Published: September 05, 2008 01:30 pm            

Heiden wins chance to sit in Truck Series pits

ALTAMONT — Rich Heiden has never seen or been to a NASCAR Truck Series race in his life.

After Saturday, that will change . . . in a big way.

Not only will the Altamont resident be in attendance at Saturday's Camping World 200 at Gateway International Raceway, but he'll be in the pits as an honorary crew member for Colin Braun and the No. 6 Ford F150 sponsored by Con-way Freight, Inc.

"It's the chance of a lifetime," said Heiden, a driver for Con-way out of Teutopolis since March of 1991. "It'll be something a whole lot different from just sitting there watching the race."

Heiden will be one of six Con-way employees from a four-state region serving as an honorary pit crew member at the race in Madison, just outside of St. Louis.

The half-dozen lucky individuals had their names drawn for the duty as part of the national company's Winning at Con-way Championship Challenge; the contest is described as "a rewards program to promote employee efforts in support of improving revenue and increasing profitability for Con-way Freight" on the company's Web site.

Essentially, anytime a Con-way employee picks up some new business for the company, he or she is rewarded by having his or her name thrown in the hat for the contest drawing.

The more extra loads Heiden or any other driver picked up, the better their chances were to be a winner for his particular region. That region consists of southern Illinois and parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri.

Six winners come out of each region and get to be a part of whichever Truck Series race is held in the closest vicinity.

"I didn't win necessarily because I had more points than anybody else," explains Heiden, who mostly drives locally in the Effingham and Mattoon areas. "I was just lucky enough to have my name drawn out. It's like a raffle.

"It's one of those things you know about, but you never really expect to be the one who gets to go."

Heiden learned he was a winner last month; the contest has been running since January.

"I radioed in to my dispatcher one morning, and he said he had something to tell me," remembers Heiden. "I wondered what was up and asked him if I should be sitting down. He said, 'well are you?'

"Then he told me he'd just gotten an e-mail saying I was one of the winners. After he told me, all I could say was 'holy cow.'"

As a winner, Heiden and one guest will report to Gateway at 9 a.m. Saturday, where they will get to meet Braun, a 19-year-old phenom leading the rookie standings in his first year driving for the Roush Fenway and Ford Racing teams.

After a tour of the pit area, Heiden and the other winners will get a close-up look at race day activities and the 1:30 p.m. race itself, while their guests watch from the grandstand.

For his guest, Heiden chose his 18-year-old son, Justin. Justin is the youngest of four Heiden kids; he and sisters Jodi, Jill and Jenna all graduated from Altamont High School.

"I even get a uniform shirt," said Heiden. "We get to sit back and watch what goes on from the pit area, so it'll be neat."

Heiden says he is a fan of local and national stock car racing and has even been to a few NASCAR Busch Series (now known as Nationwide Series) races in his time, but admits he's never delved his fandom into the Truck Series.

"To be really honest, I don't know much about it," said Heiden. "This is all pretty new to me. We don't have cable or satellite television, so I've never had a chance to see a truck race."

For Heiden, a low-key guy who doesn't seem to mind avoiding the spotlight, the whole experience will be something brand new.

"I'm pretty nervous," admitted Heiden. "I'm not used to getting a lot of attention, but lately I've been getting a lot of it from the guys at my terminal at work.

"My kids have always gotten a lot of attention through sports, and I've always been used to just sitting back and watching. This is totally different, and something I won't ever forget."

Dustin White can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or dustin.white@effinghamdailynews.com.