Christopher Greco is, by every variation of the definition, a rookie stockcar driver. Fresh off the go-kart racing circuit, a racing tour he was comfortable and quite successful at for several years, Greco, a 2004 Unadilla Valley High School graduate, is attempting to make one giant leap toward his dream: To become a NASCAR driver.
His vision started innocently enough as he perused the racing classified website, flag2flag.com. There, he noticed an advertisement from Lafferty Motorsports, a burgeoning race team that fields a part-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck entry. “The advertisement was trying to get drivers from around the country down there (to North Carolina) to see which ones were committed and which ones want to test (race cars),” Greco said.
Lafferty Motorsports’ idea was to develop drivers with the purpose of putting them behind the wheel of its Craftsman truck. Greco was one of several drivers to make the trip to North Carolina, and he became a part of an extreme minority when he had the opportunity to test run a NASCAR Craftsman truck. Only one percent of all racecar drivers have sat behind the wheel of a Craftsman truck, and the new opportunity afforded him by Lafferty Motorsports satiated any lingering doubts about Lafferty’s intentions.
“I was skeptical at first, and I had been on a NASCAR Busch East team, and was set up as the second driver,” Greco said, noting he understood the basic premise of a NASCAR-oriented effort. “When I went to meet Chris Lafferty, he gave me the lectures about what was going to happen, how they would evaluate me, and go from there. It was like all the pieces in a puzzle fitting together. It all made sense to me. Chris Lafferty builds engines for a lot of race teams down south, so he is a well-known, respected businessman.”
Lafferty Motorsports afforded Greco an opportunity he had dreamt about for years and years. Through his formative teen-aged years, he had an interest in various sports, but he did not really excel in any of them. “I was just looking for something that I was good at,” Greco said. In 2000, I started racing go-karts in Syracuse and won rookie of the year. I gained a lot of confidence and knew that was what I wanted to do.”
Now he’s building toward that goal and already has two races in the street stock division under his belt at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina. Hickory Motor Speedway is noted as one of stock car racing’s best-known short-track racing venues, and it bills itself at the “birthplace of NASCAR stars.” No less than Ned Jarrett, Ralph Earnhardt, and Junior Johnson won track titles on this speedway in the 1950s, so you can see why Greco is so excited to race on this track against other like-minded individuals. “To have this opportunity is pretty amazing,” Greco said. “Right now I’m going forward and putting in my time and effort into it. Usually those who do as much as they possibly can are the ones that succeed.”
Greco’s August schedule includes races on Aug. 11 and 18, and then he will be in New Berlin displaying his small block modified care for “Youth Days” Aug. 25-26. Lafferty Motorsports will also have a car on display.
“Every race the rest of the year will be a valuable learning experience,” Greco said. “I’m working my way toward the goal of Lafferty Motorsports having faith to put me behind their NASCAR Craftsman Truck. I feel confident right now and I’m right up there with all of the other developmental drivers. We all have an equal opportunity.”