By ANNA GILGOFF

Special to The Press

Signs of spring are everywhere but for Brett Kressley, there’s one that really counts: the beginning of racing season.

Last year, Kressley scored three big wins and six Top 10 finishes in 13 starts at Big Diamond and, this year, he wants to do even better.

Most times, Kressley is the assistant sales and service manager at the family business, Kressley’s Auto and Truck Sales on Route 100, Orefield, but come April, he adds racing to the agenda when the season opens at Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, Berks County.

“I enjoy the off season to get the cars ready but once you hit April all heck breaks loose,” Kressley said, “But I stay local.

“So, with working, Friday and Saturday events fit my schedule.

“I want to have fun racing and run the business.

“You have to stay in your space.”

This approach keeps Kressley focused.

“I like to be good at one or two things,” he continued. “You could travel and be mediocre but you have to live within your expectations.

“My parents raised me to be pretty grounded.”

By all accounts, racing is a family affair and, for Kressley, it’s really about legacy.

He attributes his love of racing to his father and grandfather.

“My grandfather had a tow truck and my dad accompanied him every week,” he said.

That’s when racing entered the picture.

“My dad got involved from that perspective, at Big Diamond and Grandview,” Kressley explained. “Once we could both race, he kind of passed the torch.”

“That fueled and sparked my interest.”

There’s more to racing than first meets the eye.

“For one, it’s a lot of commitment from spring until fall, basically the whole weekend,” Kressley explained. “I work a full day and then go to the races.

“Time is the big commitment for sure.”

“You don’t have much of a life other than being focused on racing.

“I enjoy that level of competition,” he said.

That’s not the only challenge.

“It’s probably 200 degrees in the car, and you’re wearing a complete fire suit but you don’t really notice when you’re racing,” Kressley said.

Racing is also physically demanding.

“Fortunately, at the shop I’m on my feet all day,” said the 31-year-old. “Working on cars and mostly trucks keeps me pretty limber,” Kressley said.

Preparation means everything before a race.

“We have a car for each track and luckily we have some good friends who help get the cars ready each week,” he said.

Kressley cites a community of fans and friends for keeping the wheels spinning.

“I have a guy who does the maintenance on parts and gets the cars sound,” he said.

He credits crew chief Troy Kay for the full maintenance on the car and the crew consisting of “old family friends who help my dad and help me.”

The crew is an essential part of every season.

“It’s not on asphalt so everything gets dirty,” Kressley said, adding cleaning it up is a massive job. “The whole car must get disassembled, if you want to get good results but the car is held together with clips.

“It’s all made to come apart.”

For Kressley, racing is about both the guts and the glory.

“That’s one thing my dad instilled in me at a young age,” he said. “He wanted me to work on cars before racing.”

That has kept him “pretty grounded.”

“Brett stresses safety and maintenance,” Beverly Kressley, his mother said. “He’s very conscientious about safety.”

Kressley said he was lucky to have grown up when there wasn’t a reliance on cellphones.

“That’s not real life at the end of the day,” he explained.

Kressley said he has remained healthy and considers himself lucky.

“Fire is probably the biggest fear, if you get trapped,” he noted, adding he has had a few “black and blues and feeling a little dizzy.”

Racing comes with a cost.

“It’s very expensive,” Kressley said. “Racing fuel is $15 a gallon and you go through roughly 20 gallons a night.

“Racing tires are $275 a piece, and you’re using a minimum of two new tires a night.

“If you want to be competitive you should have the best tires you can.”

A complete car has a hefty price tag.

“If you build a new car, you’re talking around $50,000,” he said. “A rolling chassis is around $30,000 and engines are around $20,000.”

Consequently, sponsors are very important.

“You get some people who approach you,” Kressley said, “And product sponsors help you with costs involving racing fuel and shocks, or those sponsors even give you parts at cost.

“We’re always looking for new ones, but I’ve been fortunate to have a handful of good sponsors over the years.”

Prize money comes in handy, as well.

“It’s $3,000 to win on a regular night,” he said, but that’s just a start. “I’ve won one at $17,000.

“Good performance leads to more endorsements.”

Besides racing at Grandview Speedway, Kressley also races at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Schuylkill County.

Tickets to races are available at “the door.”

“Just show up on any track at the main gate,” he said. “There are no online sales.”

“To get into the stands, it’s $20.

“It’s pretty affordable and you get to see a lot of action.”

The crowd can range from 1,500 to 3,000 people.

“Some people camp and make a weekend of it,” Kressley said.

His mother said they like to see the families come with the kids.

“The kids want to sit in the cars and have their pictures taken,” Beverly Kressley said. “It’s a night out.

“If your car is set up, even if you’re tired, you’re ecstatic if you win. All the fans run over for pictures and autographs and that puts smiles on kids’ faces.”

Fans include “a lot of families and strictly race fans who support their drivers,” his mother said.

According to Kressley, the term “stock car” is a bit of a misnomer.

“It’s not really accurate because though all the chassis look the same, it’s how you put the car together that makes a big difference,” Kressley said. “The driver gives feedback and the crew decides.”