December 01, 2007 10:56 pm
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Kokomo Speedway track champion Shane Cottle opened many diehard race fans’ eyes a few winters back when he took second in the famed Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
Upon pursuing his sprint car career, finding rides for the Lamberson Racing team, then with Chuck Pearce, Cottle showed all that he was capable of being competitive in whatever.
When Monte Edison and the Edison Motorsports team named Cottle its driver to replace A.J. Anderson, there were many fans who probably wondered: Who this Cottle guy is and why wouldn’t Edison choose one of the more well-known drivers who coveted the ride?
Looking back now, Edison’s choice was nothing short of genius. Cottle has gone on to win three track titles at the Kokomo Speedway and one at Gas City in addition to many prestigious events, most notably the Sheldon Kinser Memorial at the Bloomington Speedway.
Just this past summer, aboard the Contos Racing No. 4 Silver Crown Series car, Cottle took home a huge win at the DuQuoin (Ill.) Mile, capturing the Ted Horn 100.
From his humble beginnings in 2003 with the Edison team, Cottle has continued to impress, both locally as well as nationally. His hard work and talent paid off this past week when he was offered the opportunity to compete full-time in the Lucas Oils USAC National Sprint Car Series in 2008.
Team owner Larry Contos and crew chief and former driver Tray House put an offer out to Cottle that he simply couldn’t refuse — the chance to vie for a national sprint car championship.
Having witnessed first hand his ability behind the wheel of every type of race car he has driven since Cottle ran all the Silver Crown dirt shows for the team as well as selected events on pavement in the teams sprint car, the decision was made to chase the national points championship.
“Tray (House) had really wanted to do it last year,” said the always humble Cottle. “But to tell the truth, out of respect for Monte (Edison) I just didn’t feel real comfortable leaving those guys (Edison team). They have been a great group to drive for and I can’t say enough how much they all mean to me.”
Before anyone gets too far ahead however, after talking with Edison, the pair agreed that Cottle would still be behind the wheel of the famed Crume-Evans Insurance No. 10E whenever possible.
“Whenever there isn’t a conflict with a USAC event, I’ll be back in the car,” he said. “Monte and I talked about it, so if there isn’t a USAC sprint car race or a Silver Crown show somewhere else, I’ll be in the car at Kokomo and Gas City as much as possible.”
Edison and his team will, however, be putting another driver behind the wheel on certain occasions, primarily during the annual running of the Indiana Sprint Week.
For Cottle, despite his loyalty, the opportunity to finally chase what has been a life-long dream was too good to pass up.
“Having a chance to run full-time in the series is something I’ve always wanted,” he noted. “I guess I just figured that I’m getting older and there probably wasn’t going to be too many more opportunities like this. I feel like right now I’m in the prime of my racing career and this was just something I felt like I had to do.”
His prowess on dirt is undeniable, but Cottle noted he still had quite a learning curve ahead when it comes to racing on pavement.
“I’ve run some pavement races in the sprint car already,” he recalled. “I crashed at Richmond (Va.) and I’ve run at Raceway Park, but there are a lot of pavement tracks I really need to get some seat time at.”
The one track that he mentioned was the famed high banks of the Winchester Speedway, a track that makes even the bravest drivers feel a bit uncomfortable.
“I’ve been there and watched races, but never been on the track,” he said. “I was there the day that Brian Hayden had his crash and caught on fire and could feel the heat from the car from where I was watching from. The thing is, next season, I am going to find out all about that track since we’ll be racing there three times so I’m going to see first-hand what it is all about.”
Though he might be short on pavement experience, Cottle is optimistic about what is in store for him during the 2008 season.
“Going in, I realize that it is going to take me a little time to feel totally comfortable on the pavement,” he stated. “But, I am pretty confident we can run with anyone on the dirt. I hope that once I get comfortable on the pavement and the dirt program goes as expected, we will be in the hunt for the championship next November. There are some pretty talented guys out there that we’ll have to beat, Levi (Jones), Tracy Hines, Dave (Darland). All those guys are great drivers, hopefully when the season ends, we’ll be right there with them.”
Reflecting back on how quickly he burst onto the scene and found near-instant success, don’t be surprised at all to see Cottle’s name at or near the top of the points ladder at the end of the 2008 campaign.
Brett Bowman covers auto racing for the Tribune. He may be reached at brettbowman29@aol.com.
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