Notes & Quotes: Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway

Army Sgt. Nick Rempp, is attending the race this weekend as our honored Veteran. Inspired to serve his country after 9/11, he enlisted in the Army in 2004. On September 18, 2006, Sergeant Rempp was serving as a military police officer with the 1st Platoon, 554th Military Police Company, attached to the 630th Military Police Company in Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle was struck by an explosively formed penetrator (EFP). He sustained severe injuries, including the loss of his right leg above the knee. He was evacuated to Landstuhl, Germany, before returning stateside to Walter Reed Medical Center for additional surgeries. Nick was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center for rehabilitation and returned to active duty as a dog handler before his retirement in 2013. He lives with his wife Ryli and three children, Colton, Caden, and Carson, in Mesa, Ariz. We asked him a few questions...

Where and when did you serve in the military?

NR: “Iraq 2006, Iraq 2010”

How did you become injured?

NR: “An EFP hit the truck I was in.” 

What were the extent of your injuries?

NR: “Right leg above knee amputation.”

What are your interests?

NR: "CNC Machining, building rifles, shooting, and traveling."

Nick is an excellent machinist, working with CNC machines to manufacture parts pictured above.

 What was the most difficult part of your journey?

NR: "Over the last couple years accepting limitations." 

Do you have any advice for other Veterans who may be struggling to adapt after suffering serious injury while serving? 

NR: "Never give up, set short term goals and crush them one after the other. "  

Who are the heroes in your life?

NR: "My Parents, my wife Ryli, Visente Criado, and every person I served with."

Nick (L) with his buddies (L to R): Visente Criado, Marco Dominguez and John Moyle.

Please describe the impact on your life and that of your family of getting a specially adapted home from Homes For Our Troops.

NR: "Being in a specially adapted home removes all of the day-to-day barriers and allows me to focus on the family."

Have you been to a race before?

NR: ""Martinsville (Va.) in 2015 and Phoenix Raceway for the NASCAR Cup Series championship  in November, 2023."

What are you most looking forward to seeing/doing at the race this weekend?

NR: "Seeing the team work and fast cars."

What are the top three things on your Bucket List?

NR: "Travel with my Family, hunt elk and build a Square Body Chevy."

For further insight into Nick's story, please check out this short video: Army Sgt. Nick Rempp

CAIO COLLET will be making his first oval start in an Indy car at Phoenix Raceway this weekend in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet. Collet practiced at the one oval in February's Unser Open Test session. He made his NTT INDYCAR Series debut last weekend in St. Petersburg where he started 24th and finished 17th, completing all 100 laps.

How did the Phoenix test go and what did you learn from it?

CC: "The test at Phoenix Raceway was very productive. It was all about getting comfortable with the rhythm of a short oval and understanding how the car reacts. We focused getting comfortable with the changes and what I need to be confident and quick, also understanding the weight jacker adjustments, and how small balance changes affect tire degradation over a run. It was a valuable step in building confidence on ovals."

What will be your biggest challenge?

CC: "Managing traffic and dirty air will definitely be the biggest challenge. On a short oval, things happen quickly, and positioning the car properly—especially in close battles—is crucial. Staying patient while being aggressive at the right moments will be key."

What are your goals for the Phoenix oval?

CC: "The main goal is to complete every lap, learn as much as possible, and be competitive throughout the race. If we can fight inside the top 15 and be in the mix strategically toward the end it will be a good learning for the rest of the season."

Now that you have a race under your belt, are you more relaxed or confident going into Phoenix?

CC: "Definitely more confident. Having the first race done helps a lot—you understand the race procedures better, the pit stop flow, and how the weekends operate in the NTT INDYCAR Series. That experience allows me to focus even more on performance and execution going into Phoenix."

SANTINO FERRUCCI will be making his second start at Phoenix Raceway this weekend, but his first start in an Indy car. In 2021, he drove Sam Hunt's Xfinity car, starting 14th and finishing 15th in NASCAR's 40-car field. At St. Petersburg last weekend, Ferrucci was eliminated on the first lap when he was put in the barrier by Sting Ray Robb, who overdrove entering Turn 4. Ferrucci was then hit by rookie Mick Schumacher who had nowhere to go. Neither Ferrucci nor Schumacher completed the lap. Ferrucci did participate in the Unser Open Test at Phoenix in February.

How did testing go?

SF: "It was up and down. I mean, we unrolled pretty good. We made some small changes. We didn't really run much. We had a couple of issues with the brake pedal. Then we had rain interrupt the session on the second day. We were continuing to build on the oval car, just making it better to drive, more compliant. Just little things, we didn't really learn anything massive, I don't think we needed to."

Having run the Xfinity car here in 2021, can you please compare it to driving the Indy car?

SF: "In the Indy car, you run rather flat, with just little lifts throughout the track, so it's massively

Ferrucci at the wheel of Sam Hunt Racing's Xfinity car at Phoenix in 2021.

reliant on momentum, versus in the Xfinity car, it's actually a lot of finesse. I mean, a lot of footwork, because turn three-four is an actual corner, and then the way that you have to drive the car through one and two is quite technical. So, you know, I just felt like the Xfinity car is a lot more work to get around Phoenix, but the Indy car is way, way faster.

"In the Xfinity car, it was a lot of fun, because you can get up on the wall, you can run the top, you can kind of run wherever. It also didn't really matter if you hit the wall or got loose or got tight, because the body work is fiberglass, versus the IndyCar wherein you go in that fast, the car can't really break loose. You can't have it understeer, just it's a lot more delicate to set up, and requires your feeling to be a little bit more precise."

In terms of steering, do you put less steering in the Indy car versus the stock car?

SF: "Yes, way less. The ratios are so different. But the stock car also has power steering, so physically, it's easier to drive."

 And shifting?

SF: "You don't shift in the stock car, just keep it in fourth. We shift a few times in the Indy car. We go from sixth to fourth (in three-four) and then from sixth to fifth in one and two.So it's one shift down in turn 1 and two down in turns three and four."

Will the different series running there affect the track?

SF: "I wouldn't think so. The rubber isn't an issue, so I don't think it makes a difference. It used to but not anymore."

What is the most challenging aspect of running Phoenix?

SF: "Probably qualifying is the most challenging part of the weekend. Because I think it might be a little difficult to pass there. And the qualifying slot we have now, we're going to end up qualifying at the very front instead of later in the session. We will be one of the first cars on track. So it's a bit of an uphill battle because of where we finished at St. Pete because we got wrecked. We have no championship points. Not good. I'm gonna have my old freaking work cut out for me."

What do you think about Phoenix itself?

SF: "I think it's a fun town. I mean, I really like when we went there to play golf, just in general, I think it's a great little city."

The Good Ranchers 250 will be broadcast live on FOX on Saturday, March 7th starting at 3 p.m. ET. On Friday, FS2 will broadcast Practice 1 at 10 a.m. ET, Qualifying at 2 p.m. ET and Final Practice (including High Line) at 4:30 p.m. ET.