'It'll kick you straight between the legs': Hickory driver talks track champion dreams, racing realities

Skyler Chaney, 20, shares his love for motor sports and fixing up race cars on March 2, 2025.

The difference between first and second place in racing can literally be the blink of an eye.

“You know, you’re fighting that clock for 1000ths of a second,” James Chaney said. “[Skyler] lost a pole, a pole last year by .007. (You) can’t even blink that fast.”

Chaney is the father of racer Skyler Chaney, and together they are Skyler Chaney Racing with a shop in Lincolnton.

Skyler comes out on the winning side of the equation, as well.

Skyler Chaney, 17, races Graham Hollar at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 22. Hollar finished first in the race.

In a May 11, 2024, victory, he bested fellow racer Zach Miracle by 0.048 milliseconds.

Late-model stock car driver Skyler “Rambo” Chaney, 20, has been racing for 14 years. Driving is the fun part. During the week, Skyler is preparing the vehicle.

“Monday through Friday, you know, I’m getting these cars ready every single week to be able to get to the racetrack, whether that’s swapping engines, transmissions, rear ends, you name it,” Skyler Chaney said.

$2,500 a race at Hickory

The work is time-consuming and far from inexpensive. On any given week during the season, it costs a minimum of $2,500 for Skyler Chaney and his crew to race at Hickory Motor Speedway.

James Chaney said tires can set a team back $865 for a race. He added, “The engines are $22,000. You’ll get a good half-season out of an engine.”

James Chaney said it would take $125,000 to $150,000 to purchase a brand-new car. That price doesn’t include the cost of the trailer, tools and parts needed for regular maintenance on the vehicle.

Skyler Chaney works on a piece of racing equipment prior to the start of a race at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 22.

As drivers progress to higher levels, the costs rise. To race in the ARCA Menards Series, a tier below the NASCAR Cup Series, the cost is approximately $30,000 per race, Chaney said.

While the team receives sponsorships from companies and organizations such as Shriners Children’s Hospital, Hendrick Honda in Hickory and Doug’s Auto Glass in Newton, the cost of racing each season exceeds the money received.

“Sponsorship helps a lot, but it’ll ultimately never be able to pay for the full season. And that’s just kind of return of investment, right there is, it’s diminishing,” Chaney said. “It’s well worth the investment just due to the experience that I’m gaining, the knowledge that I’m getting.”

To the victor: Not enough spoils

The winner’s purse for a regular season race at Hickory Motor Speedway is $1,500.

For Skyler Chaney and his team, their love of the sport is what keeps them coming to the track every week. Everybody on the team, besides the crew chief, is a volunteer.

“This is like therapy,” crew member Kevin Elder said. Elder works at Catawba Valley Medical Center during the week. “I can hear people over here, and I joke to one of the girls that works for me, like, ‘Over there is my happy place. I can hear it. I’m going over there.’”

Skyler Chaney, left, and spotter Kevin Elder work on the race car’s springs before a race at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 22. The springs had to be replaced after a mechanical issue in the first race. Tuning of the spring and damper system has considerable influence on tire performance, according to racecar-engineering.com.

“I feel the same way. I own a business, and I’m a million miles away when I’m here. Nothing else exists,” James Chaney responded.

Every member of their team has either raced or worked on race cars.

Crew Chief Charlie Sigmon has more than 40 years of experience in and around race cars.

The man behind the wheel

Skyler Chaney said he got his love of racing from his father.

James Chaney worked as a tire changer and chassis specialist for a NASCAR Busch series team before starting a family and getting behind the wheel himself.

“[My dad] ended up racing at Hickory Motor Speedway, same as we did, back in the early 2000s. You know, just the combination of hearing all those stories, seeing all the memories they made doing it, hearing all the friends they made. I heard him plenty of times as a little kid, and I think that ultimately got me hooked.”

When Skyler Chaney was in third grade, he started racing go-karts.

Skyler Chaney puts on his helmet before a race at Hickory Motor Speedway.

“We’ve raced tons of different series, started out in flat karts, did wing karts, bandoleros, limited late models, and now late models,” Chaney said.

Chaney grew up balancing his love for racing with school and sports. In middle school, Chaney played football, baseball and wrestled. “He was scheduled to be the North Lincoln High School quarterback. And my wife looked at me, she said, ‘You’re going to have to put it in front of him and say, listen, which one are you gonna go with?’” James Chaney said.

“And that was answered in about two minutes. That was quick. ‘Yeah, I wanna drive a race car,’” Chaney added.

Skyler Chaney currently attends the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering with a focus in motorsports engineering.

Skyler Chaney received the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship in 2023. He recently began an engineering internship with Jordan Anderson Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series team. The team driver is Jeb Burton.

“I’m actually getting real-world, applicable knowledge on these things. Because trying to set up a car through the book is just not going to work,” Skyler said. “You have to know more than just how to use software to set these cars up. It takes actual applied knowledge that you’ve done for years and years and learned what it’s going to do.”

The next lap

Skyler finished second overall last year in the Late Model division at Hickory Motor Speedway, receiving the award for most improved driver. He said he hopes he can top the leaderboard this year.

Down the road, he said he aims to progress through higher tiers in the racing world.

“Another end goal, right there is get my four-year degree and just race as long as I can hold my craft with it and try to try my best to become a NASCAR crew chief,” Chaney said. “And very long term, try to get a late model stock development team.”

At present, Skyler and his team are facing some mechanical issues. He said the shocks the team has used for the car have not performed as well as he would like, causing them to lose valuable time. There’s also money to consider. Each pair of shocks is more than $3,000.

Skyler Chaney, center, and his crew walk their car to the starting line at Hickory Motor Speedway on March 22.

“You definitely got to learn to not kind of wear your heart on your sleeve for this type of stuff,” Chaney said. “It’ll kick you straight between the legs, and it’ll knock you down. But you just got to kind of stand back up and understand that ‘Hey, it happens.’”

He added, “You got to look at the big picture.”