THE MAYNARD FAMILY
“ I think we ' ve learned a lot from being with Daniel and Tim on how to manage our relationship because they do a good job of being even against each other out there , but when you ' re with them , you realize they are a father and son team ,” Joe E . says .
ESPITE THE challenges that might come with this new endeavor , the Maynards and their partners have quickly found success . Schumacher won the 2022 NHRA Northwest Nationals , the Maynard ’ s debut race as team owners . Wilkerson raced to victory in late May at the Route 66 Nationals , Scag ’ s home race , just a handful of races into the Maynard Wilkerson Racing partnership .
“ The Scag folks are pretty new at this also ,” Wilkerson says . “ We spend our entire weekend entertaining distributors and dealers and end users for Scag . That ' s really what the program ' s built around . To actually be able to win a race at the same time , I was really happy that we got to do that at Chicago because we ' re really calling that Scag ' s home race . All the upper echelon of Scag , the CEO and marketing folks , they were all at the race on Sunday when we won , so that was really a fun deal .”
As of this publication , Ashley has scored six wins this season , including a double-up at the Thunder Valley Nationals , which also hosted the completion of the rain-delayed New England Nationals .
That early success has been rewarding for the Maynard group , which also includes minority partners Eric and Kim Lehman . But they ’ re also determined to keep that success going into more wins , and eventually championships and longterm , sustainable growth .
“ The idea for me is to build whatever we build into a self-sustaining operation that Joe is wellequipped to turn that into the legacy for his great grandkids or his grandkids ,” Joe E . says . “ But we all love racing . It all comes down to this . We like being out here . Eric loves being out here , probably even more than we do because it ' s just his lifelong passion . So it ' s fun for us to build things to help other people , and I think that that ' s what we ' re trying to do here .”
Schumacher is a firm believer that this is just the beginning for the Maynard family ’ s involvement in drag racing . Proof can be found in the JCM Driver Development Program . More than just a sponsorship , the program offers numerous resources and training tools to Jr . Dragster drivers who are accepted into the program .
“ These programs they ' re coming up with for these Jr . Dragsters are super cool ,” Schumacher says . “ All these years , no owners have stepped up and said , ‘ What about these kids ?’ Are they going to work their way up into Top Fuel ? Who knows . But to give them the opportunity to feel
“ The idea for me is to build whatever we build into a selfsustaining operation that Joe is wellequipped to turn that into the legacy for his great grandkids or his grandkids ,” Joe E . says . “ But we all love racing . It all comes down to this . We like being out here ," says Joe E . Maynard .
like they have a shot as a youngster , it ' s super cool what they ' re doing .”
Through his regular interactions with the Maynards , Schumacher sees their desire to help more teams accomplish their goals . As someone who ’ s been in the business of burning nitro for more than two decades , he ’ s offered Maynard advice on how to deal with the influx of people looking to get their piece of the pie .
“ I don ' t think he ' s ever been the kind of guy to say he wants to have a DSR eight-team deal , but he will help people that are out there ,” Schumacher says . “ On one hand you want to say that . On the other hand , you don ' t want every team in the world calling him . I told him , be aware when you start to dabble in this , you ' re going to have everybody calling and asking if you can help . Be aware that it ' s coming . No different than when we had the Army deal or even Scag . You bring a deal in and everyone ' s going to reach in and try to grab a little bit .”
Schumacher realizes Maynard doesn ’ t necessarily need any pointers when it comes to choosing who he brings into the fold . He ’ s been impressed with Maynard ’ s moves to this point , and he doesn ’ t expect that to stop .
“ From what he ' s done so far , it ' s been outstanding ,” Schumacher says . “ I ' m so glad he picked a guy like Justin [ Ashley ] because he picked a good , young , humble , butt-kicking driver with Mike Green as a crew chief – people I ' ve worked with before . He seems to pick quality people , and I think that ' s a blessing .
“ So , if you ' re out there and you ' re a quality person looking for something , you know Joe Maynard is out there keeping his eye on you ,” Schumacher continues . “ Just do your job . He ' ll find you .” DI
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