Pit Pass: Justyn Cox — Rust Magazine

Cox (31c) shoots low on the front stretch at Tulare, CA.

On being born into a racing family and making his own success

Text: Mike Blanchard + Photos: Saroyan Humphrey

Spotlight | Justyn Cox is a young Northern California racer who, like many, grew up in a racing family. His grandfather John was a well known drag racer in the 1960s and his father Terry has raced everything from sprint cars to top fuel dragsters. He has had help from his family but Cox was emancipated at an early age and has had to develop his own contacts and rely on his own abilities to build a career in racing.

• Related: Terry Cox on Driving a Nitromethane Bomb

In his teens he tasted early success. Then he went through a period of struggle that humbled him. To his credit he realized that he needed to take a step back, do some learning and pay his dues.

It is a growing process. Cox has proven that he is a hard worker and a thoughtful guy. He realizes where he has come from, understands the mistakes he made as a teenager and has a clear vision of what he wants to achieve. As a result he is poised to build on the success and momentum of his 2019 season. He is a devoted single dad with a young son that he wants to spend more time with. His own race team has top notch equipment, an experienced crew chief and solid sponsorship from Berco Redwood. Things are looking up for Justyn Cox.

We met up with him at his family’s race shop in Sacramento.

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Rust: Was racing all you ever wanted to do?
Justyn Cox: Dad will joke that I was forced into it by nature of the family. I didn’t really know anything about drag racing or anything like that from my Grampa, I learned that later. Obviously he’s the head guy. The reason we are all racing is cause Grampa was a bad ass drag racer in the ‘60s.

I grew up going to the races at Placerville watching my dad race sprint cars. He only raced until I was about four and then he got out of it. I was born into racing. At three and a half I got into a quarter midget, flipped in it and scared the hell out of myself and said “I don’t want to race anymore.” But my dad was persistent and when I turned five I got a road course go kart and I went pavement racing.

Definitely didn’t think I’d end up in dirt sprint cars. That wasn’t the plan. But I’m pretty pumped that’s how it went. I’d always wanted to go to Indy. I wanted to be an Indy Car driver. That was my biggest thing. My mom went into labor during the Indianapolis 500 in ’94. I was supposed to be named Indiana. The doctor or someone said their goat’s name was Indiana so…My middle name is Indiana.

“I went the dirt route when I was ten.”

I was born into racing. Dad was, I don’t want to say an accomplished sprint car driver, but he did it. He did it for a couple years but he stepped aside to let his kid race so…that’s pretty bad ass.

When you first became serious about racing what level did you get in to?
Cox: I was seven or eight and I was winning a lot of road course races in go karts. Dixon, Davis, I did the whole IKF schedule. So we would run in Nevada, Oregon, it was a traveling series. Mainly Davis was my local track. Every Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday we’d go there after school and hot lap for four five hours at a time. I became a team Emick house driver so that kind of started everything with Ronny Emick.

I went the dirt route when I was ten. A kid had passed away at Davis. He was in my race, Caleb, he flipped and it exploded his heart; Go karts, no roll cage. It emotionally scarred me as a ten-year-old. We kind of re-evaluated the route we should go. My dad’s good buddy Gary Morgen, his son son Jake was racing Outlaw Karts, and he said “Hey we have one, why don’t you come to Cycleland Speedway and try it out.” So I thought that would be awesome. It’s got a roll cage, five point harness system, it’s a lot safer route.

“My middle name is Indiana.” Cox makes a qualifying lap at Stockton.

You felt safer going to a faster bigger car?
Cox: Yea. I had accomplished everything and I was going to be in that class (in go karts) for two years before I could move up. So we said lets try the dirt route. Went to Cycleland and I remember I was going to win my first race. I had an orange visor on and they put out the yellow flag and I thought it was the white flag and I passed the safety car so they put me to the back. I didn’t end up winning. Logan Seavey, USAC National Champion, ended up winning so…

I was hooked, so dad said “do you want to go Outlaw Kart racing?” Bought my own and we raced Cycleland for a year and then went to Red Bluff. In 2004 and 2005 we raced Outlaw Karts and that’s where I met all my really good friends, Kyle Larson, Colby Copeland, Tyler Reddick, some of the top sprint car and NASCAR drivers, we grew up right there at Cycleland. It really sparked my passion.

I won’t say I won everything under the sun, I got my ass kicked in Outlaw Karts, but I did win. I won at Red Bluff which is really tough. I think Kyle Larson ran second when I won my first race.

We decided I should go the Micro route after that. Dad figured I should learn some stuff about shocks and move on up. Harley Van Dyke always joked with my dad that once I turned 14 we should go sprint car racing. I’d sit in the stands at Gold Cup with all my little go cart buddies and I’d see the 5H out there and I’d say "I’m going to be in the car one day.” They probably thought I was full of shit.

“At the time there was not a lot of 14-year-olds racing.”

We went to Micros and I did really good. I won a championship at Delta Speedway in Stockton my first year out. We went non-wing racing the next year and I did really well there, won a few races, and by then I was turning 14. Then we were headed to Marysville raceway in February 2009 to test a full size 360 sprint car for Harley Van Dyke.

The sprint car felt really good. I was comfortable in it. We did three days of testing and Harley said “let’s go racing.” My first ever race was Marysville Raceway…Marysville gave me my start like they have done for so many people. Went 13th to sixth my first race, just a local show, nothing crazy, probably 30 cars there. I thought “we can do this.” There was an ASCS director there at the time and they invited Harley and I to go up to the Northwest to run the ASCS Northwest Series.

At the time there was not a lot of 14-year-olds racing. Kyle had paved the way the year before. He was 14 when he started. I was one of the first to get in there at 14. I had to get partial emancipation though (the state of) Indiana so I could sign my own waivers. Mom and dad just let me go.

We went up to Washington, Oregon, Wyoming. Won my first sprint car race, my 16th ever race, I just turned 15.

Where was that?
Cox: Casper Wyoming, on a half mile. I started 10th. It was the coolest feeling winning a sprint car race. Rodney Tyner Jr. was my crew chief. He still works with me to this day. Lot of ties go back to Rodney. He is a big part of my success. I got ASCS North West Rookie Of The Year.

Then came what I would call the stretch of probably the worst four years of my racing career. Sophomore slumps is really a thing. We went ASCS National racing. So we traveled the country. Lucas Oil sponsored it. It was full deal.

What was the thing that you needed to learn? Were you over confident?
Cox: Yea. I should have stayed in California and raced against tougher competition…I ran pretty good but I didn’t learn as much as I probably could have. If I were to go back and reset I would have ran California 410s right off the bat. I think you need to run here…cause it’s the toughest local competition in the nation, I think anyway. Pennsylvania and Ohio could argue, they’re really tough too, but California, you can run a lot here. It’s just tough.

“I was a spoiled punk, a cocky kid, I’ll be honest.”

Over confident, not so much…I got my ass handed to me. I don’t think we even had a top ten in 40 races. At the time the ASCS National Series had 20 full-time drivers. Kyle Hirst was going for Rookie Of The Year, I don’t even think he got top ten in points that year, just to put it in perspective. Shane Stewart, Jason Johnson were racing that series at the time. I wasn’t ready, wasn’t ready at all.

I parted ways with Harley at the end of 2010. I met up with a guy named Brian Brown, Danny Lasoski’s nephew, he said let’s go race Vegas at the end of the year. It was a nice change of pace. Got my confidence back. That led me to move to Missouri.

The goal was to go apprentice. Go sit in Brian Brown and Danny Lasoski’s shop and learn how to work on a car. I was a spoiled punk, a cocky kid, I’ll be honest. I had the world given to me.

I had Mr. George Lasoski, Danny’s dad, assigned to teach me how to work on the cars and he was hard. I busted my ass. I was there at eight AM until five when the doors shut and I was told “you need to learn how to work on this stuff.” I’ll credit them to this day. They taught me a lot.

Did it help knowing how to put the car together? Did that help you understand what the cars is doing when you are driving it?
Cox: Not in 2011. I still struggled but it taught me to respect the equipment. It taught me to respect the amount of time and effort that goes in to this stuff and how hard all this really is. I used to just show up and get in the car and go…I even had a mechanical failure in Brian’s car. The front end fell out and it was my own fault. I didn’t even put it in right. Did that whole apprenticeship for a year with Brian. I ran maybe 15 races. I ran second at Knoxville, local competition 16-years-old, it was really cool to almost win at Knoxville it was a big deal. Made me realize maybe I’m not so bad at this stuff. I just needed to focus more on it.

The whole “work your butt off and appreciate it” changed my whole mindset in the car.

Decided it was time to come home, be more of a kid, race in California. In 2012 started off driving for the famous Rod Tyner 83. Brought me back at Silver Cup. I flipped both nights and got fired. I did not race 2012 the whole year. I thought “I’m done. Racings not for me. I quit.”

“We ran 60 races that year, all across the nation.”

In December 2012 I got a call from Harley Van Dyke again. He had a proposition to go back on the road. He had seen I had potential but someone needed to believe in me again. So 2013 we loaded up and went to Arizona. Just me Harley and one of my buddies named Fez. First race we led the first 14 laps and blew up. Story of my career. We ran 60 races that year, all across the nation.

That was the year, I don’t want to say I broke out but I maybe turned some heads. I ran the Knoxville Nationals A main, the 360 portion. I ran fifth the preliminary night, which was a big deal I think. I won at the Belleville High Banks, one of the most famous dirt tracks in the nation. Won a Civil War event at Marysville, the Mel Hall Memorial. Just won some really cool races.

I was working on the cars, doing the night-time maintenance. It was just me and Fez. I was 20 at the time. Fez was 20 and Harley was 70. Harley drove the truck and me and Fez had the time of our lives running up and down the road. We lived in the lounge, sleep head to head. Shower at the truck stops and eat Wal-Mart food at two in the morning. It was the roadie life and it was good. It cleared my head and brought me back down to this is what I want to do. I really want to race for a living. Think I can do it.

2013 was the defining moment. Sprint cars are easy to knock you down. It’s so tough out here, especially California. You just get your ass handed to you.

In 2014 a devastating fire destroyed the Cox family shop. A number of his father and grandfather’s cars were destroyed along with three generations of racing trophies and memorabilia. His father Terry’s Offy big cars were destroyed as well.

Cox: The shop fire allowed the sprint car team to happen. It opened up some extra funds to start a team. Grampa gave me the ok to call Rodney Tyner, my first ever crew chief, and hire him full time. Rodney brought our team from a small one car, truck and trailer to what it is today.

In 2015 we decided lets crank this thing up and turn it into a race team. We bought two 360s, two 410s, three cars, stacker truck and trailer. All the necessities you need. I had a big time sponsor, Berco Redwood.

You have gone out and got your sponsorship yourself. You haven’t relied upon the family contacts.
Cox: No, no. The only sponsor on the car that came from Grampa is Justice Brothers, a long time drag racing iconic brand. Any big money sponsor to go racing was through my self. Berco redwood they were pivotal. Tim Berry was pivotal

“I come from a great family that supports me but if you don’t put any effort into it it’s not going to happen.”

I did a TV show in 2014. It was right after the fire. I saw an ad online and decided to make a little video explaining why I should be on the show. It was for the Peak Anti-Freeze Michael Waltrip Dream Stock Car Challenge. They were looking for the next driver development program driver. I got picked out of 5000 people. One of 18 hand picked by Michael. Went to North Carolina and competed in this reality TV show.

Tim Berry had seen it and saw that I was from Sacramento. I got to meet him at an event for Bill McAnally, he was a big sponsor of McAnally. Tim came on board in 2015 and that’s what started a lot of this.

I really work hard to go out and find my own sponsors. I have a great PR guy at Peterson Media. He helps me write out sponsorship proposals and resumes, things of that nature… If we don’t have even a little bit of help it shows that I’m not putting enough effort into this and I won’t have race team. I am a fortunate kid. I come from a great family that supports me but if you don’t put any effort into it it’s not going to happen.

Cox talks with fellow drivers Cole Macedo and Dominic Scelzi in the pits at Stockton.

It seems like you have had more success since you have started your own race team. Does the fact that it is on you help translate into wins?
Cox: Yea! I think that consistency is the biggest deal. I have the same cars, the same guy working on it. Rodney and I got better together. We both grew as people and humans.

He has always been great at building cars. He has always been a smart guy. I got smarter and smarter at being able to talk to him. Racers and crew chiefs have their own kind of sign language. Bringing him into my own place and seeing him every day. He’s like my big brother. That was the biggest part of me becoming a better race car driver. Consistency within everything.

There’s stress…It makes you driven. You want to see your own stuff succeed… If we went winless and not showing any kind of stuff I would walk away. I’m not somebody who does it for fun. It is fun, I love it, but I’m not going to run in the back and smile about it. That’s not me.

As I got older I realized I’m not going to NASCAR so why not try to be the best in California. That’s my goal. I’m not even close to that yet. I want to be the Kyle First, Andy Forsberg, Sean Becker, Brent Kaeding and whatever else. Those names are local icons.

You are up against some stiff competition. Abreu, Kaeding, all those guys are national class racers.
Cox: Shoot yea! National class guys. If you look at the win list, the statistics of who wins the most in the 360 ranks say, all through America and Canada. Every time there are three or four California guys in the top ten. That just shows you how much those guys win and how tough it is to beat them on their own playing field.

So you are really where you want to be.
Cox: Yea. I’m where I want to be.

The last three years you have run well at Placerville. What is It about the track that you like?
Cox: Fun story about Placerville. I hated Placerville. I sucked. It scared me. I flipped, spun, wouldn’t go to the cushion, that’s what Placerville’s known for, that cushion. I had a timid mentality about it. Then in 2015 I knocked off a win there. Now I had this positive attitude about it and I loved it. I just like the atmosphere there. I like the people at Placerville. The racetrack fits my style now.

Justyn breaks in the Mike Phelps team fire suit, January 2019.

I went from kind of a timid shy driver that would be a catfish to being more smart about it. But I don’t give a shit. I can’t run the bottom anymore, I suck at that, I’d rather just bang off the fence or the cushion. Placerville you really have to be aggressive and now I have this new mentality of go out and kill mode. It fits who I am. We have knocked off seven or eight wins there in the last few years.

They’ve been pretty big wins. The Mark Forni Classic was huge. I won that two years in a row. It’s just a good mixture and it’s close, I can have my son there and my family can come. It’s just a family atmosphere. We’re going after the title there next year.

You have been getting some rides from Doug Rutz.
Cox: Dougie is an awesome guy. He’ll try and act like he’s Mr. Tough Guy but he is the biggest teddy bear you will ever meet. Doug’s son Travis was a legend in his own way, bad ass, Canadian. He won a lot of races in the North West. In 2009 he got tragically injured. It was a life changing event.

Rather than than walk away from the sport Doug hit it just as hard as he ever did with Travis. He puts great drivers in his cars so it’s a big deal to me to get the call to drive that car. Because he does not put slow people in it. Some big names have come from that deal, Buddy Kofoid recently.

“That was my first break as a full-time hired driver.”

I had a really cool opportunity to drive for team 56, Mike Phulps team. That was my first break as a full-time hired driver. This year we were going to contest for 50 races or so. I quit the team three nights in. Sometimes you don’t mesh with people well and I could see it wasn’t going to work for me. So I called Doug as a back up. He turned what I thought was going to be one race at Stockton, he wanted to go for the Asparagus Cup, in to 30 races.

He’s from Canada, I’m from California, it took a lot of travel from my end and his end. He’d come down here for weeks at a time and stay at the shop. His partner Jim Richmond builds the motors. They are the two nicest guys, they are so fun. I love Canadians now.

It was cool to get to run that car. We won a lot of races together. We picked up the Marvin Smith Memorial which is a race I’d always wanted to win; out of Cottage Grove, their crown jewel event. I don’t think Doug had ever won it either. He took me to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to run for the Gold Cup. He dominates that event so he likes to go up there and kick all his Canadian friend’s butts. We went up there and did that. We did exactly what we wanted to do and won it.

Finally got him his first California win. He had never won in California. He had always wanted to…Fall Nationals which is a huge event at Chico. I had always wanted to win at Chico, he’d always wanted to win in California and we achieved that and it happened on the exact date which was the ten year anniversary of when his son was hurt.

An Emotional win.
Cox: Yea, Doug was crying. He didn’t even take a photo in victory lane. That was the first time I had cried. I was hugging him on the infield. It was a big win for me…It was someone’s way of telling him “hey you’re doing the right thing being out here.”

Are you going to continue with him next year?
Cox: Not on a full time basis. It worked out that I had a great opportunity with C&M Motorsport to run after a Placerville championship and an SCCT [Sprint Car Challenge Tour] championship and run all their big shows. So it really filled my schedule. I was between a rock and a hard spot. I really wanted to continue with Doug and so did he. I think hopefully the schedule will allow me to make some cameos in his car. He always runs two cars…So I think there will always be a car open for me if I want to.

My son, I like to be around him as much as I can and at Placerville I can have him there with me… I think it would just be cool to add my name to the winner’s list there.

Keep up with Justyn:

t: @justyncox_jc
i: @thatcoxkid
f: @justyncoxracing