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Blackard Resets Title Goal At Colorado

Armed with a commitment to win his first track championship and experience to back it up, veteran driver Eric “Blackie” Blackard opened his season with a win at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, Colo. Blackard, 41, of Lakewood, Colo., won the 30-lap Pair-A-Dice Sportsman Division at the Denver-area .375-mile paved oval on opening night, April 10. The track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series premier Late Model division opens its season this Saturday, April 17.

Observers at the showcase facility say the opening night victory was a perfect way to start the year for Blackard and his close-knit crew after last season’s frustrations. Blackard had three A-Main wins and led the division’s points standings for much of 2009 until a late season accident dropped the bottom out of their title hopes. Still, their second-place finish to James Rogers was their best points finish ever.

“We were in contention all year until that wreck,” Blackard said. “The whole team thinks this should be our year, but we know you can’t count your chickens too early. We’ve got stiff competition in this division from guys like James Rogers, Jeff Walbaum, Tommy Roe and Jeff Webb. Still, we won the B-Main and the A-Main on opening night so we feel good about the way we opened the season.”

Blackard has raced in the Sportsman division at Colorado National since 1998, and posted top-five points finishes since 2007.

“Blackie is a fan favorite,” said Scotty Backman, who manages the track for owners Jim and Sue Nordhougen. “He’s a good driver, and he’s got great guys on the team. His crew chief, Tom Lee, was the 2009 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national Craftsman Mechanic of the Year award winner, too.”

Blackard picked up his nickname from grandfather Thurman “Blackie” Blackard, who raced at the old Englewood Speedway, a .333-mile paved oval near Denver. When that track closed in 1979, Blackard began attending races and helping driver Mike Pratt at Lakeside Speedway, a Denver area .200-mile dirt track. After Lakeside closed at the end of 1988, Colorado National opened in its present configuration in 1989. The Denver-area oval track racing world, including Blackard, shifted its attention to the new track.

While Blackard started participating in racing as a pit crew member and mechanic, he eventually felt the pull of desire to drive a car himself. He tempered that urge by vowing not to drive until he could build his race car himself. That happened with a humble start in 1998. Although he finished 28th in points, he was named the division’s rookie of the year. He didn’t crack the top 10 in points until 2006 (10th), but jumped into the top five in points (third) in 2007.

It wasn’t until 2001, his fourth season of driving, that he won his first feature event.

“We built a new car for that season, and it took some time to get the bugs worked out,” Blackard said. “Uncle Joe Lehman (a veteran driver) mentored us, and he said getting that first feature win would be the hardest thing we’d ever do.

“We started in front and led most of the race, but I was hyperventilating towards the end of the race,” Blackard said. “It was very emotional. We worked very hard to get there. My wife, Paula, and our kids Jasmine (16), C.J, (12) and Michael (9) were there, which made it special. Paula’s only missed one race over all these years.”

Once Blackard began his string of top five points finishes in 2007, wins became more frequent. Including his 2010 season opening win, he has 10 wins since 2007.

As always, Blackard built his current race car, a 2003 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which is very hard to miss due to its neon green color.

“Tom Lee chose that color because he wanted the car to stand out,” Blackard said. “It’s actually the color for the 2008 Dodge Viper called ‘Snakeskin Green.’”

In addition to crew chief Lee and car chief Tom Graham, team members include Jamie Ward, Scott Farmer, Joe Ramos, Mike Warner and team manager Randy Schilz.

Primary sponsors for the team are 3R Company and Pair-A-Dice Interior Finishes and Construction. Associate sponsors include Colorado Custom Cylinder Heads, Xtreme Signs & Graphics, Paradise Auto Body, SCI Security Systems, Air Gas, Bubbles of Love Dog Grooming, Anderson Heating and Air Conditioning, Brush Brothers Painting, Reed Towing, Leary Racing Products and Shocks, and Gary DeWorth race engines.

Blackard is a sales representative for Waco Scaffolding and Equipment Company. Waco’s General Manager, Rich Royer, was once a crew chief for Blackard and Manager Erik Boh was a crew member.

While NASCAR now offers a learner’s permit license for drivers as young as 14, Blackard’s nine-year-old son, Michael, is now racing with the Rocky Mountain Quarter Midget Association in most of the traveling series’ Sunday events.

NASCAR-licensed drivers in Colorado National Speedway’s Sportsman, Snap on Tools Pro Trucks, Sunoco Grand American Modifieds, and Super Stocks will accumulate NASCAR points in the “NASCAR Finalist” program. The top 100 drivers in each of eight groups will be designated as a NASCAR Finalist at the conclusion of the season. A driver’s best 14 finishes will be counted toward their final NASCAR points total. Points will be kept separately for dirt and asphalt tracks.