Austin Hogue shocked the central Pennsylvania Sprint Car community a year ago when he stepped away from racing.
And now, he’s back. Well, sort of.
It was announced Thursday night that Hogue, 26, will hook up with local car-owner Jerry Parrish to run seven races at Lincoln Speedway in 2018. It will be a team car to the primary machine driven by Brian Montieth.
On Friday, Hogue gave an in-depth phone interview to SprintCarUnlimited.com in which he discussed the deal with Parrish, returning to the sport, and his life outside of racing over the last year.
Q: What made you come back, and how did the deal with Jerry Parrish come about?
AH: It was totally out of the blue. I was sitting here working, and Dean [] comes in and says he got a call from Jerry. They had some business things they were talking about, and one of the last things Jerry was looking for, ‘What’s Austin up to, and would he be interested in running a few races for us in 2018?’ Dean said, ‘I can’t speak for him, but I would assume he would be very interested in that.’ I gave Jerry a call to see if he was for real, or it was a joke, and, basically, it was something he spurred on.
Q: The deal is for seven or so races, and you would assume they would be at BAPS Motor Speedway. Is that where the team will run?
AH: You would think that, but it’s actually going to be at Lincoln. At this point, I figured if I had my choice of racetracks to run, I feel I would be most competitive at Lincoln. I know Jerry’s car is a rocket at Lincoln, and why wouldn’t I want to run the champ’s car? I feel comfortable there, they feel comfortable there, and it’s the best bang for the buck for me. The plan is to pick seven races once Lincoln’s schedule comes out.
Q: Have you had the itch to get back in a car since you’ve been out of it the last year?
AH: I have, but as I’ve said in other interviews, I was burned out after the last 16 years of me racing. I still love racing, I still love to go to races, I love being around the cars, but it was something where I was burned out and ready for a little bit of a break. To be honest, the wear and tear and the grind of preparing these cars … I wasn’t willing to put my family through that amount of stress and work you go through to have a top-notch 410 team. I remember a conversation I had with my mom a year ago at this time where I said, ‘If I could just show up at the racetrack and just drive the car and not have to worry about all of the other things that go along with racing — preparing the car, worrying about setups — I would be interested in that. I was ready for a little break, and we decided to take some time off and see what happens. At that point, it was on the back burner, and honestly, I didn’t see this coming. It was out of the blue and not something we were pursuing. I got a call from Jerry, and when you get an opportunity like that, it’s almost like a God thing. There is an opportunity, and you just can’t pass up something like this. It’s surreal at this point.
Q: Do you think this is something that could lead to you coming back as a regular and maybe showing people that you are out there and willing to drive for someone?
AH: We have to see where it leads and what happens at this point. Jerry has given me an opportunity, and if there is any person in the entire pit area that I would want to run for, I couldn’t pick anyone I want to run more for than Jerry Parrish. Brian [Montieth] was my favorite driver before I raced, and he is my favorite driver after I raced. They run their team similar to ours, and we pitted next to them for years. They are a very professional team and are there to do one thing, and I feel like our goals and what we are looking for align. You can’t ask for a nicer guy to be around, so I’m looking forward to working with them and whatever happens, I’m going to give it my best shot and see what comes out of it. I have no future thoughts of where this is going to lead except for doing the best I can for them and see what Jerry thinks. I can’t ask for better equipment than Jerry provides, and it’s up to me to make sure things go well.
Q: Now that this is a reality, and you are going to run seven races next year, is there a nervousness or anticipation like you are starting over again?
AH: I, basically, I’m so thrilled with the opportunity at this point that the nerves really haven’t set in yet. There is an excitement that ‘Hey, I’m going to run the champ’s car, and it’s all up to me to make it go.’ I know Jerry has high expectations and wants performance, but I think he is realistic here. I’ve been out of the car for a year, so it’s going to take a second to get up to speed, but I know we can be competitive, and I know the car is capable of running up front all of the time. So, it’s going to be up to me, but I’ve been kind of looking forward to the challenge of where the only real responsibility for me is to drive the wheels off it and finish the best I can. It’s not up to me to diagnose the car, prepare the car, and just do the whole grind of it. I can take the parts I didn’t like as a racecar driver and focus on what I can control and focus on becoming the best driver I can. Basically, he is taking three quarters of the pressure off me, but now I got to focus on driving and making sure I make the most of every opportunity I can. If nothing else comes out of it then saying I got to drive the 21 car for seven races, it was well worth the opportunity. But I think we can perform, and I think we can do very well.
Q: What’s it been like watching races over the last year? How many have you attended and has it been hard to be there?
AH: It’s been different. I was probably at seven, eight, nine races, over the year. It was a lot less than normal, but I think it was probably more than a lot of guys who have given it up. I think most people don’t go for a year, but I was able to go with my family, and we still had fun. When you are watching the cars, it’s tough not being on the track and being a spectator, but I almost feel like it was a learning experience for me to be able to look from the outside. You get so into the grind of being on the racetrack that you don’t picture what people are doing. I feel like, ‘Wow, I should’ve been doing this or should’ve been doing that.’ Looking at it from the spectator side, you see things you don’t see on the track or in the pits. I feel like that it was a good learning thing to sit back for a year and kind of regroup. It’s no secret I was worn out and beat and wasn’t performing the best. I think I performed better as a rookie when there were no expectations. Sometimes, it’s easy to get in a funk, and the second year, my performance wasn’t as good, and the third year, you just kind of chase your tail and go in the wrong direction. It’s been nice to take a year off and clean the mind out and get a second chance to go at it fresh.
Q: You got more involved in the family business over the last year. Do you feel more established as a person to where you can race on the side?
AH: I feel like I’ve grown as a person over the last year. I needed this year off, I don’t regret any of it … Just having time to go out and do something different. I’ve been Austin the racecar driver since I was eight years old, and that was all I ever knew. It was nice to go do different things and grow as a person and be able to clear my mind out. I love to race and win, but there is more to life where I finish every Friday and Saturday night. It was nice to be a normal dude for a year. I think it was great, but I enjoy a challenge, whether it’s in business or anywhere else. I’m a very competitive person, and the racetrack is still the place I like to channel that competitiveness.