During the month of September, we held a fundraiser so Caps fan and NASCAR driver Ryan Ellis could get the final funds he needed to participate in the Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway. The RMNB community came up big again, raising a final total of $8,865 ($1k was donated outside of the fundraiser).
The money allowed Ryan and our blog to design the hood, do a half wrap of the car, add RMNB decals to the sides, and put all of your names — including Harambe — on the trunk.
Over the weekend it was finally time to go racing. Chris Gordon and I joined Ryan in Dover, Delaware, to document his experience. Many random, amazing things happened, so I’m going to share everything.
On Friday afternoon, I arrived in Dover and joined Ryan and Chris at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, a complex built adjacent to the track.
I think I'm here pic.twitter.com/KFsEBc9mrv
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) September 30, 2016
Ryan’s beautiful girlfriend, his father, and his close friend/fellow driver Garrett Smithley joined Chris and me for dinner at the casino buffet. We ate healthily.
This is the dinner that will fuel @ryanellisracing's victory tmw (or give him the worst runs ever) Definitely one of the two pic.twitter.com/fw5cfFoQAf
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) September 30, 2016
After swapping some funny stories for a couple hours, we made our way to the casino where we ran into several other drivers, including Matthew DiBenedetto. DiBenedetto and Ryan frequently race on the same team, BK Racing, and have a bit of a bromance. More on that later.
As we made our way around the casino, we noticed a familiar face at the craps table: Tony Stewart.
Stewart played craps for at least 5 hours straight that night. I know that because he didn’t move an inch the entire time I was there. After Ryan and DiBenedetto finished playing blackjack (Ryan didn’t actually lose any money), Chris and I made our way to the Dover Day’s Inn.
It was quirky to say the least.
https://twitter.com/Chris_Gordon/status/782374509345181696
The next morning we woke up early for qualifying and I finally got to see the hood I designed for the first time, a proud moment.
We all posed in front of the car.
Ryan posted a 148.773 MPH average and a 24.198 second lap around the Monster Mile.
The time was 1.459 seconds behind the pole winner, Erik Jones. Ryan would start Saturday’s race in the 32nd position.
“Every race is a great jump forward in my career,” Ryan told me candidly on pit road that day. “It’s hard to get opportunities in the Sprint Cup and Xfinity series as just about every driver is expected to bring sponsorship or pay out of their own pocket upwards of $150k.”
Ryan was happy with his time but wanted me to understand the context.
“The car was really fast,” Ellis said. “We are a low budget team that doesn’t have the motor that the big teams have, nor the massive amount of employees that they have. We only had a few crew guys there and we are beating teams with way bigger budgets than our own. People don’t realize that beating those teams is a huge feat and nearly impossible when they’re spending $200k more than us a race. The Rick Ware team does such a great job of making the most out of what we have each week.”
Our team can afford only the most professional gas covers pic.twitter.com/pF0hXZudce
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 1, 2016
DiBenedetto came over to congratulate Ryan on his time. They hugged.
The greatest photos ever of @ryanellisracing and @mattdracing at Dover pic.twitter.com/xA3qsCH089
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 1, 2016
We were also joined at the track by Jackson and his family. Jackson’s family came out to the Autobahn Indoor Speedway event we hosted with Ryan on Thursday night in Joppa, Maryland. Ryan enjoyed Jackson’s family so much, he gave them pit passes for the weekend.
Ryan took Jackson everywhere he went.
As our team walked back to the garage, we noticed Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano speaking to his crew chief by his car. Ryan urged me to go up to him and tell him that I write for a hockey blog and that we were sponsoring him this weekend. Logano grew up playing hockey and met his wife at an ice rink.
Joey Logano on our hockey blog sponsoring @ryanellisracing: “Very cool!”
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 1, 2016
Then the rain set in. A low pressure system had plagued the east coast since Thursday. The Xfinity series managed to get practice and qualifying in. The race that afternoon, scheduled for 3pm, was in doubt. So Chris and I went live on Facebook and did guerilla interviews with the fellow drivers.
Rain delay coverage from Dover International Raceway.
Posted by Russian Machine Never Breaks on Saturday, October 1, 2016
After our Facebook Live session, we were still bored. So, during a NBCSN interview, Chris got some free promotion for RMNB. As Ellis gave detailed instructions, Chris stood in the background behind Sprint Cup driver Justin Allgaier while wearing a white RMNB t-shirt.
Getting some free promotion for @russianmachine during a @J_Allgaier interview. Blame, @ryanellisracing pic.twitter.com/8eyVz7c21t
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 1, 2016
@Chris_Gordon pic.twitter.com/2BAoueFUsk
— Peter Hassett (@peterhassett) October 1, 2016
Afterwards, Allgaier spoke to me about his hockey experiences. He grew up a huge St. Louis Blues fan and dropped the puck at a Tampa Bay Lightning game.
https://twitter.com/Chris_Gordon/status/782311811886485507
Was truly an honor to meet @J_Allgaier today. He grew up a St. Louis Blues fan and has dropped the puck at a @TBLightning game. pic.twitter.com/r9rdIEhFMg
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) October 1, 2016
Around 3pm, the drivers were asked to make their way to their cars. We ran into the Young Rising Sons, whose lead singer, Andy Tongren, was singing the national anthem before the race. The band members are huge Caps fans, read RMNB, and donated money to sponsor the car.
After a few laps under caution around the track, the rain picked up and NASCAR postponed the race until 10am the next morning.
Chris and I went back to the hotel, ate at Qdoba, wrote an RMNB post, and went to bed.
The next morning we arrived right on time for the start of the Drive Sober 200.
Ryan wore a Deadguins sticker on the back of his helmet.
Despite not having the same quality car as other drivers, Ryan moved up several spots. Around lap 40, he made his first pit stop. Everything was looking good.
40 laps in and Ryan makes his first pit stop of the day. The tires really get eaten up at Dover. pic.twitter.com/ggw6WEYyWs
— RMNB (@rmnb) October 2, 2016
During lap 58, Ellis’s right front tire blew, sending him careening hard into the wall.
The Xfinity Twitter teased us.
The @russianmachine is no match for The Monster.
Tough blow for @ryanellisracing also losing a right front. pic.twitter.com/8Qrz0SyRdw
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) October 2, 2016
“We had a tire rub that didn’t look that bad in practice, and got way worse in the race with lower pressures and a different set of tires,” Ryan said after a visit to the infield care center. “The rub went through the sidewall of the tire and blew all at once with a loud pop. There wasn’t a slow drain of air that would’ve made it manageable, it just went all at once.”
The RMNB #25 was mangled and was pushed back to the garage.
https://twitter.com/Chris_Gordon/status/782601446567075840
https://twitter.com/Chris_Gordon/status/782600316999049216
Ryan’s crew could not get the car running again, and officially retired from the race. He finished in 36th. Despite the wreck, Ryan was not seriously hurt (he complained of dizziness and went to the hospital later to get checked out) and found both race weekend and the fundraiser to be a huge success.
Good to see @ryanellisracing get out of the car. Hard hit.
Thank you @MonsterMile for the safer barriers.
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) October 2, 2016
“It was a great weekend,” Ryan said. “Not only is Dover one of my favorite tracks that we go to, but representing RMNB, its writers, and all of their followers and readers was a really cool experience. It’s always been an honor to represent the DC market in motorsports, and this kind of brought it all together.”
I’ve been forced to find my own sponsorship through networking during my career,” Ryan continued. “When the RMNB guys and myself thought of this, we knew that not only would it be a great opportunity for both of us, but a great grassroots story and I’m so glad it came together.”
The fundraiser got national attention in September and received local coverage from WUSA9 the night before the race. Ryan also received several leads from sponsors that may get him racing full time.
Because if anyone deserves a full-time ride, it’s Ryan.
Just looking back, and damn, I really liked our @russianmachine @RickWareRacing car. Looked good and was pretty fast. Credit – @ejorourke41 pic.twitter.com/eY0rbFWWAx
— Ryan Ellis (@ryanellisracing) October 4, 2016
Chris Gordon’s Photos
Headline photo: Chris Gordon
