Will Rodgers triumphantly stood atop his black race car—the No. 7 Solvang Brewing Company Ford—with both arms and index fingers raised to the sky and confetti raining down over him.
The 22-year-old from Solvang basked in the sweet taste of victory on Sept. 16, having claimed his second-ever NASCAR win at New Jersey Motorsports Park. His first came just a month before in Watkins Glen, New York.
The feeling of accomplishment after winning a professional car race, Will said, is incomparable.
“In motorsports, there are so many elements that need to perform perfectly in order to succeed,” Will told the Sun during a recent phone interview. “For everything to come together and be successful—it’s very tough. But when it does, it’s a huge payoff.”
There are more than just individual races that the Maui-born, Temecula-raised, and Central Coast-transplant is celebrating these days. Will just wrapped up his rookie season in the K&N Pro Series West—a minor leagues of sorts for the top-level NASCAR circuit (think the Daytona 500)—with a top five overall finish.
For a guy who’s spent his whole life becoming a jack-of-all-trades in the motorsports world, jumping around from racing go-karts, to motocross, to off-road, to sports cars, and, finally, to stock cars on oval tracks, Will said a top-five finish as a rookie is pretty darn good.
“When I go up against these other drivers, there are guys who have hundreds of oval races under their belts,” Will said. “For me, [my last NASCAR race] was my 19th-ever oval race. So it was really good to be able to show people this year that I can actually race on an oval track and be competitive.”
What’s even better, Will did it in a car with his dad’s company branded on the side. Bill Rodgers, Will’s dad, started Solvang Brewing Company with Steve Renfrow in 2010. When Will decided to enter the NASCAR arena last year, it “only made sense” for them to team up, according to Will.
“My biggest supporters have always been my parents,” Will said. “Before the brewery came along, they were always the ones who were very immersed in my racing and, of course, the ones who helped make it possible financially. When my dad did get into the brewing business, it only made sense [for him to sponsor the car]. It’s become a really cool opportunity.”
Will and Bill worked together to design the car, and it’s not only helped Will get his career off the ground, but it’s also brought nationwide attention to Bill’s business. Up on the walls of the brewery are photos of Will and the No. 7 Solvang Brewing Company Ford, Bill said, which many customers now recognize from Will’s televised races.
While the father-son partnership was the perfect way for Will to get his racing career off the ground, moving up the NASCAR ladder is an incredibly expensive enterprise, requiring multiple business partners and sponsorships. It’s unclear how far Will can go with the Solvang Brewing Company car.
“Solvang Brewing Company is almost a placeholder, given that my career requires a lot of sponsorship commitment to continue,” Will said. “Not to say that I want it to change at all. I’d love to have it be part of my racing career for however long it stands.”
Ironically, it wasn’t Will’s dad who turned him on to motorsports in his first place, but his mom, when he was 9 years old living on Maui.
“Most moms don’t get you into big, heavy action sports, but my mom’s kind of that way,” Will said. “In the second grade, I had some classmates who raced go-karts. She found out about it, and a week later we went down to the track. A year later, we won our first [go-kart] championship. It’s kind of snowballed from there.”
Will said his love for cars and racing is practically innate, which helps explain his interest in mastering so many motorsports over the years.
“Ever since my parents could remember, I’ve always been into motors, whether it was a tractor, an airplane, a boat, or car—you name it,” Will said. “You could call me a racing junkie of sorts. Whatever it is I can get my hands on or get behind the wheel of, I like to race. And I like to win those races.”
Sports contributor Peter Johnson can be reached at pjohnson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 7, 2017.