A Facebook post featuring modified driver Austin Dean went viral. Within four days, the video his mother posted had been viewed 265,000 times. His followers went from 800 to 2500. What did that video show?
Austin simply driving his race car into a schoolyard.
“It went viral because of the little kids, their voices chanting ‘race car,’ ‘race car’ and a little girl’s voice yelling, ‘Here he comes!’” Austin’s mother, Allison, says. “Then, when he pulls up, a little boy says, ‘This is so cool!’ The video really resonated with people because the little kids were so excited to see a real race car.”
The scene occurred simply because Austin put himself out there. He jumped at the chance to make an appearance at an open house and air show for one of his sponsors, Chorman Spraying, which does crop dusting. There he ran into the principal of the school he attends, Greenwood Mennonite School.
“He asked me to bring my car to school,” Austin, of Bridgeville, Delaware, says. “He said we can park and unload at the church and drive the car up to the schoolyard. Of course, I said sure!”
All the elementary school-age students and Austin’s 11th-grade class were given a pass to see his race car.
“I couldn’t hear them cheering because of the rumble of the big block,” Austin says. “When I shut it down, all of the kids were screaming — it was amazing. Such a cool experience to see little kids who probably never saw a race car before being so happy to see one up close.”
This year, Austin Dean embarked on his first season racing big-block modifieds, competing in 15 races, primarily at Delaware International Speedway, Georgetown Speedway and in the Short Track Super Series. Prior to that, he raced in the crate sportsman class at Delaware and Bridgeport Motorsports Park. Next season Austin intends to compete in more races. Nevertheless, his biggest lesson this year may have come away from the track.
“Public relations — it is important,” Austin said. “I made an appearance for a sponsor. That turned into an invite to another appearance. That lead to a viral video that gave me exposure. That exposure helped racing in general. Little kids will be asking their parents to take them to the racetrack, and some will want to be a driver someday.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
