RPW Exclusive: Felix Roy’s Hoping Teaming With Elmo’s At Albany-Saratoga Will Prove Beneficial In More Ways Than One

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – NAPIERVILLE, QUE – Felix Roy loves this sport, and is dedicated to becoming one of the all-time greats.

Sometimes, however, you have to evaluate your program so you can make changes if you’re looking to achieve a bigger goal.

The 2024 DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Champion just came off his second year on the Big Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series where he was the 2023 Rookie of the Year. Last season, he improved his points position by four spots (13th to ninth) but never secured a victory or any top five finishes.

Roy knows his desire is to improve so he can be a regular threat for victories on tour against the likes of Matt Sheppard, Anthony Perrego, Jimmy Phelps and defending Super DIRTcar titlist, Mat Williamson.

So, that got his mind into motion.

“We saw (Mat) Williamson really improve this year with a Big Block and dominate the Series,” Roy said. “What he did was go race weekly at Land of Legends and we were like, yea, we need to do that too because the only time I run a Big Block Modified is with the Series.”

The team look at what was available to run, and they kept coming back to weekly action at Lyle Devore’s Albany-Saratoga Speedway. However, there was one major stumbling block.

“We looked at racing Malta on Friday nights,” he said. But, going down there with our big truck, the big trailer every week, while also running Airborne and Drummond, with all the additional racing we were doing, would just be too much.”

That didn’t deter their though process, though. Roy and his team still wanted to race the track in New York’s Capital Region, and a trip to see the people at Elmo’s Speed & Supply actually gave that plan a big boost.

“We actually had purchased some stuff from Elmo’s a couple of months back,” he said. “My grandfather went down to grab it and as if they knew of anyone who would either put me in a car at Malta or someone who would prepare a car for us. Elmo and Chris said they’d do it.”

It was a simple as that…picking up parts. Both sides began to hammer out a deal which will now see Roy’s equipment housed at Elmo’s Ballston Lake, NY shop. The Reckner’s will trailer it to the track and have it ready for Roy to compete.

“We figured out a plan this is such a great opportunity for me,” he said. “Having them prepare the car and bring it to the track each week so I can just concentrate on the driving part against the great caliber of drivers at Malta is a very big deal.”

For his part, Chris Reckner of Elmo’s, is excited for the new deal that’s come about with Roy. He’ll serve as crew chief of the operation and be completely hands on in trying to get the young driver in victory lane at Albany-Saratoga.

“A few years back, we began maintaining Butchie Irwin’s Sportsman car and we enjoyed it,” Reckner said. “Then, last year we ended up selling some of Marc Johnson’s used parts that Felix and his team ended up buying. We wound up talking and put this deal together.”

Reckner states that in addition to Roy’s car, Irwin’s car will return for 2025 and he’d like to add another at some point, but right now he’s excited to get both drivers into the winner’s circle.

“Felix is supplying everything to us that we’ll keep here at our shop,” he said. “They’ll bring us the car, motor, wheels, tires, spares, trailer and all the pit equipment. We’re just maintaining it all here for him and bringing it to the track. All he’ll have to do is show up with his safety gear and race.”

This is a big chance for Roy to get some experience racing a Big Block Modified against a stiff field of competitors that compete at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on a weekly basis.

“I’ve raced there like four of five times over the years,” Roy said. “I’ve also watched all of the race night replays online but I know the competition down there is really good. You’ve got guys like (Peter) Britten, (Demetrios) Drellos, (Marc) Johnson (Matt) Delorenzo and a lot of top runners so it’s going to be really good for me to race weekly with them.”

The driver they call “Hollywood” isn’t just looking to make laps at Albany-Saratoga. He’s not built like that. He’s laser focused on his Friday night agenda for 2025.

“Yea, we definitely want to get more seat time in a Big Block Modified and we’ll get that with this deal,” he said. “However, we’re looking to contend for the championship this year. I think we have the capability to do it. Every time we’ve run there, we’ve done well. Two years ago, we got a second during the Massive Weekend. Last year, during one of their Series shows, we were running in the top five for the entire race and fell back to eighth at then but feel like we had a good car.

Even last fall, Roy brought his no. 91 home in the runner-up spot during the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series race in September. He’s been able to win some heats there as well and is excited to see what he can do this year.

“I’m really looking forward to racing at Malta,” he said. “I want to compete for wins and I’m hoping we can do so a couple of times. I want to prove that we belong and that I can get the job done against a good field of racers like they have there.”

Not only with seat time, Roy’s hoping that racing at Albany-Saratoga weekly will help his knowledge of differing track conditions with the bigger horsepower engine.

“Yea, we wanted to improve on the Super DIRTcar Series and racing at Malta as definitely a good route to go to make that happen,” he said. “We want to be a top team there for sure but we also want to improve on dry, slick tracks. To be good on the Tour, you have to know how to adjust for track conditions and I have to get better when the track is slick.”

Felix Roy may be young, but don’t let his age fool you. He just turned 20 years old but his knowledge behind the wheel makes him look like a seasoned veteran. Even with that, he knows he’s got a lot to learn to grab wins on the Super DIRTcar Series and compete for a championship. However, he’s ready to get to work.

With the Reckner’s help, and his family’s support behind him, Roy’s looking to take the next step towards being one of Big Block Modified’s all-time greats.

Is there any doubt he can make that happen?