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This is a tale of two stories in Talladega.

At Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR’s top two series and the millions of dollars that surround them duke it out through the last weekend in April. In those series, especially in the Nationwide Series, there is a big disparity between the performance of the well-funded teams and the small, grass-roots teams that travel track to track through the season.

The story is very similar across the road at the Talladega Short Track.

Charlie and Mark Sims, a father-son combo from Lithia Springs, Georgia, began racing just a couple of years ago, when Mark pretty much begged his dad to let him go racing. Charlie runs his own business, is mechanically minded, and is exactly half the pit crew of the team. The other half is the driver.

“Unlike some drivers, I work on my own car. I have grease on my hands when I drive,” Mark says as he works under his car. His dad more clearly explains the difficulty of racing Crate cars against heavily funded teams.

“These bigger teams pay a pit crew to work on their cars and pay their food and hotel,” the elder Sims says with a chuckle of resign. “These big rigs out here can carry three cars and enough parts to build two more.”

Some of the bigger teams he is referring to are teams that are sponsored by a large family business, with either the father or a child in the family driving the car. Others, though, are farm teams from NASCAR’s upper echelon.

Richard Childress Racing fields two teams in the Crate division that the Sims run in. The #2 No Fear Chevy is driven by his nephew Ty Dillon and the #29 Shell Chevy is driven by Ryan Gifford. Tony Stewart also fields a team. These cars are fully funded, have pit crews and a plethora of parts, and are surrounded by experts on the sport.

“These kids have guys down there that can look at the track and know the exact adjustment to make to the car. They can also tell these boys exactly where to drive the car on the track and how to do it,” Sims explains.

The idea behind Crate motors is that everyone has the exact same horsepower. Since there is less to manipulate on the motors, adjustments on other parts of the car are even more crucial. The money and the know-how that the bigger teams possess allow them to make the most of those adjustments.

The main thing Mark hopes to gain from this night is experience. Usually, there are around 20 cars that show up for Crate races at Talladega. On this night, there are around 50.

In his hot laps, Mark cannot quite find the right line and does poorly. He takes the car back to the pits, makes adjustments, then gets mechanical and driving advice from both his dad. His buddy, a more experienced racer not participating in the night’s events, also gives advice and helps build and adjust the car during the week.

During his heat race, Mark gets into trouble early in the race, when the Tony Stewart-owned #20 Chevy spins in front of him, causing him to spin and knock off part of his right front fender. That damage took enough downforce off of the car to keep him from qualifying for the feature during that race.

Despite this, Mark has one more chance to make the feature race, via the consolation race. In this race, Sims shines. He drives the fast line around the track and avoids a couple of spinouts and gains several positions. He finishes the race in third, meaning he will make the feature.

Psyched about his finish, Mark decides to not change a thing on his car and has the feeling of invincibility in his blood. He rides with his friends in a four-wheeler around the track to help dry out and pack down the dirt after rain hits the area. He will start second to last in the feature.

The difference in equipment and experience shows in the feature Crate race. Sims races the same high line that he learned was the best way around the track, but some of the soft, dirt cushion banking had gone away, causing his car to lose grip. Combine this factor with his lack of experience, disadvantage in horsepower, and bad starting spot and you get a second to last place finish, one lap down.

When Mark starts getting lapped, Charlie starts gesturing at him, hoping that he would get behind some of the leaders, like dirt track legend Red Farmer, and learn the line they are driving. The driver is not discouraged at the finish.

“I’m just happy to get some laps. I’m not gonna get used to this. We’ll find a home at the front and stay there.”

The unsponsored #22 Mark Sims Racing team will spend most of the rest of the season racing closer to home, at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia. Charlie and Mark both say it is a good race track that pays well.

After the feature race, Mark and Charlie waste little time loading up. Charlie has a Sunday school class to teach in the morning. Talladega Short Track pay for a 21st place finish in Crate racing is $25. The Sims boys do not do this to make a living.

Mark Sims may not yet be on the fast track to NASCAR stardom. Right now, though, that is not his goal. He loves racing and the grass roots effort behind his race team is proof of that. He drives their pickup truck in a big u-turn to exit his spot in the pits, outside the track, hoping to gain a few spots in the slow-moving line exiting the track grounds. He and his dad will soon be back on I-20 eastbound back to Lithia Springs, where they will prepare for his soon-coming duel at Dixie.

For more information on this race team, visit marksimsracing.com.