By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
One of the newest drivers for the XFINITY Series is already off to a running start in 2018.
That would be Kaz Grala, the 19-year-old Massachusetts native who finished fourth in his first XFINITY start last weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Outside the fact it was a massive confidence-builder for the young driver, it was also a momentum-builder for JGL Racing, who had an overhaul of change over the offseason with a new manufacturer, new team alliance, new crew chief, new engineer and a new driver.
“They have really had their work cut out for them over the offseason. It’s been a huge undertaking,” Grala told Kickin’ The Tires. “It will probably take the first third of the season to get caught up and get into a rhythm. I have a crew chief coming from a Chevrolet camp, an engineer coming from Toyota, the team is new to Ford. There’s a lot of new pieces going on.”
Despite all the unknowns, Grala and the No. 24 Ford managed to stay out of trouble, survive to the end past the five-overtime finish and score the sixth top-five finish in their XFINITY Series history.
But the time has passed to celebrate season-opening success. The days of plate racing are over for a few months and the series hits the common ground starting this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Grala, who is hot off his rookie season in Camping World Trucks, hopes to be prepared for the ramp-up of competition and athleticism that will meet him Saturday.
“I’ve been working this offseason to try and do my homework, work on my fitness. Overall, to become a better athlete and a better driver,” he said. “That’s important for me. It’s a big step up physically and mentally, so I’ve been working on the areas I have control over.
“Being an XFINITY driver is a noticeable step up. I’m going to hopefully get into the swing of things.”
It didn’t take long for Grala is get accustomed to the Truck Series in 2017, as he won the first race out at Daytona with GMS Racing. That win punched his ticket to the playoffs and put his name in the hat for a championship.
However, the year hit some rough road. The worst stretch was a bump-and-run finish with Austin Cindric at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in September. That was followed by a playoff-ending accident at Talladega Superspeedway the following month, giving him the highest highs and lowest lows to end his first year.
“I definitely learned a lot last year,” he said. “A lot of that is mental and that plays a huge role in the sport. You have to sometimes put yourself in an uncomfortable spot because you can’t play it safe and expect to do well. I did learn a lot in terms of my race craft last year. A lot of that was unnatural coming from sports cars… if you give anything in NASCAR, they take. You have to walk that fine line.”
One thing Grala took from his Truck season was maturity. He can now enter a race with a stable, focused mind without letting the pressure get to him. A crucial trait when racing more Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
“I like to stay cool, calm and collected,” he said. “Since I got to Trucks, that’s where it started. In K&N and before, I used to be a nervous wreck going into races. I guess I got to the Truck level and realized there are guys doing this for a living already. If I’m being able to live my dream, why waste the time being nervous? Just be happy about it.”
With a top five already in the column for this season, Grala hopes the growth of JGL can continue to the 1.5-milers. It’s all about consistency and bringing cars home clean.
“Once we get into the season, from there, we can put those goals,” he said. “Right now, we’re looking at finishing races and getting as many top 10s as we can.”
(Below is a video capture of our conversation with Kaz Grala.)
