Journey continues for Robbie Reiser
Published on April 20, 2014 on National Speed Sport News
By Nicholas Dettmann
HARTFORD, Wis. – Robbie Reiser is the first to admit he
wasn’t the most gifted behind the wheel of a race car, despite the records
proving otherwise.
However, he had something not many had: two icons as role
models. Those icons were his grandfather and his father. Both were legends on
the short tracks of Wisconsin for most of the 20th century.
“I was never very talented,” Robbie Reiser said. “I was just
a guy that wanted to race and wanted it worse than the people around me.”
That burning desire ultimately landed Reiser on top of the
NASCAR world in 2003 when he helped lead fellow Wisconsin native Matt Kenseth
to the then-Winston Cup Series championship as Kenseth’s crew chief. Four years
later, Reiser became one of the leaders at Roush Fenway Racing.
“When I was 18 years old and started racing cars, I never
thought I would’ve gotten to the point where I am today,” Reiser said. “Who
envisioned a kid from Allenton, Wisconsin to run Roush Fenway Racing?
“There’s more employees there than in my hometown.”
Reiser will be inducted into the Southeastern Wisconsin
Short Track Hall of Fame on Nov. 1. The Hall of Fame is located inside the
Wisconsin Automotive Museum in Hartford, Wis.
Reiser will go into the Hall of Fame with former modified
driver Bill Bohn (Bristol, Wis.), former USAC and IndyCar driver Bay Darnell
(Wadsworth, Ill.), three-time modified champion Gary Dye (Mukwonago, Wis.), car
owner, builder, chief mechanic of modifieds and sprint cars for more than 50
years Glenn Haddy (Mayville, Wis.), former Eastern Wisconsin limited late model
champion Randy Markwardt (Sheboygan, Wis.), nine-time IRA 410 sprint car
champion Joe Roe (Zion, Ill.), all-time dirt late model record holder and
12-time Hales Corners (Wis.) track champion Russ Scheffler (Waukesha, Wis.) and
four-time sportsman champion at Hales Corners and the all-time point leader in
that division Al Tietyen (Franklin, Wis.).
Woody Klug of Cascade, Wis., an Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car
Ass’n modified champion, will be inducted posthumously.
“The coolest thing about living in Wisconsin is all the
tracks we get to race on,” Reiser said. “The first time I ran a late model was
in Kaukauna. I remember they had 75 late models and I qualified 15th.
“(Alan) Kulwicki had to race in a last-chance race to get
into the feature.”
Reiser will also go into the Hall of Fame and be right next
to his father, John, who was inducted in 2011. John Reiser died of cancer in
2005 at the age of 67. Robbie Reiser gave the acceptance speech at the
ceremony.
“A few years ago when my dad got it, I was really excited
because it was the coolest thing,” Robbie Reiser said.
“My dad was my hero,” he added. “To stand up in front of all
those people, I wish he would’ve been able to do it himself. I just got to
watch.”
Robbie Reiser won three track championships in the super
late model division at Slinger Superspeedway (1990-92). He also won a
mini-stocks championship at Slinger in 1983. In a three-year period during the
early 1990s, Reiser won 14 track, area and regional championships.
“As an uncle, I couldn’t be more proud,” said Ken Reiser,
Robbie’s uncle.
John Reiser founded Triton Trailers, a trailer manufacturing
company in the 1990s. Later, he founded Reiser Enterprises in Denver, N.C. The
goal at that time for Reiser was to get his son behind the wheel of a car in
NASCAR. It was a struggle.
Robbie Reiser made his NASCAR debut in the then-Busch Series
in 1993 at the Milwaukee Mile. He finished 21st. Reiser never put in a full
NASCAR season during his racing career (1993-97). He made 29 Busch Series
starts with only one top-10 finish, and made three NASCAR truck series starts
in 1996 with the Mueller brothers, Tom and Jerry. His best finish was 19th.
The Muellers were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.
In 1997, life changed for the Reisers when they hired
Kenseth to race for the team. Kenseth and Robbie Reiser were rivals on the
short tracks. When Reiser asked Kenseth to race for him, Reiser admitted in
2011 it was “super weird” to award a former rival the unique opportunity of
racing in NASCAR. But Reiser was happy with the decision, even if it was met
with some animosity.
“He also realized what we had at stake,” Reiser recalled
about his dad’s reaction.
The Reisers pinned all their hopes and dreams on Kenseth,
who won the 1994 Slinger Nationals when he was 22.
Kenseth became a full-time then-Winston Cup driver in 2000
after he and Reiser won seven races and had 50 top-10s in their first 85 career
starts in the Busch Series.
They reached the pinnacle in 2003, winning the Winston Cup
championship together.
“That was special,” Ken Reiser said, adding most of the
people on the race team were from Wisconsin.
“It was a huge family effort,” Robbie Reiser said. “It’s
something I wanted to do. I wasn’t pressured to do it. They were really
supportive of it. When I wanted to do it, they gave me 100 percent to help me.”
“My dad never made racing a career,” he added. “My dad did
it as a hobby because he loved to do it.”
Today, Reiser is the vice president of Roush Fenway Racing.
He has already told his boss, Jack Roush, he wants to go to the ceremony.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Reiser said. “I’ve already talked to
Jack. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I was never a kid that talented,” he added. “I just wanted
it so bad. I always wanted to be a part of racing. I’ve been very fortunate.”
When Reiser does give his induction speech, he admitted
it’ll be far easier this time around, rather than trying to tell a group of
people – friends and idols – what it was like to be John Reiser’s son.
Reiser said his dad had a way of being blunt. When asked
what he thought his father would tell him about his latest accomplishment,
Reiser said his father would look at the negatives.
But it’d be in a good way.
“He’d tell me about all the stuff I wrecked,” Reiser said
with a laugh. “I was never very talented. I was just a guy that wanted to race
and wanted it worse the people around me.”
“I think he’d be proud of me,” he added. “But in my dad’s
way he’d remind me of all the trouble to get there.”
Until then, the focus is work and winning, which according
to his uncle is nothing new.
“He’s dedicated his life to racing,” Ken Reiser said. “His
focus was to winning.”
So far, at least on the Cup side, things are going OK.
Carl Edwards is third in points and has a victory to his
credit. He also has four top-10 finishes through eight races. Greg Biffle is
11th in points with three top-10 finishes.
The frustration at this early point is with Rick Stenhouse
Jr.’s season.
Through eight races, the two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series
champion is 25th in points with just two top-10 finishes through eight races.
“(Stenhouse) has not run well,” Reiser said. “They finished
second at Bristol, but consistently we haven’t run as well as we need to.”
He is optimistic.
“I’m comfortable with the program,” Reiser said. “We have a
real young team. They’re going to get it and when they do, they’ll (perform
better).
“We’re just trying to get the chemistry back.”
On the Nationwide side, Trevor Bayne is off to a good start
with six top-10 finishes in seven starts. However, there are no victories from
Bayne, Chris Buescher or Ryan Reed through the first seven races of the season.
“As a whole, no one is real happy with the way we have been
running,” Reiser said. “Everybody expects more.”
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