WILLIAMS GROVE, Pa. — It didn’t take long to find a passion for the dirt... dirt racing that is.
It’s a world of a difference going from asphalt to getting down and dirty on some Pennsylvania red clay.
The former road course racer Sean Rayhall made not one but two unexpected first trips to Central Pa.
It’s never too late to make a slight pivot in your career. The long-time racer goes from a few different classes on asphalt to zero experience on dirt.
He says that he was up for the challenge.
“I ran sports cars, I ran asphalt late models. I had success in all of that. With a winged sprint car, Chris Dyson told me, 'Hey man. You should probably do non-wing first, to get a hang of the dirt.' So, the dirt is different and then when you’re dealing with wing speed and downforce, that also plays a big part in it. So, absolutely zero relates to anything I really did before," said Sean Rayhall, driver of the No.19 Prosser Racing.
He took a chance to do something different and now, at 28 years old, the sky is the limit.
You’re never too old to pursue a life-long dream. Especially when those dreams are to race on the world's biggest stage as an outlaw driver, with the World of Outlaws.
The real appeal to Rayhall is the family that surrounds dirt track racing.
“It was a surreal moment for me because at a road course track, the first time I got a flat tire at a road course track. Everyone would be like, 'Yes, we’re going to beat that guy!' You know, I got a flat and I didn’t even know the guy that was jacking up my car and helped me at an IRA race, get back out there, and that’s kind of the community I always wanted to be a part of and I just found it a little later in life," he explained to FOX43.
This is the first season he's teaming up with Prosser Racing. The Ohio-based team will tackle the FAST Series.
When they get the chance, they’ll take the hall from Ohio to Central Pa. After all, two unexpected trips this season left quite the impression on Rayhall, especially at Williams Grove.
“I loved it because it was so technical. If you overdo what you’re trying to do that you think is working, it will let you know," said Rayhall.
Throughout his young career, he’s racked up some notable wins in Indy Lights, IMSA and European Le Mans, including the 2017 LMP3 Championship.
"I tell everyone, I've won at Le Mans, I won at Indianapolis and I've podiumed at the Sebring 12 hour and ain't nothing going to be like my first sprint car win," said Rayhall.