Fear Gets Lapped

An industry contractor relocates his business and family to help his son pursue a promising career as a stock car race driver

Someday, David Currier Jr. hopes to drive a race car bearing the emblems of brands like Mountain Dew, Craftsman, and The Home Depot.

Right now, he’s happy driving on a late-model circuit in a Chevy Monte Carlo with sponsors that include Cape Cod Biochemical Co. and Lake Norman Sewer & Septic Service — his father’s business.

David Currier Sr. used to own and operate Currier Septic & Drain Service in Middleton, Mass. He moved the family to Denver, N.C., in August 2006 and started a new business so that David Jr. could be closer to the world of racing, for which he had a special talent since he started in quarter midget cars at age 7.

Currier admits it was difficult — and tough on the family — to move across several state lines to help one son pursue a dream. He had to sell his business and start over. He and his wife, Cindy, had to leave good friends and a community they enjoyed. The three kids had to adjust to new surroundings and new schools.

Still, there are no regrets. Currier’s new business is growing fast, and young David is moving up the ranks on the stock car circuit. “I’ve always been pretty good at shooting from the hip,” the elder Currier says. “I’ve never been afraid to try things. I knew that if I put my mind to it, and had enough time, I could make it work.”

Pulling stakes

The family actually moved twice to land in North Carolina, in a small town near Mooresville, known as Race City, USA, and home base for numerous top NASCAR teams. Currier Septic & Drain had 12 employees at the time Currier sold it.

David Jr. excelled as a driver almost from the first time he took the wheel. His brother Dennis, two years younger, also raced midget cars for a few years, until age 10. Currier took them on racing trips as far as Colorado. In time, he felt guilty being away so often and leaving his parents, Dennis and Carolyn Currier, in charge of the business.

In 2000, Wind River Environ-mental, the large septic system service firm in Hudson, Mass, made an offer for the business. It was attractive enough so that Currier could use some of the sale proceeds to help his parents retire. He worked for Wind River for two years, then moved the family to Swanzey, N.H., so that David Jr. could race on tracks in the area.

“He wasn’t old enough to race on the NASCAR sanctioned tracks near Middleton, so we decided to get him established on the non-­sanctioned tracks in New Hampshire,” Currier says.

In Swanzey, he spent three years building up a used-car business. The move was difficult for the kids. “The boys adapted pretty easily, but it was a lot tougher for our daughter Katie (then 14),” Currier says.

In Middleton, the family lived in an upscale suburban neighborhood. Swanzey was a smaller community of working people. “Back in Massa-chusetts, you could have any food you wanted delivered to the house,” Cindy Currier observes. “The mall was 10 minutes away. In Swanzey, the mall was an hour and 15 minutes.”

Powering up

David Jr. kept progressing, racing both cars and motocross bikes. In 2005, at age 15, in his first season driving a full-size car in the mini-stock division on the 3/8-mile paved oval at Canaan, N.H., he won the track championship and was named rookie of the year. The next year he wanted to move up to late models, so his father took him to FinishLine Racing School in Florida to work under instructor Mike Loescher, who has trained the likes of NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon.

“I told him, ‘We don’t have a lot of money, and I want to know if my son has talent before we try late models,’” says Currier. After three days of competition at the school, David finished atop a group of 14 drivers. “I asked Mike at the end, ‘What do you think?’” recalls Currier. “He told me, ‘Your kid is loaded with talent.’”

Another top name in racing thought so too: NASCAR team owner Richard Childress had seen David Jr. race and called the Curriers to suggest they consider moving south, where he would have a better chance to advance his career. In August 2006, Currier sold the car lot and various properties, and the family moved to North Carolina.

Looking to re-establish himself in business as soon as possible, Currier bought a small firm that installed and repaired grinder pumps. By advertising in news-papers and telephone directories, making cold calls on plumbers for subcontract work, and earning a good reputation by word-of-mouth, Currier built the business into a diversified sewer, drain and septic service. His team includes his father, employee John Grant, and David Jr. after school and on weekends when he’s not racing or working on his car.

Squarely on track

Last year, in his first season in North Carolina, David Jr. raced limited late models. He now drives the late-model circuit on the half-mile track at Concord Motorsports Park in Concord, N.C., where speeds can reach 140 mph. He also expects to run in a few United Auto Racing Asso-ciation (UARA) events at bigger tracks.

He is on the team of Gary Hargett, who is legendary in racing circles for recognizing and developing talent. Hargett has been credited with helping the late Dale Earnhardt build his career.

Currier’s first race at Concord, in March, was memorable. “We qualified mid-field, and we were running well, until two guys trashed each other and bounced off the wall in turn four,” he says. “We were clear to miss the crash, but one of the cars that was at the top of the track let off the brakes and started rolling down the track and smashed into the right side of our car.”

David Jr. returned to the track about 10 laps down after extensive repairs in the pits. “We got out there right in front of the leaders,” he says. “I must have had about five car lengths on them before they were going to lap me, but I just pulled away from them. They weren’t coming anywhere close to me.”

David Jr. (web site www.david currierjr.com) is already planning his next steps up the racing ladder. He hopes to race full time on the UARA circuit next year, then move up to the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), a level below the NASCAR Nationwide series. His plan is to make the Nationwide Series by age 20. “He’s opening a lot of eyes,” the elder Currier says. “He’s had wonderful opportunities to learn from some of the best people in the racing business. We’re excited about his future.”

Building the business

Currier’s own business future looks good, too, although the cost of David Jr.’s venture is sobering. He expects to spend $60,000 to run local tracks for the 2008 season and $150,000 for the bigger venues next year.

Fortunately, Currier chose a business he knows well in an area with high market potential and without excessive competition. “I bought the business at a good price, and I was able to start slow and feel my way around the community,” Currier says. “Being a Yankee and having such a Northern accent, I was a little concerned about how people would accept me. But the people here are incredibly nice.

“Over time, I bought drain-cleaning machines, a waterjetter, a Terralift machine, and a vacuum truck. I already had a mini-excavator. The area has a lot of septic systems, a lot of grinder pumps, and a lot of city sewer.

“It hasn’t been easy at all. It’s been hard, and knew it would be hard. But what isn’t? I’ve found that if you’re always fair to people, if you treat customers like you want to be treated, if you give them the respect they deserve, you’re going to have a good business. That’s the way my parents always did it, and they taught me the same way.”

“I’m hoping David’s racing career can take off. If not, he has already said, ‘Dad, I know this is a million-to-one shot. If I don’t make it, I want to work with you, and I want to get my license to become a plumber.’ He graduated from high school this spring, and his work uniform is already ordered.”



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