James Monolo at Pope Motorsports

From 16th to 5th in his first 75 lap race tonight at Florence Motor Speedway. Wasn’t sure how he would hold up over 75 laps but the answer seems to be he holds up just fine! A huge thank you to Robby Holt for talking him through it!

Hey, kid.

Yeah… you.

I see you.

I see you walking around this place, watching, listening, learning.

I see how you carry yourself.

You’re not the kid who has to be the center of everything. You’re not looking for attention. You’re not trying to convince everybody that you belong here.

You just keep showing up.

And there’s something about that that I hope you never lose.

Because this racing thing will teach you a lot about winning, but it will teach you even more about losing.

There will be nights when everything goes right.

And there will be nights when you do everything you can and it still doesn’t work out.

There will be people who get there before you.

People who seem to have more experience, more confidence, more people cheering for them.

And there will probably be moments when you wonder if you’re good enough.

Keep showing up.

Keep being the kid who says yes ma’am and yes sir.

Keep being the kid who shakes someone’s hand.

Keep being the kid who listens when somebody with more experience has something to teach you.

Keep putting in the work when nobody is standing there to see it.

Keep your feet on the ground when things go right, and keep your head up when they don’t.

Because people are watching.

Maybe not the way you think they are.

They’re watching the way you treat people.

They’re watching how you handle disappointment.

They’re watching whether you get back up.

They’re watching the person you’re becoming long before you realize you’re becoming him.

And one day, you’re going to look back at these days and realize it was never just about the checkered flag.

It was about everything you learned on the way there.

So, kid…

keep showing up.

Keep being kind.

Keep being humble.

Keep putting in the work.

Keep chasing it.

And when your checkered flag finally comes…

I hope you’re still the same kid I saw standing here today.

I see you.

🖤 Her View

James got his first win in the Legends car last weekend! He was able to park the Ashland Garage Legends car in victory lane at Shenandoah Speedway for the Showdown Series with the help of a crazy restart with 3 laps to go. Check out the in car camera of the win!

https://youtube.com/shorts/6U7R5Q1o7Ik?is=0fkLY6slo8G5b6ay

Crazy last restart with 3 to go for my first win!!#legendscars Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Madness. That pretty much sums up last weekend. The plan was to go to the truck race at Richmond Raceway and have a sleepover. Which happened, but the race was postponed from Friday to Saturday. As luck would have it, the Showdown Series was racing doubles at Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania Virginia Saturday so… James decided to race at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and got to the track 10 minutes before qualifying. First race the car was slow and there was a black flag for a hanging bumper so all in all not great. The second race AK Performance worked some magic, got the car in better shape and James raced up from 9th to 4th. Gotta keep putting in the work if he is going to be to those trucks one day!

This was the car two days before the race. This was the driver two hours before the race. Despite this, and spending the majority of the race battling a loose car and two pro division drivers, James managed a 4th place finish for his first trip to Hickory Motor Speedway for the Showdown Series. A huge thank you to AK Performance for getting the car back together and faster than ever!

A tale of two tracks. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania Virginia- fast, fun, with two top 2 finishes and a two top 4 finishes in the last 4 races. Loving this track.
Charlotte Motor Speedway for Summer Shootout- found speed the first practice and then lost it. Could never quite find it again. Survived five races but frustrating to say the least.
Learned a lot at both and now on to Hickory Motor Speedway to try out a new track. Gotta keep digging. Huge thank you to my sponsors who help make chasing the dream possible: Ashland Garage, AAA Discount Floors & Services, Wright's Chapel United Methodist Church, and Gayle's Auto Collision Repair LLC and to AK Performance who keeps helping me learn and improve.

Back at in the Ashland Garage Legends car for doubles tonight Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania Virginia!

𝑹𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒚🟡🔵🔴
Grandstands 5pm
Pre Race Kids Crafts and Dancing All Night!
Green Flag 7pm
𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓-𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓 𝓣𝓲𝓮-𝓓𝔂𝓮 station, friendship bracelets, games, coloring and plenty of chances to get moving for some Groove Music Hall tickets! Adults $20 Kids 15y and under free grandstand admission with paid adult thanks to Camping World McGeorge's RV—A Camping World Company

Tickets available online or at the gate: https://www.dominionraceway.com/event-details/boogie-at-the-raceway-dance-party-race-night

If you cant make it in person: https://dominionraceway.tv/videos/50578

WhosYourDriver.org is the official Safe Driving partner of Dominion Raceway, and they want to remind you... Any track, any race, any time... always ask: Who’s your driver? Plan ahead for a safe ride home!

Happy birthday to our favorite race car driver! We can’t wait to see what this year holds as you keep learning and pushing to get faster!

Thanks for the great photo Legends Nation!