Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – QUEENSBURY, NY – In life, there’s always that “something” that intrigues you.
Maybe it’s a place to go on vacation. Maybe, it’s the new best seller. For racecar drivers, it’s usually a different division to race. For Demetrios Drellos, that’s no different.
Drellos, whose roots are deeply cemented in Modified country, purchased a dirt Late Model near the end of 2022 and has been busy putting it together in his Queensbury, NY race shop with his team.
Now, he’ll get to test out that new racing machine next week at Volusia Speedway Park during the “Battle in Barberville.”
The team has outfitted their new XR1 Rocket Chassis with a 604 GM Crate and will tackle the world of Late Model racing for the very first time December 1-3 in the Sunshine state. To say Drellos is excited for this new challenge would be one of the biggest understatements of the year.
“Everyone on the team is super excited to try something a little different.” Drellos said. “It’s not just me. Of course, the Modifieds will still be our main focus in 2023, but this is something we wanted to try just for the fun of it.”
What made this type of race car a draw for Drellos?
“The Late model class, in general, whether a 604 or Super Late, seems really appealing to me,” he said. “I’m just a super big fan of how technologically advanced these cars are compared to ours. It’ll be a lot of fun and a lot to learn.”
Being a Modified racer just like Demetrios, Tim McCreadie, Tim Fuller, Billy Decker, Chad Homan & now Stewart Friesen are some of the many drivers who have transitioned from Mods to dirt Late Models, even on a part-time basis.
Has he talked to anyone about the differences in the two types of cars?
“No, I really haven’t as of yet,” he said. “My biggest help, so far, has truly been our closest Rocket Dealer, Ed Carley in Freedom NY. He still lives right on the border of Modified country and is somewhat familiar with our cars. He understands the background I come from and has taught me a lot when it comes to these things. It seems like everyday, I have another 30 questions.”
Did Demetrios ever think about a Sprint Car or even a switch to pavement racing?
“A Sprint Car would be neat to try,” he said. “For me, though, I think they’re not the type of car I’d like to work on or race more then once. Asphalt Late Models are pretty neat but again not really my thing. The dirt Late Model has always just been appealing to me. I feel they are the leader in dirt racing for how the mechanics of a dirt car work as we know it.”
It’s that ingenuity that also drew him in.
“It seems like they’re the ones coming up with the new ideas about how to go fast on dirt,” he said. “That’s the part that I like and probably the rest of the country does too.”
Has he been able to make any laps yet behind the wheel of the Late Model?
No testing yet, unfortunately,” he said. “There aren’t too many tracks up here that are in any condition to turn laps this time of year. Our plan is to dive feet first right into Volusia. Thankfully, there is night of practice Thursday before the race Saturday.”
Even with the newest addition to the race shop, Drellos and his team are still prepping their Modifieds for a schedule that mirrors 2022.
“We’ll be back at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday nights and Fonda on Saturday’s,” he said. “We’re going to attempt whatever big races are close to home and some of the larger special events. However, we’re really trying to limit a lot of the mid-week shows in the middle of summer. With work, we’re just too busy and it’s hard to get away.”
Drellos helps his father, George, in the family’s Septic business. That, plus his family life have come to take precedence. Married to Alexis with a new a new baby boy, Paxton, born in February of 2021, Drellos understands what’s important in life.
“When you’re out on the road racing, your family comes second and that’s not something I’m going to do,” he said. “I like where I’m at right now, I think we race somewhere between 55-65 races a season. That’s a good number for this team and my family.”
With that schedule, most of those races are within a couple hours of home. That’s huge for Drellos.
“When you travel, most times, it just becomes too much,” he said. “Fortunately, the purses are really growing for Modifieds…even for some of the weekly stuff. That, along with running well, has been helping our program and the team’s morale, especially heading into next year.”
How will the late model fit into the Drellos Motorsports equation for the upcoming season?
“We’re not 100% sure yet,” he said. “We may go to a couple higher paying RUSH Late Model shows or some 604 races at some new tracks. If we can race a total of 10-15 races this year with it, that’ll be great.”
Will the car see a more powerful engine, other than the Crate, bolted between the frame rails?
“The 604 deal is just to get our feet wet,” he said. “It’s hard to learn how to drive one of these cars and just race when you start with nothing. It’s extremely difficult to just go race a Super Late Model.”
Is this class the future for the #111 team?
“I think that life is really appealing to some, and I think it’d be fun for a few years,” he said. “However, family is way too important to me. I don’t think I’d ever go full-blown Late Model racing. The region we live in up here makes that extremely difficult.”
Does Drellos have eyes on some national late model starts, though?
“Having a Super and going to some shows where we might be competitive at is intriguing,” he said. “We want to have fun with this thing and maybe being able to race at some awesome tracks that the Mods don’t get to would be nice.”
With next week being the first time behind the wheel of a Late Model, what makes the event a success for the Drellos Motorsports team?
“Honestly, next week would be a success just to qualify, be up to speed and have a good time,” he said. “I really don’t know what to expect. I’m not sure how big of an event this is going to be. There could be 50 cars. There could be 25. If I could make the feature and race, I’d be extremely happy with that.”
After the races at Volusia, the team will prepare the late model to kick off their 2023 racing campaign with the Sunshine Nationals, January 18-21 at Volusia.