EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
4 full throttle questions for Rackley WAR owner Willie Allen
Jun 10, 2021, 2:48 pm
Start your engines!Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images.
Today, I had the privilege of talking to Willie Allen, co-owner of the newly formed Rackley WAR racing team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He talks about how the new deal came together with co-owner Chris Sutton, and the challenges of running a new team with the COVID protocols. He also discusses the future of the team and who their driver could be in the next few weeks.
SportsMap: I am joined today by 2007 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year and newest Camping World Truck Series owner Mr. Willie Allen! Thank you so much for joining me.
Willie Allen: You bet! Thanks for having me.
SM: So first and foremost, a new team here with Rackley WAR, tell us a little bit about how this deal came together.
Allen: So I am partnered up with Curtis Sutton of Rackley Roofing, and we had a driver development late model team called WAR Development (That's where the name Rackley WAR came from plus we have a suspension company called WAR Shocks) and he sponsored one of our drivers named Brittney Zamora, and we just got to talking and hit it off, and he asked me about the possibility of running a truck team. And it had always been a goal of mine, so one thing led to another and here we are.
SM: So starting out, I know a lot of teams have alliances, can you talk about where you guys get some of your motors and the infrastructure of this new team and where your shop is?
Allen: So we are still in our same shop with our late model team here and our shock company WAR Shocks. So it gets a little crowded, but it actually works out well with the trucks. But what helped us get ahead of the learning curve was our alliance with GMS Racing, and they have been tons of help. They paint our bodies, do a lot of the fabrication and help with some of the engineering, so it's been really good to have their help. They have been awesome.
SM: I wanted to talk about your plan to enter William Byron in one of your trucks at Nashville. Are there plans to expand to two trucks in the future?
Allen: We definitely are looking into expanding to a second team. Our five-year goal is to have three teams, but hopefully soon we'll have a full time second team.
SM: That's really exciting to get a peek behind the curtain. For the next three races, you guys will have Josh Berry in the #25 truck. Could you possibly see a scenario where he could run the rest of the season?
Allen: Well first and foremost, I have known Josh and he's a great friend of mine. He should definitely be running full-time in the cup series, but definitely. We plan to take these two races and kind of go from there. But it would be great for us to work together and continue to build this program, but you know how this industry is. Everything changes in an instant so who knows what can happen next weekend, but anytime you can get Josh Berry behind the wheel you know he can get it done.
You can listen to the rest of the interview below:
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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