track. David Kepley drove and Bobby Measmer Sr. worked on the car.

The track was the Measmer family’s destination every Saturday night for slightly more than a decade.

But by the time Measmer was old enough to work on a race car, his father and cousin had gone their separate ways.

Now all Measmer could do was wait until he turned 18 so he could race. Once that time came, Measmer enjoyed success at his hometown short track.

Before the speedway stopped conducting weekly races, Measmer claimed three titles. The first came in 2005 in the front-wheel drive, four-cylinder division. He won his second in 2007 driving a limited late model.

In 2011, Measmer won 12 of 14 races to easily claim the track’s late model title.

Measmer’s relationship with Kevin Hughes began during Concord Speedway’s 2007 season. Even though the modified team is fielded by Hughes Motorsports, the car is prepared in the Concord shop owned by Measmer’s father.

Measmer devotes Tuesday and Thursday nights to working on his modified unless a wreck dictates more time. Four people work on the team during a race weekend and also assist one night a week in the shop in return for Measmer purchasing their series license.

Measmer’s 50-year-old father also works with the team, driving the hauler, cooking for the crew at the track and changing tires during the NASCAR modified races.

For Measmer, the switch to modifieds in 2014 occurred because he needed a new challenge. The father of two got burned out on late model racing.

“Six weeks before the first race we got our first car and none of my guys, me included, had ever seen a modified up close, much less tried to get one ready to go racing,” said Measmer. “Needless to say it was a trying year, but it was challenging and that’s the part that brings me back.”

In Measmer’s inaugural modified season, he recorded three top-10 finishes in 14 races and a 13th-place finish in the point standings. He started the 2015 season with two cars and two different engine packages.

“I want to continue to get better each week,” said Measmer, who has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in the season’s first four races. “We’ve done that.”

Holcomb Motorsports Spring Nationals

Mooresville Dragway is hosting the Holcomb Motorsports Spring Nationals May 15-17. Admission is $40 for a three-day spectator ticket, $30 for two days, $20 for Saturday only and $15 for Sunday only. First-round qualifying will be Friday night.

NASCAR drivers vying for honors in Little 600

Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kasey Kahne are among the NASCAR drivers who have committed to compete in the May 19 Valvoline Little 600 at Mooresville’s GoPro Motorplex.

The event will be broadcast live on the Internet by Speed51.com’s 51 TV from 5:30-9 p.m. There is no charge for the live stream. The commentators for the event are Bob Dillner, Lenny Batycki and Wendy Venturini.

Herman victorious at East Lincoln

Concord’s Jennings Herman won the Pro 4 feature at East Lincoln Speedway. He’s now third in the track’s standings, 29 points behind the leader.

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 9:22 AM with the headline "Measmer returns to hometown track for Memorial Day Weekend modified race."