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John Blewett
lll - building on his families legacy-continuing a winning tradition.
By Robin Wayne
On any given weekend at
Wall Stadium NJ these
two equally talented brothers could usually be seen charging their
way up through the field,
racing each other to see who will bring home the trophy first. The
people in the grandstand know |
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that they can always be
counted on to put on an exciting show
because John lll and younger brother Jimmy are both intensely
competitive
racers.
However, lately John hasn't been
spending as much time as he used to at
Wall. For the last few years he has been running a full Featherlite
modified
schedule. Being a regular on the Tour is a challenge he relishes.
He was no
stranger to victory lane on Saturday night. Now, he is gradually
making his
presence felt on the Tour as well. When not racing on the
Featherlite Tour he
drives Sal Bruno's #88 car at Wall Stadium against his brother's
#76.
Blewett lll started racing in the Featherlite Series in 1998 for
half a
season wearing his family's colors. Then in 1999 he took the Mario
Fiore's
#44 modified and ran his first full season in the Series. It was a
mixed
year for him as he made good showings in many races before bad
racing luck
took him out of contention for the win. The talent he showed during
his 1999
campaign caught the interest of Kurt Chase who offered him the ride
in
the#77, which Blewett has been driving ever since.
This year in the Featherlite Series, it seems that lady luck is
smiling on
him and the various misfortunes that plagued him in previous years
are behind
him as he has found himself in a three way points battle with
Stefanic and
Marquis for the 2001 title. He was contending for his first
Featherlite
Championship title in only his third full year in that series.
John Blewett lll from Howell NJ is a second-generation racer who is
continuing his families racing legacy and building upon what his
grandfather
Blewett Sr started 27 years ago when he bought his son John Jr his
first
racecar. John Jr started by winning multiple track titles at the
local
short tracks before quickly moving up to the Featherlite tour. His
son John
lll has started out the same way and is on track to bringing even
greater
fame to the family name.
Racing has been Blewett lll's number one priority since childhood.
Some of
his favorite memories growing up were spending time with his father
in the
his garage and hanging out with dad's friends where he learned the
delicate
art of building and setting up at racecar by helping his father in
the
family's race shop. Blewett lll also ran karts at New Egypt where
his father
raced on a weekly basis and like any racer's son he picked up
driving tips
along the way watching his father on the track, which he still uses
today,
when he climbed into his own racer.
John Blewett lll started his racing career ten years ago at Wall
Stadium
when he was 18 years old in his family sponsored #76. The Blewett
family did
their best to make sure John lll had the best equipment they could
get and
the family effort paid off when renowned car owner Dick Barney gave
him the
nod to drive his legendary #14 asphalt modified. Blewett won the
North East
regional Modified Championship title a few years later at age 23.
He has
also won a Small Block Track Championship at New Egypt as well as a
Late
Model and two Modified Track Championships at Flemington Speedway.
In 2000,
he won the New Hampshire Featherlite Modified Championship.
Blewett lll finished 8th in the standings at Wall Stadium for the
2001
season while his brother, Jimmy took home the 2001 Modified Track
championship at Wall. John lll is excited about the prospect of his
brother
joining him in the Featherlite series next year on a limited basis.
Currently, Blewett lll has amassed over 40 modified victories, six
small
block victories, 15 Late model victories and is ranked high on
Flemington
Speedway's all-time feature win list.
His highly competitive racing spirit is matched by his intense focus
on
raceday as he and his team work to insure his car is tweaked to
perfection.
The family motto could be-The family that works together, wins
together.
Joined by his father and younger brother Jimmy, he and his team
spend 20-30
hours each week after work in the race shop working on the families'
racecars.
When asked how he adjusted to the Featherlite cars so rapidly
Blewett said"
The tour car is not much different from the car he races at Wall
Stadium.
The tour car has wider tires for better grip and 150 more HP. The
Wall car
has smaller tires made of harder compound, which cause the car to
slide in
the corners on the track. The slide is so small that those watching
do not
notice it. However, the way they handle is so similar that both cars
are
basically the same when it comes to driving them."
Blewett treasures the friendships he's made in the sport but he puts
his
family first. He is devoted to his wife Sey and their young son, who
maybe
the next generation to continue the Blewett family's tradition of
racing
excellence.
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