Wes Ward: A Hickory kind of racer

Wes Ward says he was almost raised at Hickory Motor Speedway.

“My dad (Jim Ward) was an official, and he drove there when it was dirt and later when it was asphalt,” said Ward, who has gone on to a long career as a crew chief.

“I remember going as a kid, with Ned Setzer and those guys. We were teens in the pits, hanging out.”

Ward raced some at Hickory, working his way up from Street Stocks to Late Models, but his racing career began when he started helping Tommy Houston with his cars, working behind Houston’s house.

After Houston, Ward worked with Dale Jarrett and became DJ’s crew chief in 1996. After that he’s worked with Jeff Green (including his Busch-championship season), Elton Sawyer, Christian Elder and Kasey Kahne, among others. He was one of the first hires for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Busch team, and then he was shop foreman and competition director for Steven Wallace, the son of all-time great Rusty Wallace.

He won two Busch races as a crew chief, with Green in '97 at Las Vegas and with Kahne at Homestead in 2003.

The job with Dale Jr. was the toughest.

“I had a pretty stressful job with Dale Jr.,” he said. “The fan base made it stressful. Dale Jr. didn't put any pressure on us, but DEI expected us to win. We got enough money to race, but now he has Hendrick Motorsports' resources.”

Early this year, Ward was supposed to switch to the Late Model team of Robert Johnson, son of racing legend Junior Johnson, but sponsorship was delayed. He helped out with the Mike Bliss team for a couple of races, and that team’s hiring announcement made it sound like Ward was going to stay. But when sponsorship came through for Johnson, Ward went over to that team.

“I live in Hickory; I’ve always lived in Hickory, born and raised,” Ward said. “The commute is not big deal; I just like being in the area. It’s good for me to keep the family here.”

Ward, 49, says it’s easy to commute to the Johnson shop, and he’s doing “OK financially.”

“It’s not about the money,” he said. “I have peace of mind now. The economy is not well, but there’s still some money in racing, and some of it trickles down to the short tracks. At one time, it was unheard of to make a living keeping up a car at the short tracks, but it happens now.

“I’m not ready to retire, by no means. I want to enjoy myself and finish my career doing this.”

As for his racing career, “I had a good career, and I miss it sometimes,” he said. “I miss strapping on a helmet and racing. I’ve seen things in the United States, Mexico and Canada, things you’d never see with a regular job.

“I wasn't a bad driver, but I wasn't going to go on to Nationwide or Cup. I did OK, but I probably don't miss driving that much.”

Ward has been back to HMS at least five times this season with the Johnson team.

“I have a lot of fond memories when I go back,” said Ward. “We (the Johnson team) have had some bad luck there. We’ve had a couple of top 10s there, but we’ve had crashes, too. In the (Dwight) Huffman race, we were running decent, then got into a wreck in that race as well.”

Ward has another connection to the Hickory track; he and track promoter Kevin Piercy went to St. Stephens High School together.

“Wes was a year or two older than me,” Piercy said. “He raced a Camaro Street Stock, and I worked on a Ford, and we raced against him with Jeff Shook. I was only 14 or 15 years old, a freshman or sophomore in high school.”

Piercy says that Ward is an icon at Hickory.

“He’s done it all and seen it all,” Piercy said. “He’s made it to the ranks of Sprint Cup and has been heavily involved in racing all of his life.”

Ward learned the hard way after he was added to Hickory’s Wall of Fame.

“That’s pretty cool,” he said. “They didn't tell me; I just happened to see it. I feel like I’ve done a lot for the track. I’ve given back, and never forgotten where I came from.”