Finding Victory Lane with Venturini Motorsports: Ryan Repko

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Longtime listeners to  Speedway Digest Thursday Night Thunder will recognize the driver we are profiling today. Ryan Repko has been on the program no less than three times, and each time have provided their own unique perspective on this up and coming driver. From our first interview, when he sounded like a little kid reading a script, to the latest one, where he was kind enough to call-in at the last minute to fill in for another driver in the Venturini stable, Repko has always been professional, informative, and kind.

My co-host, Mykkal Mulalley, and myself have been grateful to the teams and racers that we have spoken with on the program, and during this unparalleled lull in the racing season, we hope to provide you, our readers, listeners, and fans, a little snippet into some of the people who make this the greatest sport in the world.

Today, we are pleased to bring you a little more insight into the mind of Ryan Repko. 

How are you spending your off time? I am mainly using my time to do online classes through the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I normally attend on campus classes there, and I am pursuing a degree in finance. I am in my second year there.

 

What is your favorite car number? My favorite car number is 71. The number is special to me because I was able to capture the Bobby Isaac Memorial 150 victory in 2018, and when most people think of Bobby, they think of his orange 71 car. Then the following year I won the Throwback 276 with a tribute paint scheme to Dave Marcis with him in attendance. Dave also drove the 71 for a large portion of his racing career. After that race I changed my number from 14 to 71 for my remaining late model races in 2019. The number has a huge significance to me because of its rich history.

 

Do you prefer a loose race car, or a tight race car? I generally try to have a free or neutral car, unless there is a unique track or scenario where I would want to maybe set myself up for the long run somewhere if the track frees up. It depends on the track and length of the race, but I would say generally a neutral or free car is best.

 

What’s the most complicated part about driving in the series? I wouldn’t really say anything is complicated. Maybe the paperwork at the beginning of the year, but once the season starts I have my own process for how I approach races where I review film and ask questions and get answers from drivers who have raced at the track I am headed to. I also work hard in the gym and eat healthy to maintain peak physical condition, so I don’t get tired during long races. Another resource I have access to is the Toyota simulator which is a vital tool for learning new tracks.

 

With the changes in the racing schedule due to Covid19, do you think that ARCA will have any events without fans in the stands? If so, how do you feel about that? Since I haven’t spoke directly with anyone at ARCA, I don’t feel like I can speak to that with any level of accuracy. Obviously, we want to be able to have fans at our races, but if the circumstances don’t allow it there isn’t much anyone can do about it. The health and safety of the fans is always the priority.

 

Was racing always your dream? YES! I have been interested in being a racecar driver from the time I was 5, and to this day I can’t think of a career in anything else that I want as bad as to drive racecars. From the time I watched my first NASCAR race on TV with my grandpa, I knew it was all I wanted to do. I got my first racecar at age 10, and 10 years later I still enjoy going to the track and racing as much as ever!

 

What’s the toughest part of a race weekend? The toughest part is usually just getting acclimated to a new racing surface. For example, three of my starts this season will be on mile and a half’s. The only track with a test day is the Charlotte race so I won’t get much practice to get use to the tracks.

 

What racing series or style do you follow the most? Definitely Late Model Stock racing. I really enjoyed racing those cars for several seasons. On top of that the racing is always good, and the CARS Tour puts on amazing races.

 

Growing up, who was your racing idol? I looked up to three drivers growing up. Tony Stewart because of his ability to hop in anything and be competitive, Kyle Busch because of his ability to win in all three of NASCAR’s national series, then Jimmie Johnson because of his professionalism and how he has been able to tie two of NASCAR’s all time greats and I was alive to witness it.

 

What is your ultimate racing goal? I want to be able to make a career out of racing in any series. I love the sport and want to be able to make a career out of it. My dream from the start was to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series, but I would be content so long as I am aligned with a winning organization and great people at any level.

 

We’d like to thank Ryan Repko for taking the time out of his busy schedule. Stay tuned for the next installment of this continuing series.

Adam Sinclair
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