Cassill excited for Sprint Cup chance

When Landon Cassill arrived for NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Michigan International Speedway last Friday, all he wanted to do was at least look like he knew what he was doing.

The 20-year-old race car driver from Cedar Rapids showed he could handle a ride on the sport's top level.

Cassill made his Sprint Cup debut, qualifying for Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Brooklyn, Mich., driving for Phoenix Racing and owner James Finch. Cassill finished 51 laps to place 38th overall.

“It wasn't the most glamorous way to make a debut in the Sprint Cup Series with a start,” Cassill said. “It's still a big deal just because it's something that I worked for and that I've had so much support from my family and friends for a long time. To get to that level, it is still a big deal.”

It turned out to be a monumental weekend for Cassill, who qualified 35th in the 43-car field. Participating in driver's meetings, introductions and in the starting lineup against the top drivers is an item he can check off his racing “must-do” list.

“I can finally say I competed at the highest level of auto racing and that's kind of cool,” Cassill said. “It's breathtaking when you're in that time.”

It is believed that Cassill became the first Cedar Rapids driver to reach the Sprint Cup Series. The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Rookie of the Year as a member of the Hendrick Motorsports was a regular at Hawkeye Downs as a teenager. He's come a long way since those points races on the 1/2-mile oval in Cedar Rapids.

“It's humbling,” Roger Cassill said of seeing his son in the Sprint Cup race. “Something I can't even say we ever dreamed about. It's a pretty neat deal.”

The showing was a product of a lot of effort and determination from Cassill, despite not having a full-time ride. He's had to earn his chances.

“He's had to come up through the ranks,” Roger Cassill said. “It takes a lot of hard work to do it the way that he's doing it.”

Cassill ran 51 laps in Sunday's contest. He wasn't expected to run a full race, because team he drove for didn't have the funding for more than one fuel run and limited resource of tires. Considering the situation, Sunday's race was icing on the cake. The real accomplishment was Friday's qualifying and capturing a spot in the final field.

“We're not racing against Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson,” Cassill said. “We're racing against the 12 other guys that aren't locked into the field.

“Our big show is Friday. That's our race.”

The Lenox industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27 might be Cassill's next shot to get behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup car. He has to wait and see whether his performance was enough to get another call from Finch and Phoenix Racing.

“Hopefully, I do get the opportunity,” Cassill said. “I know they were pleased with making the show. That's their goal.”

Cassill was thrown right into the fire. after only getting 90 minutes for practice on the track. He was the first driver without a secured spot in the race to take qualifying laps. He referred to it as the group as “go or go home” drivers.

He felt a little pressure at first going out ahead of the other drivers vying for a spot, but that slowly gave way to confidence when he learned of his best lap time. Cassill was clocked at 186.09 miles per hour. Enough drivers had run by the time he reached his trailer for him to know he had a position in the race.

“There wasn't a whole lot of nail-biting time,” Cassill said. “It was a lot of excitement and celebration.”

The end result allowed him to provide his dad with an early Father's Day present. Roger Cassill found himself reprising a vital role in Landon's career on NASCAR's most prestigious circuit.

“For me, it was a little bit of a different experience, because I've been his spotter for years. I was actually his spotter (Sunday) as well,” Roger Cassill said. “To go from being a spotter at Hawkeye Downs and watching my son go around and talking to him on the radio to doing it in the highest ranks of NASCAR kind of gave me chills when they threw the green flag.”

It goal was to look like he knew what he was doing and Cassill proved he can compete with the elite. He hopes continues to leads to bigger and better things.

“It will show a lot of these teams that I'm capable of the speed and capable of making races,” Cassill said. “If that's something I can keep showing to these guys I'll definitely get an opportunity to race.”