Despite regularly racing a truck around a track at over 100 miles per hour, Adam Deines is most eager to disappoint his fans.
“I think that’s the hardest part,” Deines said. “Stay consistent. Live up to our reputation.”
Deines is the driver for Deines Motorsports, a Longmont-based racing team that competes in the Matco Tools Championship on Saturday night at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono. The speedway is the only NASCAR-approved track in Colorado.
“People come from all over,” Deines said, referring to fans who have traveled to the track from Denver to Kansas. “It’s very widespread.”
Established in 2005, Deines Motorsports has amassed several wins and accolades from a long career in Pro Truck and Super Late Model racing. The Matco Tools Championship is the culminating race of its 2022 season, which began this spring.
Deines and his team lead by four points heading into Saturday’s race.
“This is a big problem,” Deines said. “We have reached this level about five or six times, but the competition is very tough.”
Since 2006, Deines has competed in Pro Truck racing in the team’s signature bright yellow No. 7 Dodge Pro Truck. The team chose the color so that audience members could more easily spot it.
“An announcer said it’s the only truck you can see from outer space,” Deines said.
Deines and his team built the truck themselves and spend 15 to 20 hours a week on maintenance. It has several sponsorships from Longmont companies, such as Zach’s Transmission and Roof Check Inc.
The team’s similar bright yellow Super Late Model car will not appear in Saturday’s race, Deines said. He hopes to bring it back to the track next year once all the necessary tune-ups have been completed.
Buck Deines, the father of Adam Deines, is the team’s owner and crew chief. He remembers racing in Nebraska when he was a teenager in the 1960s.
“I’ve taught them how to weld and repair,” Buck Deines said of the team. “They can do almost anything that I used to do.”
Both the Pro Truck and the Super Late Model are stored in the garage of Buck Deines’ home in Longmont. It only takes about 10 minutes to get to the road course, making for a convenient commute to races and practices.
Josh Gardiner and Phil Keppel, two of the team members, have known Adam Deines since they were kids.
“There’s a lot of family camaraderie,” Gardiner said. “These guys are like brothers to me.”
Keppel, the team observer, remembers when Deines Motorsports had just five fans. Now, he said, audience members practically pack the crew after every race.
“It’s great to see that you have an effect on people,” he said. “You don’t even know who they are, but they know who you are.”
Keppel said his 17-year involvement with Deines Motorsports has been “an incredible journey”.
“I’m excited to run the final race and see where we finish regardless of whether we get first or second place,” he said. “I’m doing it with my brothers, and that’s all I need.”