News Director 
Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – CANANDAIGUA, NY – Racing is all on Alex Payne’s mind in 2024.
No traveling to high school or taking online classes at Canandaigua Academy.
No homework or exams to study for. Just racing his No. 70a Nardozzi Paving & Construction Big Block Modified.
This racing season is Payne’s most significant year in racing ever. Not only weekly at tracks like Land of Legends Raceway and Utica-Rome Speedway but also touring full-time with the Super DIRTcar Series.
The season is off to a decent start for Payne, recording five top fives and, most recently, winning the season opener at Land of Legends.
Think about the talent that Payne defeated to get the job done. Drivers like Mat Williamson, Matt Sheppard, Erick Rudolph, Alan and Danny Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, and Peter Britten are amongst the notables. What’s it like to defeat a stacked field like that on opening night?
“It’s something that will be forever special to me,” Payne told RPW in an exclusive. “It really shows what we are capable of when the stars align. The list of opening night winners is very humbling and something I’m very proud of.”
Payne joined Britten, Larry Wight, Sheppard and Pat Ward as opening night winners in the last six years.
Even when racing against that competition, Payne believes that where he is racing weekly, he is at the best track for action outside the Super DIRTcar Series.
“We’ve tried to put ourselves in a field of cars that will make us better,” Payne said. “That’s why I’ve been traveling around a little bit. Just to try different places and learn. It makes you work hard for it.”
Last year, Payne scored two wins, one at Land of Legends and the other at Utica-Rome. Racing at Canandaigua, Payne had a chance for much more than the one he scored July 15. The week before he etched himself into history at Land of Legends, Payne led the feature with six to go before his engine expired. It was the first of many moments at his home track when Payne came close to the checkered. Payne finished seventh in track points and the highest driver in points to score a victory.
Payne also nearly scored his first-ever touring win in a Short Track Super Series at Outlaw. Leading at the white flag, Payne had a decent-sized lead over Cory Costa until he went over the banking in turn two, allowing Costa to slip by and take the win. Payne was emotional immediately after the race, but in the long term, it boosted his momentum, knowing he could compete against the best.
“We’ve had some fortunate runs with both series,” Payne said. “It was nice knowing we were good enough, especially at a place I know well. It makes me want to go back and try even harder this year.”
This year, Payne is competing in the Super DIRTcar Series full-time for Rookie of the Year and feels his team’s progress has been good since switching to big block modified competition.
“Last year, we contemplated it a little bit, but I feel we’ve taken our time to get the equipment in line to get ourselves prepared,” said Payne.
This isn’t the first time a member of the Payne stable has run the whole SDS tour. Alex’s father, Eldon Jr., attempted it in 2016. Alex hopes to last longer than his dad did.
Early in his SDS career, Payne is off to a good start. A top five that came at night three of the World Finals back in 2022 and five top 10s, most recently a sixth at New Egypt.
As Payne looks at the 2024 SDS schedule, outside of Canandaigua, there are not a lot of tracks in the past he has been to. He believes the team can run nicely anywhere if they do everything right. In the upcoming Weedsport and Thunder Mountain races, Payne has a top 10 in six total appearances (including non-series events) and one prior race in Center Lisle.
“We’re taking it by track, but If everything was to lineup, I think we could be in contention,” said Payne.
