Owensboro native Travis Young joined Ricky Stenhouse Jr, the No. 47 car, and the rest of the JTG Daugherty Racing team as champions of the Daytona 500 last weekend. With the victory, Young can now say he was the car chief for the first JTG car to win the prestigious race.
Young knew early on in his life that he wanted a career in racing, making the victory at Daytona even more memorable. Never in a million years did he dream his time in the gravel pits at Kentucky Motor Speedway in Whitesville would propel him to the pinnacle of the sport.
“I’m still having a hard time processing it all – it happened so fast,” Young said. “It’s something I’ve dreamt about for a long time. This may sound cliche, but it truly is a ‘dream come true.’”
Being the car chief, Young said he is essentially the assistant head coach under the crew chief. As excited as he and the team were to win, the celebration period was brief, with preparations for California and Las Vegas already underway.
“Whatever my crew chief wants, I get with the team, and we make it happen. We take the car through tech, ensuring it’s ready for every race,” he said. “At a young age, it was difficult to understand the significance of the Daytona 500, but you could always tell it was something special, something different. That was ingrained in me at a young age.”
Racing is all but in the Young family’s DNA, as his father Keith was the crew chief for Brewco Motor Sports in Central City for several years. Young said NASCAR roots run deep in Owensboro, and his family has always been close to other Owensboro natives fortunate enough to make a career out of the sport.
He reminisced about racing go-karts as a youngster and spending all his free time with his dad during Brewco’s races. Other Owensboro natives and brothers — Mark, David, and Jeff Green — often took Young under their wing when he was a child to create the ultimate experience at the track.
“I was always hanging out with my dad and the team behind the scenes, watching and learning how things work,” Young said. “The day I graduated from Daviess County High School, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”
From there, he set off on an adventure, working periodically for Brewco before landing a job in Indianapolis on the ASA touring series. That series folded a year later, leaving Young to work part-time with Brewco and Keith Coleman Racing.
While transporting some parts from Charlotte back to Kentucky, he decided to have lunch with a long-time friend. That one conversation led to an opportunity with the FitzBradshaw Racing team, which propelled him to the position he holds now.
Young began with JTG on a start-up team servicing the No. 37 car before transitioning into the ultimate opportunity: cup series racing with the No. 47 Kroger/Cottonelle Camaro.
He said Owensboro is a breeding ground for race professionals and enthusiasts, and that he would be remiss if he didn’t share his success with the community.
“From when our car went through tech to victory lane, I had 175 unread text messages, several from Owensboro,” Young said. “It was people I haven’t spoken to in ages, but they were all instrumental in getting me to this point, and I’m in the process of individually responding to all of them.”
Young has always epitomized the NASCAR and racing spirit — from interviews at Owensboro’s Texas Roadhouse where he recapped and previewed races at Kentucky Motor Speedway, to victory lane at Daytona International Speedway.
And for him, Owensboro will always be home.
“When someone asks me where I’m from, I never just say Kentucky,” Young said. “I always say Owensboro, Kentucky. That carries a lot of weight in this sport, you know.”
