Column: Big Game Motorsports’ Zach Patterson Blending Racing With Tire Specialist Role

Column By: ALEX NIETEN / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – BRANDON, SD – Nearly every weekend from February through November you can find Zach Patterson working on the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 Sprint Car.

But the tire specialist for the team atop the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car standings doesn’t only work on the cars, he likes to get behind the wheel himself occasionally.

Patterson has jumped in a 305 Sprint Car a handful of times in 2024 when time permits, even getting help from his Big Game teammates David Gravel, Cody Jacobs, and Stephen Hamm-Reilly.

The love for racing stems from a youth fixed firmly within the sport. Patterson hails from Merkel, TX with Abilene Speedway 10 minutes down the road. He grew up spending nearly every weekend at a racetrack watching family members win in the Late Model and Modified ranks of the region.

A move to Oklahoma didn’t halt Patterson’s racing involvement. Instead, it enhanced it as his family helped operate multiple dirt tracks in the “Sooner State.” The move also led to his first laps in a go kart. He also got his first opportunity in a real race car at 11 years old, but a frightening crash paused his driving career.

“We had that bomber class,” Patterson said. “That was my first chance to actually get behind the wheel of a real car. I went out there and absolutely destroyed that thing. That was kind of the end of it for a while.”

Racing restarted for Patterson after high school, and the result was a 2019 I-44 Speedway track championship in a Micro Sprint. The following year brought his first season in a Sprint Car, and then, with the help of Joe Madore, a door opened that facilitated his current career ahead of 2021.

“He (Madore) comes into the shop one night and says, ‘I have a really good opportunity for you. One of Wayne Johnson’s guys just quit. There’s an opportunity for you to go on the road for the 2021 season,’” Patterson recalled. “Four days later I was at Wayne’s shop getting interviewed.”

After one season with Johnson, an opportunity arose to join one of Sprint Car racing’s powerhouses when a spot opened at Tod Quiring’s Big Game Motorsports. Patterson got the job, and three races in was standing in World of Outlaws Victory Lane for the first time as Gravel won at Volusia Speedway Park.

Patterson has been a good fit as he now navigates his third year with the team. The time has allowed him to learn from one of the sport’s most renowned crew chiefs – Cody Jacobs.

“It’s been great,” Patterson said of working with Jacobs. “In my mind, he’s the best at what he does. Working with him has been amazing. There’s so much to learn from him. Overall, it’s been everything I imagined and more. I’m super grateful for the time he’s put in to teach me.”

The last couple years have given Patterson the chance to hop back in a Sprint Car. Jay Masur of Med Star Dirt Track Rescue Team let Patterson take his Sprint Car for a spin last year, and that led to more time in his car along with a couple other opportunities this season.

“Really, it’s a dream come true,” Patterson said. “Them supporting me and getting the opportunity to race and Stephen and Cody coming down to the infield here and there and helping me, that means a lot. Tod allows me to do it. Everyone has just been really supportive.”

The highlight of Patterson getting back behind the wheel came in June this year when he drove from 11th to the front at Huset’s Speedway for his first Sprint Car win. It was a storybook evening as he had Gravel, Jacobs, and Hamm-Reilly working on the car that night and ready to greet him in Victory Lane.

“I can’t even explain the emotions,” Patterson said. “It’s a completely different feeling. That’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Genuinely, I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen, if I was going to get the opportunity to be there. It was so cool with all of those guys being there. Really, it was perfect timing. The whole team was there. I about cried going around the track. I was pumped up. I couldn’t quit yelling. That’s been a goal of mine ever since I got in a Sprint Car, and I’d been so close but hadn’t ever made it happen. That was just unreal.”

While Patterson enjoys the occasional opportunity to race, his focus remains locked on the ultimate goal of 2024 – a World of Outlaws championship. Since joining Big Game Motorsports, Patterson has experienced finishing runner-up in the standings two straight seasons. Gravel holds more than a 100-point advantage right now, but the job isn’t done until it’s done.

“The past couple years have been a little heartbreaking,” Patterson admitted. “I genuinely feel like we were the best car last year and maybe even the year before, but definitely last year. I felt like we were the better car but just had some bad luck. Running second in the points is just heartbreaking. You want to win this championship. Until it happens, I don’t know what it’s going to feel like because I’m so focused. Having somebody like Donny Schatz behind you, he isn’t going to give up. Carson (Macedo) isn’t going to give up. There’s still a long way ahead of us.”

Patterson and the Big Game crew continue their pursuit of a World of Outlaws title this weekend at the $25,000-to-win Huset’s Hustle presented by Folkens Brothers Trucking on Friday, Aug. 30, and the BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards on Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, with a $100,000-to-win finale.