Cedar Rapids native Cassill runs strong in Brickyard debut

Landon Cassill is making the most of his opportunities on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and his latest performance should warrant more.

In his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Cassill made his third Sprint Cup Series start, qualifying 20th for TRG Motorsports and earning a 39th-place finish at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis. He has two starts in as many races the last three weeks with TRG Motorsports.

Cassill actually led the race on lap 17 and was as high as second shortly before pulling off the track on Lap 53. His post on the social media website Twitter said it all.

“Well it's tough to throw away a potential top 20 finish at the brickyard but at least we showed them that we can compete with the best,” the Cedar Rapids native wrote after competing in Sunday's race.

Cassill, who turned 21 on July 7, completed 52 of 160 laps in another “start-and-park” arrangement, which is a pre-determined situation where the team doesn't have enough resources to compete for an entire race. This time it wasn't quite the same.

“The difference was they said run as hard as you (can),” said Roger Cassill, Landon's father who serves as his son's spotter for races. “Let's race it like it's a real deal for you. We'll race until we run out of tires and motors.

“That's what he did.”

Roger Cassill said it was unfortunate because he had a car that ran well enough to contend, and that the experience was fun. The hope is that Sunday's showing will lead to better chances in the Cup Series. The phone is already ringing.

“He's got calls already,” Roger Cassill said. “It's going to be a good deal.”

Cassill, a former track champion at Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Cedar Rapids Jefferson graduate, qualified for the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on July 10. he started 32nd, finishing 73 laps and placing 39th. He impressed TRG Motorsports team owner Kevin Buckler.

“He jumped in the car and got right down to business with the team,” Buckler said on the team's website after the LifeLock.com 400 qualifying. ”He is working well with (Crew chief) Dan (Stillman) and he is showing good speed. Landon brings a fresh tone to the team which is exactly the direction we are headed. He made great progress each practice and did a good job to qualify 32nd with the early draw.”

Cassill made his first Sprint Cup start in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 on June 13 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich. He raced for Phoenix Racing, notching a 38th-place finish after starting 35th.

He is one of the few competing against the elite drivers in NASCAR, which makes dad very proud, especially of the Brickyard 400 result.

“It's just quite an honor to be at that level of racing,” Roger Cassill said. “There's a lot of people that just never get that chance and he's been given the opportunity. It's awesome.”