‘My one and only shot’: Derek Kneeland relishes opportunity to drive in the East Series at Hickory

A normal race weekend for Derek Kneeland usually involves him being perched high above the track in the spotter’s stand, diligently keeping Kyle Busch, Austin Hill, Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen and others out of trouble.

On Saturday evening at Hickory Motor Speedway, the view for Kneeland will be much different, as he will be the one avoiding trouble from the driver’s seat during his ARCA Menards Series East debut with Pinnacle Racing Group (7:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing and the NASCAR Channel).

Kneeland is no stranger to the culture PRG is building, as he spots for the organization during companion weekends between the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR. Now Kneeland gets to pilot Pinnacle Racing Group’s No. 28 A&D Welding/Kryptoquiet Marine Bearings Chevrolet, which is only a few months removed from a driver’s championship with Queen.

The trust PRG has in Kneeland as a driver for Hickory is only fueling his motivation to capitalize on such a unique moment in his career.

“It’s truly a dream come true,” Kneeland said. “Sixteen-year-old me, which was a long time ago, is jumping for joy. Whether I win, lose, wreck or whatever happens, I just need to soak in this opportunity. As far as I know, this is probably going to be my one and only shot, so I’m just super excited to get this going.”

RELATED: How to watch Saturday’s Hickory race on The NASCAR Channel

Kneeland’s path to climb into PRG’s flagship No. 28, even for just one race, started a couple of years beforehand.

After he finished competing in a Late Model race close to his home in the northeast, Kneeland remembers PRG general manager Shane Huffman suggesting he could drive one of the team’s ARCA Menards Series cars. Kneeland initially shrugged off the idea, knowing that would require tremendous effort to materialize.

The topic came back up again last month when Kneeland received a call from Huffman, who was now asking him to drive for the team at Hickory. With PRG’s primary East Series driver Carson Brown occupied with a CARS Tour event at Wake County Speedway that same evening, Huffman saw Kneeland as a perfect candidate for the open seat.

Aside from Kneeland being a part of PRG since the team’s first season in 2023, Huffman considers the veteran spotter one of his closest friends. From Huffman’s perspective, the passion he and Kneeland share was crucial towards PRG’s development, especially when it comes to mentoring the prospects that have come through the program.

Already familiar with Kneeland’s background as a driver, Huffman wanted nothing more than to at least give him a chance to showcase his talent in a PRG car. Huffman is grateful to see that moment finally arrive for Kneeland at Hickory this weekend.

“Derek and I have worked together a long time and I’ve always known his desire has been to try it one time to see if he could do it,” Huffman said. “He’s done a lot for me and he’s somebody I’ve wanted to give something back to. Derek was able to come up with enough help from family and friends to make it work on the financial side.

“We’re going to get to go do it and it means a lot.”

Kneeland could not have a better mentor to guide him through his first East Series race at Hickory. Huffman won the Hickory track championship in 1995 and is also a three-time winner of the Bobby Isaac Memorial, one of the facility’s most cherished events.

While Kneeland does have three Super Late Model starts at Hickory, he also understands the East Series cars are going to handle much differently compared to the lighter chassis he is accustomed to. Learning the intricacies of the East Series car has put Kneeland in the student roll for Hickory as opposed to being a teacher atop the spotter’s stand.

“[Huffman] keeps telling me the things I tell our drivers that normally drive the No. 28 car,” Kneeland said. “When you get it slowed down, just be patient, let the car roll, let it work for you, don’t try to manhandle it and put yourself in a worse spot. He’s given me a ton of good advice, but Steven Dawson the crew chief is so clever in just walking through what I should be feeling.

“All of this is making me that much more comfortable [and allowing me] to focus on looking out the windshield, holding the steering wheel and push on the pedals the best way that I can.”

From Huffman’s experience at Hickory, the car that rolls the center of the corner most efficiently is usually the one that ends up winning. He also anticipates a grueling race on Saturday evening, as constantly turning for 200 laps around the abrasive surface is going to cause both physical and mental strain.

The stamina aspect of Hickory is not Huffman’s primary concern for Kneeland. If Kneeland comprehends the strengths and limits of the car he is driving, Huffman believes Saturday will go according to plan.

“[I want Kneeland] to take anything he’s done in a Super [Late Model] out of his mind,” Huffman said. “For the longest time, that held me back when I ran the Hooters Pro Cup cars [at Hickory]. I continually tried to go over there and drive it like I would my Late Model Stock. I’d always be fast in practice and sit on the pole, but it’d always go away.

“[I needed to] make the car do the things I know it needed to do in order to be successful. When I started doing that, we started winning races over there.”

Piloting an East Series car around Hickory is the biggest challenge of Kneeland’s driving career, but one he has eagerly anticipated since he fell in love with racing while growing up around Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, which was once managed by his grandfather Buddy Sawyer.

Witnessing so many talented drivers battle for wins at Beech Ridge on a weekly basis inspired Kneeland to start racing himself. Kneeland did manage to progress all the way into Late Models, but as time passed, he realized being a driver was not going to be a sustainable career path unless he received significant financial backing.

So, Kneeland ended up taking a different path to stay involved in motorsports, becoming a spotter.

One of the first drivers Kneeland ever spotted for at the national level was Brian Scott, which blossomed into a friendship so close that the two ended up being each other’s best man at their respective weddings. Other drivers Kneeland has guided through the years include Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Kneeland still makes time for racing whenever he can, but he has also found tremendous value in being a spotter across NASCAR and the ARCA Menards Series. Serving as an additional set of eyes at the highest vantage point is a role Kneeland knows will always be important in an industry that constantly evolves.

“Whether you’re having a good day or a bad day, even though there is so much data that the drivers and teams can go through now, I still think there’s nothing more justifying than when my eye is seeing something I feel is going to help the driver be faster,” Kneeland said. “I enjoy doing that every single week trying to help the driver find speed.

“Obviously, the most rewarding thing is winning. When you run second, it stings, but winning is the most exciting thing we can do.”

Kneeland considers himself fortunate to have the traditional roles in his work life reversed for a weekend. He gets to experience the chaotic, hands-on nature of being a driver on the ARCA Menards Series platform while constantly listening to a spotter in his ear, which will be one of Hendrick Motorsports’ second spotters, Anthony Warren.

Huffman believes Kneeland has everything needed to make a seamless, if not brief, transition into the East Series. The entire No. 28 team has garnered plenty of victories during the last year, but Kneeland also has a teammate to share information with, Tristan McKee.

Before Kneeland turned his first laps around Hickory in an East Series car, Huffman’s expectations were to simply finish inside the top 10. Now that he has seen Kneeland test, Huffman is confident he can be a contender on Saturday.

“I still think a top five is a great day,” Huffman said. “I don’t think we’re going to sit on the pole [with Kneeland], but I do feel like there’s a solid chance to win the race with him. If we do our end right and have a good solid race, when the cards fall at the end of the night, the No. 28 is going to be right there battling for the victory.”

Kneeland never imagined one innocent conversation he had with Huffman would evolve into a chance to pursue a victory on the ARCA Menards Series platform. Having worked with so many quality drivers at PRG during the company’s existence, Kneeland knows how special it is for him to be in one of their cars.

There will always be chances for Kneeland to race when there are no NASCAR conflicts, but doing so again with the ARCA Menards Series is not guaranteed. That is why Kneeland intends to cherish everything about Saturday evening at Hickory, it may very well be his only start.

“I don’t know if there’s ever going to be another chance to do this,” Kneeland said. “I just want to thoroughly enjoy it, I don’t want the smile to leave my face. Looking at the field and the car that I’m in, I would say a top 10 would be a realistic goal.”

There will not be much time for Kneeland to debrief after Saturday’s race. Once the checkered flag waves, Kneeland will hustle to Martinsville Speedway to spot for Busch during his chase for a NASCAR Cup Series win on Sunday afternoon.

For how fleeting Saturday is going to be, Kneeland is elated to simply fulfill a childhood dream. He will have a legitimate chance to win with a premier ARCA Menards Series team at one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks.