Former NASCAR pilot offers a glimpse into the life of flying around well-known racers

Former NASCAR pilot Brad Womble recently sat down with Plane & Pilot for an interview. During the interaction, Womble opened up about how he began his aviation career and his time piloting for well-recognized stock car racing drivers and team owners back in the day.

Womble developed his interest in aviation as a child. His grandmother worked for an elderly lady, and her son, Jerry, was a model plane flyer. Jerry gave Womble a chance to fly the model airplanes, and he was hooked. However, being the son of a chicken and tobacco farmer, things were be easy for him. He worked for $7.25 per hour at his family farm and saved enough to get into Sanford Aircraft Services in North Carolina.

Following his hard work, the pilot logged 650 hours in two years before getting his first corporate job. He flew the King Air 90s and 200s for NASCAR drivers and team owners, including Robert Yates, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, and Jack Roush. Reflecting on his experience with stock car racing drivers, Brad Womble stated:

“We were essentially a circus that races at 200 mph every Thursday through Sunday in a different town every weekend. If you’re looking to build a lot of logged time, this probably isn’t the job for you, as it averages 225 to 300 hours a year. You get more hotel time than you do flight time, and you’re gone every weekend during the season, which averages 36 weekends a year.”

After spending 19 years as a NASCAR charter pilot, Womble decided to spend time with his kids, Elle, Gunner, and Dakota. In addition, stability was the partial reason for the pilot to step away from charter piloting for stock car racing drivers. RCR driver Kyle Busch was among the people sad to see Womble step away and called him the "best pilot" he ever had.

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NASCAR announced a major decision ahead of the Martinsville Speedway race this weekend after the 2024 race manipulation incident

Ahead of the last playoff elimination race of the 2025 season, NASCAR has bulked up on staff for the remote race control. Since last year's Martinsville Speedway controversy, the governing body has been keeping a strict eye on any potential race manipulation incidents.

During the fall race at the 0.526-mile short track, Chevy created a blockade to help Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron secure his spot in the finale race. However, the stock car association was not late in identifying race manipulation and imposed a combined total $600,000 in fines.

NASCAR penalized Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon, and Bubba Wallace with a 50-point driver points deduction, along with a $100,000 fine to each driver. The governing body also deducted 50 owner points from the team owners, along with issuing the same fine for each team.

To avoid such an incident this year, the sanctioning body has put the former Cup Series director, Scott Miller, in charge of the remote race control division. The division will follow the race closely and provide support to the on-track officials. Reflecting on the same, Mike Forde stated:

“It’ll be more built out than it has been at any point. We’re going to have more officials helping Scott. Typically, we have three or four. This weekend, we’ll have several more. We’re not going to have 40 officials in there, but we are going to have a lot more and with the ability to scan (team radio channels).”

The last race of the Round of Eight, the Xfinity 500, is scheduled for Sunday, October 26, 2025, at Martinsville Speedway. 37 drivers will compete in the 500-lap race to emerge victorious. Additionally, Ryan Blaney won the 2024 race and advanced to the Championship Four race at Phoenix.