NASCAR GDS: Goody's Dash Series: Stepping Stone, or Comfortable Nest

22 July 1999

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA.-The Goody's Dash Series, a part of the NASCAR Touring division has long been known as a proving ground for young racing talent.

Long before making the move to the premier divisions of NASCAR, such racing greats as, Hut Stricklin and Michael Waltrip were honing their skills at the wheel of a Goody's Dash Series car. The late, Davie Allison and Rob Moroso also left a bit of their legacy in this unique Series.

Today, Phil Parsons, Shawna Robinson and Larry Pearson owe much of their racing successes to the lessons learned while piloting their Goody's Dash car around the very same speedways that they would later have to conquer in the Busch Grand National Division.

But not all the drivers and teams that compete in this Southeast regional touring series have visions of Daytona 500 victories in their future. Many have found the gratification that comes with being a big fish in a slightly smaller pond and settled into very satisfying careers in the Goody's Dash Series.

Week after week, year after year, these dedicated racers load up and travel from Kentucky to North Carolina, to Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, not because there's some big buck sponsor pushing to put their name in victory lane or because some multi-team car owner will be there to find the next Jeff Gordon, but because they love the sport. They love the camaraderie, they love the friendly, family atmosphere and they are comfortable with the level of competition they have risen too, not to mention the much smaller dent in the wallet.

These teams have found a home in the Goody's Dash Series and have become the teachers for the young guns who come to the Series with agendas in hand, most of which end with the words, "Winston Cup". Before you get to the Cup, boys and girls you're going to have to get past these guys. They're not there to make it easy or to get in the way, but they do make it tough, because tough is what you've got to be if you want to get to Cup.

A typical case in point, Mickey York, a 22 year veteran of the Goody's Dash Series who in his own right, has not always had the best of years since winning his only Dash Series Championship in 1992.

Encumbered by the rising costs of racing Mickey has had to cut back on the number of events that he is able to attend with his mostly self-funded, racing operation. But there is no better teacher on the circuit. And like all teachers, Mickey gives his knowledge freely to those who want to learn. That's not to say that he'll give away all the secrets, at least not all at one time. But for a young racer struggling with a set-up at a particular racetrack or in need of a part, Mickey is always among the first to pitch in. Helping a young team on the move to get better somehow makes Mickey better, and everyone seems to benefit.

On the racetrack, he doesn't just move over to let a young driver go sailing by either, especially if his No. 24 Pontiac Sunfire is dialed in and running smoothly. If you want to get around Mickey, you're going to have to work for it. Spin him out, and you can be sure that Mr. York will take you aside to have a little chat. But pass him cleanly and you can almost see a glimmer of satisfaction behind those steely, competitive eyes. It seems that Mickey wins every race when one of his students finally gets it right.

Mickey York has found a home in the Goody's Dash Series. He's spent the past 22 years doing what he loves and loving what he does. Racing has been his golf game or his weekend at the lake. A few years ago, if the right opportunity had presented itself at the right time and under the right circumstances, the Goody's Dash Series might have lost this exceptional man, but today he is content to make racing better by helping everyone he can be better.

Mickey's is but one such story of the men and women who are the perennial heart of this extraordinary Series, but one so typical of the legends of this sport.

This coming weekend when the Goody's Dash Series visits St. Augustine Speedway, make a special effort to search out Mickey York, shake his hand, see the experience in his eyes and by all means, thank him for making racing much of what it is today.

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