Meet Josh Chesney. He races a 2015 Blue-Gray Rocket chassis, complete with a bent rear clip. Chesney’s team consists of his papaw, girlfriend and great uncle. He’s never even won a late model race before. Yet, incredibly, the 20-year-old rookie is turning heads in the American All-Star Series Presented by PPM Racing Products.
For example, in May, when he started the UBB Miners Memorial at Beckley Motor Speedway in 19th spot. He would work his way to a fifth-place finish. Earlier this month, Chesney raced at Laurens County Speedway, and gained 13 spots, from 18th to fifth. Keep in mind that he has made no laps before at most the tracks he goes to on the AAS circuit.
Despite not ever winning a late model race, Chesney wanted to try running the entire schedule for the American All-Star Series.
“I like the competition,” said Chesney, of Maynardsville, Tennessee. “When I was a kid, go-kart racing, everybody had the same motor, same gear, the same everything — and I could run with them and I could beat them. When this series came about, I told my papaw, ‘I bet we could do pretty good. As long as we have the same playing field, I could run with them.’”
He proved to his papaw, J.D. Chesney, among others, that he certainly could. Chesney credits his success to picking the brains of his competitors.
“Everybody’s got different knowledge,” Chesney said. “If you ask people, they’ll give you a little information here and there. Then, you got to figure out what your car likes.”
This weekend, he’s looking to earn another top five at a track closer to home, Crossville Speedway, on Saturday, August 24. Josh Chesney admits that he expects this season to be a learning year, but for 2025, he hopes to up his game.
“If we can get some more sponsors and a little better car, we could get to victory lane,” said Chesney. “To get someone to sponsor a 20-year-old kid that’s not been to victory lane is hard.”
If he keeps his current trajectory, Chesney may make earn his first win sooner than he expects, despite the challenges he endures.
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Outside Groove is a sponsor of the American All-Star Series. The American All-Star Series paid for the production of this article. The content is not subject to the approval of the American All-Star Series.
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
