By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
As Ross Chastain led the Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Justin Fontaine, while walking down pit lane, joked, “He’s making me look bad!”
The comment was in regard to Chastain, who drove the very same Niece Motorsports truck on Saturday that Fontaine did in 2018.
Where is Fontaine now? After a full season in the No. 45 Chevrolet for Niece in 2018, Fontaine made the tough decision to call it quits due to added stress and financial difficulties that spread throughout the rookie campaign.
And since pursuing a career in politics, the 21-year-old returned to the race track for the first time over the weekend since running his final scheduled NASCAR race in November of 2018.
“I’m really fortunate to have good relationships with the teams,” Fontaine told Kickin’ The Tires. “They can help with my tickets and stuff. I probably won’t travel to races if I can’t afford to. [But] go to Charlotte, go to Martinsville, see some of my friends again.”
Though the decision to retire was backed with confidence, he couldn’t keep himself from watching the opening weekend of the season at Daytona from home.
“I had my apartment TV on, I told my roommates they had to watch with me because I didn’t want to watch by myself,” he said. “I had to swallow my pride a little bit and accept that everyone was in Daytona without me. I’ve been pulling for the [Nos.] 22, 12, both Niece trucks. I love seeing Ross [Chastain] run well.
“Every time I want to come back, I have to remind myself that I’m on a new career and enjoying myself.”
That new career grew over the offseason, as he experienced his first step into the world of politics, interning with North Carolina Congressman Patrick McHenry through the Gastonia office.
Fontaine will return for a summer internship with McHenry on May 13 when he moves out to Washington D.C. for one month.
“It’s interesting from being interviewed on TV to answering the phone and [saying], ‘Congressman McHenry’s office, this is Justin,'” he said. “I’m enjoying the heck out of it. I’ve always loved politics and getting to practice it has been fun.”
Many would argue that a life in politics is no normal life. However, traveling to drive racecars for years in succession has made any “normal” job sound desirable. That’s why Fontaine is happier than ever in 2019.
“I feel like I’ve adjusted well to a normal life. As normal as you can be,” he said. “The biggest adjustment is not having to get up early and get on a plane every weekend. Other than finding sponsorship, the hardest part was getting up early, travel every weekend. You give up a lot of your personal time to do it.”
Not regretting a day of the racing grind, Fontaine has seen the positive turnaround to leaving the high life of racecar driver.
“I got to take a Spring Break! I haven’t had a Spring Break in like three years,” he said. “I got to go out to Los Angeles and spend time out there. And it’s great having family again. Having family time and being able to experience my dad, my mom, my brothers.
“It’s fun being a normal college kid again.”