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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (August 7) - Clint Smith found some extra manpower for the recent World of Outlaws Late Model Series 'Wild West Tour' from an unlikely place.
A country far, far away, in fact.
Young Australian dirt Late Model racer Jay Cardy flew in from the Land Down Under to spend a whirlwind two-and-a-half weeks helping the Georgia born-and-bred Smith, who welcomed the Aussie with open arms and provided him a memorable introduction to professional American short-track racing.
And consider this - Smith landed the 21-year-old Cardy's mechanical assistance for the season's most grueling stretch of WoO LMS action by simply answering an e-mail.
"I saw that the Wild West Tour was scheduled for my holiday (vacation), so I thought it might be a perfect time to come to the U.S. and see some racing," said Cardy, a native of West Perth, Australia, who teaches metal- and wood-working at a high school near his home. "So I went to the (WoO LMS) driver websites and sent out e-mails asking if they would like any help (for the swing).
"The only driver I heard back from was Clint. His sister sent me an e-mail that said Clint would be interested, and then I spoke with Clint three times on the phone before coming over."
After watching the energetic Cardy hard at work on Smith's equipment, no WoO LMS regular will ever again be quick to dismiss an overture of assistance from an unknown Aussie. The son of a veteran Australian car builder and speed-shop owner as well as a dirt Late Model driver for two years, Cardy had sufficient experience and mechanical know-how to jump right in and get his hands dirty.
And make no mistake - Cardy stayed busy throughout his "vacation." With Smith fielding a second car for his good buddy Al Purkey of Coffeyville, Kan., in six of the eight Wild West Tour events, there was never a shortage of work to be done.
"We worked pretty hard," smiled Cardy, whose presence took some pressure off Smith's lone fulltime crewman, Darrell ('Don Vito') Cooper. "Clint always said, 'Hey, this is your holiday, so you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.' But I wanted to do everything I could to help out.
"Clint took this bloke in and let me travel with him for two weeks without even knowing me, so working hard for him was the least I could do to thank him for the opportunity."
Cardy, who runs his dirt Late Model on an October-April schedule at the gorgeous Perth Motorplex track in Australia, landed in Minneapolis on July 6 following an all-day flight. He spent two days by himself visiting the city's famed Mall of America before a WoO LMS official picked him up at his hotel on July 9 and brought him to the Wild West Tour opener at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., where he met Smith for the first time.
The remainder of Cardy's visit to the United States was a blur of racetracks big and small, late-night and scorching-afternoon wrench-turning, some sleep in Smith's house-on-wheels hauler, and a healthy dose of American landscape and culture. He saw races in seven states (in order, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska and Ohio) and one Canadian province (Saskatchewan) and partook in some off-track fun in several locales - including side trips to Mount Rushmore and the legendary old-west town of Deadwood, S.D. - before flying home on July 25 following the Alltel Ohio Speedweek lidlifter at Muskingum County Speedway.
"It's been an outstanding trip," Cardy said as the Wild West Tour wound down. "Clint's done everything he could to look after me and make sure I had a good time. He's just been fantastic.
"And I've quite enjoyed the racing. It's just so exciting to see these World of Outlaws guys racing so hard, night after night, and to meet all the guys you've always read about on the internet."
The personable Cardy certainly had no trouble making friends with the members of the traveling WoO LMS fraternity. When his visit was finally over, he seemingly said goodbye to every driver and crewman in the pit area.
Topping off Cardy's excellent WoO LMS adventure were two entirely unexpected experiences. First, on July 12, he was named the Integra Shocks Crew Chief of the Race at Estevan (Sask.) Motor Speedway when he ended up as Smith's lone mechanic because Cooper was denied entry to Canada. (Smith and Purkey finish fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Energy City 50.) And one week later, in the Wild West Tour finale on July 21 at Boone County Raceway in Albion, Neb., Smith let Cardy go racing in his backup car.
While Cardy failed to qualify for the A-Main at Boone County, the chance to experience a WoO LMS event from behind the wheel left him flabbergasted.
"Clint told me to bring along my gear (driver's uniform and helmet), but I had no expectation of racing," said Cardy, who became the first Australian to enter a WoO LMS event. "It says a lot about Clint that he would let me drive his car. I can't thank him enough."
Cardy's travels with the Outlaws made him front-page news in a local newspaper back home - and a bloke who will be very popular among his Australian brethren for quite awhile.
"I have a lot of stories to tell everybody at home," the always-smiling Cardy said before leaving the U.S. "My Dad and my uncle want to talk to me every day, and they're telling everybody at home what I'm doing. I know everybody is going to want to hear about my trip."
Will Cardy return for another WoO LMS excursion in 2009? You bet. He might even bring along some friends to disperse to other help-needy teams.
"I can't wait to come back next year," said Cardy. "I just hope I'm on holiday the same time as the Wild West Tour again."
The driver known as 'Cat Daddy' will gladly take Cardy on the road again. Even if his 'Georgianese' lingo is a stark contrast to Cardy's Aussie accent.
"He's got an open invitation to come back with us," said Smith. "He's a heckuva bloke."
The WoO LMS returns to action next weekend with a Southeastern doubleheader, visiting Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Friday night (Aug. 15) and Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., on Saturday night (Aug. 16).
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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