Hughes recently ended one of his most successful seasons behind the wheel of his Modified. A late season surge saw him capture not only the World Modified Dirt Track Championship, but also the finale of the Fall Jamboree. Over the weekend he debuted with Rowland Racing in the 34th Annual Spooker, finishing the event with a 2nd place run on Sunday. "This opportunity is something I have ben waiting to do," said Hughes. "We'll have the opportunity to run with some of the best in the business and when you have those chances you have to take advantage of it. Bryan wanted to run nationally, and I think we'll be alright once we get a few laps in."
The team will continue to pilot Team Zero Bloomquist cars. Rowland has three on hand. One has less than ten races on it, and there is another one which is brand new. The third car is used, but was a personal car of Bloomquist. When Hughes doesn't have Late Model races scheduled, he plans to compete in his own Modified, but he stressed that the Late Model will be the priority.
Prior to joining Eagle Motorsports for the 2013 World Modified Dirt Track Championship and Hunt, Stormy Scott raced for just over a year with Rowland Racing. The team made news over the winter with their switch to LG2 Chassis, built by three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion Jimmy Owens. "This is going to be a big, big team for sure," stated Scott. "We have high expectations and need to get that USMTS National Championship taken care of right off the bat. Joe Bob and I think this will be a potent combination. This team is much more organized this time around. It will be much better for me just having to drive the car."
Late this season, Rowland Racing welcomed Zack VanderBeek into the fold. VanderBeek competed in three marquee USMTS events, with a best finish of 7th in the Sunflower Showdown at Lakeside Speedway. For the coming season he will take back control of his racing program, but will be supplied with an LG2 Chassis, as Rowland Racing has also become the primary dealer for the LG2 Chassis. "This was kind of a mutual decision," said VanderBeek. "We've built a good team over the years, and my dad and I weren't ready to give it up. We'll run our own engines and have our own sponsors, but Bryan will keep us in cars. This arrangement will just work better for us and we couldn't be happier."
To pull of this transformation, several key individuals have been hired. The first is former USMTS Rookie of the Year, Brad McEwan. Before spending the past season with Tommy Weder Jr., McEwan was with Rowland. He will now oversee the Late Model Program. Modified standout Corey Dripps is also expected to help on at least a part-time basis, which could turn into full-time. Ciechanowski is planning on travelling close to full-time with the Modified team, as he looks to add another USMTS National Championship to his resume, and bring Rowland Racing its first. They are still evaluating candidates to assist with the USMTS team.
While Woodward, Oklahoma is Rowland's hometown and base of operations for his successful Road Runner Trucking business, it is not exactly the epicenter of the dirt racing world. To accommodate the teams, a brand new shop is in the process of being erected in Ciechanowski and McEwan's hometown of Alta, Iowa. This shop will house the entire program and is expected to be completed in May.
"Bryan wants to accomplish big things obviously," said Ciechanowsi. "He wants National Championships and also longevity with all of the people involved with the team. He knew logistically a change needed to be made to accomplish what he wanted. For the USMTS tour, our location in Iowa is perfect. To run the Late Model program, we're a lot closer than Woodward too."
There are very clear goals and objectives in place, not only for this season, but moving forward too. The organization is committing to at least the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Road to Wheatland, which will trek through the eastern part of the country the first half of next year. They will then reevaluate for the second half of the season, but Hughes will throw his name in the hat for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of the Year. On the USMTS side, a National Championship is the clearly the goal. Long-term, they are hopeful to have Hughes race as long as he wants, then fill the Late Model seat with Scott and continue on.
"It's a bit overwhelming, "commented Ciechanowski. "However with the people Bryan has allowed us to put in place, I think we will be able to shorten the learning curve. We know teams aren't built in a year, and we'll be preparing Stormy just like we did Ryan Gustin, when we were with Gressel Racing. We are comparing this to how Terry Phillips runs his operation. His ability to run a Modified and Late Model team out of his shop, and to do it seamlessly is just incredible. I know we'll have two drivers, but TP has set the bar on how to run two operations successfully."
