RPW Column: Momentum & Success From ’22 Has Sportsman Racer Chris Diamond Excited For New Season

Column By: BILLY HODGES / RPW – MIDDLETOWN, NY – The number on his car may be different, but that’s what makes Accord Speedway racer Chris Diamond unique.

However, his path to racing at the Ulster County Bullring has been different than most.

“I’m an engine builder / machinist by trade and have been involved in racing since childhood,” Diamond said.  “I raced with a shootout style drag racing organization back in mid 2000’s, had a lot of fun and success.  Doing well there and with Street Racing led me to starting an engine building business.”

Concentrating on the business limited his racing activity.

“I began working on Northeast Dirt Mods & Sportsman cars living in Orange County,” he said.  “OCFS and Accord were weekly destinations as well as many other northeast race tracks.”

As the engine shop began to explode, things in Diamond’s direction in racing started to shift.

“With success as an engine guy, I grew even more interested in dirt racing,” he said.  “This past summer, I started looking for a car to put together to try and see if it was something I could do.”

That’s when things started to fall into place.

“The end of July, a friend mentioned that he had a car that needed work,” he said.  “He basically told me to get it out of his garage.”

Then, it was game on.

“I immediately got to work searching for the parts needed to put car together safely,” he said.  “I made it to OCFS a week after picking the car up.  It was actually ready for the Thursday night race during the fair but I was so focused on getting it done that I didn’t have a truck to the track.”

That first run was a rousing success.

“I started in the back of the field in the feature and finished in the top ten,” he said.  “I had a smile on my face for about a week following that night.”

From there, Diamond was hooked.

“I ran Orange County a few times at the end of last year, but I couldn’t get enough,” he said.  “I also raced at Accord and won the consi my second time there.  We raced the topless race at Penn Can and finished seventh which I was ecstatic about.”

He wasn’t done.

“I also qualified for the Short Track Super Series race at Afton in October which was a huge confidence boost,” he said.  “Needless to say, I’m all in for 2023.”

Over the off-season, Diamond and his team got to work to improve their equipment.

“We updated the steering box and suspension in the car,” he said.  “That should improve the handling and I’m confident this will help me as a driver have even better results.”

What does this season look like for the team?

“The plan is to run Afton and Orange County in the Sportsman division,” he said.  “I also want to run as many Short Track Super Series events.”

The team behind Diamond is truly a tight knit bunch.

“I do just about everything myself on the car,” he said.  “That’s because my crew at the track is my little girl, Mackenzie, who’s three so obviously she can’t do much.  I also have my son, Chase, who’s eight.  I can trust him to do most things on the car.  He’s extremely smart and, hopefully in a few years, will be racing himself.”

The biggest part of his team is also his biggest part in life.

“My fiancé Nicole is amazing,” he said.  “She is behind me 100% and helps anyway she can.  That means the world to me.  I honestly believe in the saying, a family that races together stay together.”

Heading into the new season, Diamond is grateful for the sponsors he has as part of the team.

“There’s some really good people who’ve helped me make this happen and continue to support me,” he said.  “I can’t thank Dominant Performance, RPM Race Engines, Hufcut Concrete, Hig Fab Chassis, Frank Frasco Home Inspections, Jablonka Excavating and Pools Plus for believing in me.  Let’s make 2023 an amazing year.”