Driver: Justin Comes
Hometown: Middlebury, VT
Date of Birth: 5/16/92
Family: Single
Favorite Food: Buffalo Wings
Hobbies: Snowmobiling, Downhill Skiing, Biking, Hiking
Started Racing: 2008
Accomplishments: Devil’s Bowl Speedway Mini Stock 6-Cylinder Champion (2008), Bear Ridge Speedway Sportsman Modified Rookie of the Year (2010)
Division: Sportsman Modified
Car No.: 51
Car: Bicknell
Car Owner: Justin Comes
Crew Chief: Tom Comes
Team Members: Austin Comes
Sponsors: Goodro Lumber (Middlebury, VT), McKernon Builders (Brandon, VT), Nolan’s Auto Repair (Rutland, VT), Dr. Tom’s Antiques (Middlebury, VT), Green Mountain Door (Brandon, VT)
Justin Comes in victory lane at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on September 4, 2016. (Andrew Cassidy/Devil’s Bowl Speedway photo)
“My dad used to take me to the races when I was younger. He used to work with Jimmy Ryan just out of high school, so he kind of had an in there. He was always a fan and I always wanted to be a driver when I was a kid, so I pursued it. I got a job and saved money and I bought my first car when I was 16. I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Did you have a favorite driver before you started racing?
“I always liked Kenny Tremont growing up, but I always liked all of the local guys, too. I’ve talked to Kenny a little bit here and there now that we’re racing, but I guess I keep to myself mostly.”
What is your favorite moment of your racing career?
“My second year in the Sportsman cars, it was the end of the year and we got some guys to go over to Glen Ridge for the big 602 Nationals race. It was my first time there – I’d never really been to any other tracks to race. We brought our old Troyer with the four-link rear end and we qualified for the show. We were running in the top 10 near the end of the race but I got caught up in a wreck and I think we finished 12th. That was a big achievement for me early on, to go somewhere I’d never been and stay with the best guys in the division during a 100-lap race.”
What is your most embarrassing moment?
“Probably losing a wheel at Bear Ridge during warmups. It was like my second or third year racing. We were rushing to get car ready on the trailer at my house, and in all that mayhem and rush we never checked the lugs. Well, before they even dropped the green for warmups my right-rear passed me. Trust me, it hasn’t happened since!”
Justin Comes’ car sits on Merchants Row at the “Devil’s Bowl Downtown” car show on May 21, 2017. (Justin St. Louis/Devil’s Bowl Speedway photo)
“I try not to have to many rivals. Gary Siemons and I ran each other pretty hard for a while at Bear Ridge, and this past year at Devil’s Bowl it seemed like me and Tim LaDuc got together a few times. I try to run everybody how they run me – I really don’t want to have any rivals at the end of the day.”
If you couldn’t drive your car, who would you want to be your substitute?
“Adam Pierson is a hell of a driver, and I would definitely put him in my car. There’s a few guys from New York, too, like Tim Hartman Jr.”
Are you looking forward to the new ½-mile dirt track at Devil’s Bowl?
“Yup, I like the big tracks. I ran on the old Devil’s Bowl track in a Mini Stock and my first year in a Sportsman car, and I’ve run at Malta, too. I think the racing will be better. Hopefully the high side is the place to be like I think it will be. These cars are momentum based with less horsepower, so I’ve always been fan of racing on the quarter-miles with them, but I like how the new track looks and I think it’ll be fun.”
What are your racing goals for 2018?
“I’d really like to finish in the top three in points. We came close the last two years and it came right down to it, but we just missed it. I’d definitely like more than one win, too. I really can’t complain about the last two years, though. I wasn’t quite as fast as I’d like to be, but I had way less damage than I usually do.”