Without a stoplight in his small hometown of Stroh, Indiana, Cassten Everidge stood little chance of avoiding a life of cars and high speeds.
Racing had long been ingrained in the Everidge family name. Cassten’s grandfather, Ron, and father, Rick, were legends in the sport, and both are enshrined in the Hall of Fame at the nearby speedway — Ron as an owner and Rick as a driver.
“I grew up around the pits,” said Cassten, 28, who works as an engineer in Longmont. “When you grow up around the pits of a race track, you develop the same crippling addiction and you’re hooked for life.”
This summer, Cassten is carrying the family legacy into stock car racing’s biggest stage: NASCAR. The third-generation Everidge racer will make his debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the TSport 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 24.
He’ll drive the No. 93 Chevrolet for Costner Motorsports. His father, 56, and grandfather, 77, will be alongside his new crew.
“When you’re in racing for as long as my (Everidge Racing) crew, especially my dad and my grandpa, NASCAR is always kind of the North Star,” Cassten said. “I’m really excited for them to be able to walk around in the pits and see their last name on the car, and see that it all finally worked out after 40 years of trying to get here.”
Driving ability was never the barrier.
Ron started a used-car dealership, Everidge Motor Sales, in 1984 and used short-track stock car racing to help promote his vehicles. He then formed Everidge Racing Enterprise in 1987 and had Rick racing for him as soon as he got his driver’s license.
Rick became a dominant force in Midwestern racing organizations such as the US Pro Series and the Champion Racing Association. Three decades later, Cassten followed in his footsteps. For years, father and son often finished one-two.
“Well, there was one exciting night where we were coming out of four for the checkers (the final turn) and he wrecked us,” Rick said with a chuckle. “He got in a little too hard and wrecked us. But, you know, he was trying to win. You can’t blame him for that.”
“The guy in third ended up winning,” Cassten said with a sigh.
Fixing the cars wasn’t cheap, but it paled in comparison to the money required to reach NASCAR.
Making the jump required several sponsorships.
“They all had to say yes, all at the same time,” Cassten said.
Much of Cassten’s backing, like his work at Energy Storage Systems in Longmont, comes from companies in emission-critical industries, including Helios (renewable energy), TrackTune (technology) and Hyperco USA (manufacturing). But he didn’t stop there. He also signed on the local shop that prints his team’s T-shirts: Longmontap Hand Print Ink.
“I was just told that I’m the first NASCAR driver thatap a Longmont resident in another interview I did,” said Cassten, who travels back East nearly half the weekends each year to race.
“Itap a much different demographic in Longmont than in Indiana, where everybody knows everybody’s cousin or uncle’s brother-in-law with some NASCAR connection,” he said with a grin. “But people are really interested and curious about it because they haven’t been exposed to it like most people in Indiana. And that makes me enjoy talking about it even more.”
Cassten will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the entry level of NASCAR’s three national touring series. Above it are the Xfinity Series and, at the top, the Cup Series.
The Longmont driver plans to run in a couple of Truck Series races this season, which continues through November. But preparations for 2027 are already underway.
“Working toward overcoming that financial barrier,” he said. “Wanting to go into 2027 in a much bigger way. So, this is kind of a sneak preview, I guess. We’re putting ourselves in a good position looking at 2027 to see how far we can take this.”
The TSport 200 will help set the stage for the NASCAR Cup Series’ Brickyard 400 on July 26.
The 200-lap race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will be televised on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 6 p.m. MT. Two days later, 10 miles up the road, the Brickyard 400 will air on TNT before an expected crowd of 70,000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
