PENSACOLA, FL – There’s a new driver behind the wheel of Rette Jones Racing’s flagship car this weekend at the Snowball Derby. News broke mid-November that RJR and former driver Kyle Steckly had parted ways, effective immediately. The news came just days after Casey Roderick had joined the team for the ASA STARS National Tour finale at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the All-American 400.
Roderick has had a quiet 13-months of racing following his ASA STARS championship in 2024. Roderick announced at the 2024 All-American 400 that he would be leaving Anthony Campi Racing following the championship effort, and would not attempt the Snowball Derby in December. Since then, we’ve seen Roderick behind the wheel of Ty King’s Pro Late Model numerous times, but his Super Late Model presence has been rather light. Enter Rette Jones Racing.
The partnership began at Nashville back in November, a race in which the brand new partnership seemed well on their way to a top-three finish before a malfunction with the decklid late in the race cost Roderick on-track. Still, the seed had been planted, and everyone noticed. Fast forward to the Derby, and RJR and Port City Race Cars have Roderick in the car that had originally been entered with Steckly’s name.
As it turns out, this partnership had been brewing for over a year, finally coming to fruition at a time when both driver and team needed one another.
“Well I got a call from Terry Jones,” Roderick told Short Track Scene. “We talked a little bit over the phone and I wasn’t doing a whole lot, I was just back home in Mississippi working. He asked if I wanted to run the All-American and I said heck yeah, lets do it! That’s kind of how it all came about, I talked to these guys last year as well around this time and we just didn’t get the deal put together. We’re going strong now and I think we’ve got a really good racecar.
“We’re talking about some things in the future but we’ll see how it all plays out. Right now the main focus is Sunday and trying to get a ‘W’ for these guys. It’s a good group of guys, they work hard and are eager to get better and it’s been a lot of fun so far.”
While Roderick was hesitant to say to much about the future, team co-owner Mark Rette was far more confident in saying that this partnership has some staying power, and could be something we see more of on into 2026.
“I mean, there’s some late breaking news that’s going to pop here shortly,” Rette told Short Track Scene. “We’re working on some things for next year for sure. Nothing ready to be announced yet but we’re pretty close to some things. You know it all started last year at this time when we were in a position. Terry Jones, my partner, when we were looking at buying Port City and getting involved in Port City, and we wanted a stud behind the wheel. Terry just happened to be in Nashville, the last ASA race when Casey won the championship and said tentative, he was not going to be at the Snowball Derby, lack of sponsorship and stuff.”
“We tried to put a deal together, it was a little last minute. So when I looked at who was available and he was out there that was one to shine in a racecar. He’s a Bubba Pollard, Stephen Nasse right? Like Derek Thorn, all those guys, and Casey’s by far one of those guys. He’s one of the elite late model racers, so I’ve been paying attention to him for a long time, … I always knew he was good until I got to work with him, and he’s exceptional.”
So, nothing official on the partnership between Rette Jones Racing and Roderick but both parties seem pretty far down the path of interest, so don’t be surprised if this announcement Rette speaks of is one that includes a slate of races for 2026. Despite all the next year noise surrounding that camp, there’s still work to do this weekend in Pensacola. With weather affecting on track time, the strong run right out of the gate at Nashville is something the pairing can lean on for a confidence boost.
“Yeah, we learned a lot at Nashville,” Roderick said. “I think it gave us good momentum coming into this weekend. We learned a good bit there towards the end of that race and we helped the car a lot at the end of the race. Excited about it, you know it was a bummer the decklid fell through there and took our chances away from possibly winning the race. I think we had a shot at it, we were on our way and just things happen in racing. This is why we all go out there and race, you’ve got to make all the laps, … Coming into this weekend, we applied some of the stuff we learned and have another good car down here.”
Of course, a win in the Snowball Derby certainly wouldn’t hurt the case of Roderick for a more permanent spot in the RJR No. 30, but it may not even matter at this point. After the momentum built at Nashville, don’t be surprised if the 2024 STARS champ has his new ride at the front of the field in the closing laps on Sunday.
