CONCORD, N.C. -- Although he hails from Omaha, Nebraska, Jacob Conley -- fueler for the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS team -- considers Kansas Speedway his home track.
Conley grew up about three hours north of the 1.5-mile speedway and said he was always a NASCAR fan.
"I always watched it when I was little," Conley said. "We would always go over to my uncle's house and watch it every Sunday."
While he now works on the No. 88 team, Conley acknowledged that growing up, he was a Jeff Gordon fan.
"He [Gordon] was my uncle's favorite driver and he always bought me all the merchandise and stuff so he pushed me toward him," Conley said.
The fueler never attended a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race until he started working for Hendrick Motorsports almost four years ago.
Conley played football at Doane University and was contacted by his coach to see if he would be interested in putting his name in for a pit crew job.
"I was the only one that responded and then I got contacted by Coach [Chris] Burkey and came down here for a three-day mini camp and the rest is history I guess," Conley said.
He was a member of the developmental pit crew for two years before taking a backup position with the Nos. 5 and 24 teams last year. This year was Conley's first year as a starting member of the No. 88 team and he said it's special to be returning home to compete.
"It's a job that I really enjoy and being able to share it with my family -- they usually come down and we'll hang out the day before -- is pretty cool."