Pallai On Track for Top Performances in Two Sports
High-Scoring NYU Player is Professional Racer in the Summers
On the surface, hockey and racing are not two sports that go hand in hand. However, below the surface, they are a lot more similar than one would think.
Richie Pallai Jr. knows all of the ins and outs of both sports. Since he was 16 he has been turning laps in NASCAR’s modified series while also excelling on the ice.
Pallai parlayed his hockey talent into a roster spot with Central Connecticut College (NCAA DIII) prior to making a move to New York University (M2) this season.
In his short time with NYU he has racked up 50 points (30 goals, 20 assists) while wearing a letter in his first year with the team.
“Only knowing three of the guys coming in, I realized that I really must have shown [the team] something,” Pallai said.
Earning an ‘A’ for his sweater was the determining factor for Pallai to stick with NYU. Entering the year he was on the fence due to his involvement in racing. His schedule from the summer was going to cause him to miss a set of practices and a pair of games early in the year.
“I figured I wasn’t going to play because no one is going to want a kid who comes and goes as he pleases,” he said.
It is likely that kind of attitude that helped him earn a leadership role on his new team. Pallai notes that leadership is a key trait for a driver as one of the numerous traits that racing and hockey share — the other two are tenacity and focus.
“When you’re going 180 miles per hour with 30 other guys, your mind can’t come off the task at hand and that carries over.” Pallai said. “When you’re tired at the end of a game you can’t lose focus and miss an opportunity.
“The same goes for an end of a race. So many times the guy in front of you ends up with a flat tire that gives you a win, even if you don’t deserve it. It is the same in hockey, when you continue to force the issue and make the other team make a mistake, or get that lucky bounce.”
Success is one trait that Pallai failed to equate to his situation. In addition to his 50 points in 22 games this season, he also has the distinction of winning the first race in which he drove. That race was also the one that sparked his passion for the sport.
As a 16-year-old, Pallai was extended an invitation to run in a car owned by Jack Arute. He followed that by finishing one point shy of a points title in his first year on a professional circuit. In fact, he lost that points title by one spot in the final race of the year – a spot he was in the process of taking as he and the eventual champion crossed the finish line.
Pallai plans on running around 30 races this upcoming summer on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. He equates the level to the ECHL, just two steps below the Sprint Cup Series that you see on TV almost every weekend. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the talent is two steps slower either.
“In my opinion, the modified tour is the most competitive series there is,” Pallai said. “It is becoming more corporate and it isn’t all about talent anymore. I would love to make it one day, but I am very happy with who I am now. I want to conquer where I am now before I move on.”
Regardless of how high he ascends within NASCAR, Pallai can always stake claim to his membership of a fraternity of drivers who share the skill and passion for hockey. That includes Sprint Cup phenom Joey Logano. Another driver, who Pallai specifically looks up to, is Michael Annet. Annet played for Waterloo of the USHL and runs a regular schedule within NASCAR.
“Mike is a guy who grew up on a pond. We have a similar past like that,” Pallai said. “He is definitely a guy I follow in racing.”
Pallai has forged his own following by utilizing what he has learned as a sports management major. Based upon his father’s marketing background a future that involves racing, marketing or possibly running a team is well within sight.
For now, however, Pallai’s plate will be filled with finishing on the ice and the track for the immediate future.
Sources: achahockey.org