5 questions with Landon Cassill

Landon Cassill won’t turn 29 years old until July, yet the Cedar Rapids native is a seasoned veteran of NASCAR’s top series.

Cassill begins his 10th year in the Monster Energy Cup Series with Sunday’s Daytona 500. Though his team won’t be a championship contender and will be scraping for any cash it can get, Cassill is signed on for a full-time Cup ride in 2019, driving the No. 00 Chevrolet for StarCom Motorsports.

“They’re willing to self-fund this program regardless, because they sort of have a long-term vision for where they want to end up in this sport,” Cassill said Wednesday. “I feel like that’s a good fit for my role as a driver. It’s a job I’ve done a couple times in my career, and they’re really good people.”

Cassill and wife Katie have two small children, son Beckham and daughter Daphne. They live in Davidson, North Carolina.

In advance of the 500, Cassill answered five questions about his life and his career.

1. I saw you on Periscope during the Daytona Beach Half Marathon. Tell me about your exploits as a triathlete, and how does it help you as a driver?

“I’ve probably done six or seven half-Ironmans, and my dad (Roger) and I are going to France in August to do a half-Ironman. … I got into it because a lot of us drivers have kind of discovered that endurance training is beneficial for our driving. I feel like I benefit endurance-wise in the car from bicycling, running and swimming.”

2. Among the Cup drivers, who are some of your better friends? And do some guys race you cleaner than others?

“You kind of find the group that you run with. I get along with Corey LaJoie pretty well. I get along with Jimmie (Johnson), because we’ve trained a lot together in the past.

“There’s some guys that you really trust, some guys that you don’t — guys you’ve got to watch when they’re near you. It’s like they don’t know how big their car is (laughs). Maybe that’s a good way to put it.”

3. You’re one of the more active drivers on Twitter. What are your overall thoughts about social media?

“I enjoy social media, mostly because I enjoyed it when I was a kid, like (in) forums and stuff. Really just being a child of the Internet. I use social media for those reasons, not really professional reasons.

“I enjoy it, but it’s definitely a distraction. It’s a distraction for everybody. If we could all be off social media, we’d probably enjoy our lives a lot better.”

4. How often do you come back to Iowa, and what are some of your favorite things to do here?

“I probably make it back a couple times a year. I’ll be back for my best friend (a’s wedding in April. We’ll probably run around and do our favorite places — hit up Roscoe’s Pizza (in Cedar Rapids) or Leonardo’s and just run around town.”

5. This will be your sixth Daytona 500. Your finishes have been 22nd, 12th, 43rd, 23rd and 16th. What is the best story you can tell from your previous 500s?

“Really, there’s no feeling like racing your way into the 500. And that’s what I had to do in ’14 and ’15, and those are the most amazing experiences I’ve had. In 2015, I remember Matt Kenseth was behind me in the outside groove trying to pass me. And I knew that if he passed me, that it was going to open a door for a line of cars. … I can vividly picture his yellow car in my mirror as I’m blocking him with every move that he made, like I was trying to win the Daytona 500. Those are career-defining moments, not just Daytona-defining moments, for me.”

Other Iowans in Daytona

In addition to Cassill, a look at other drivers competing this weekend at Daytona International Speedway:

Brett Moffitt: The reigning Trucks Series champion from Grimes has a new ride in 2019. He’ll pilot the No. 24 Chevrolet formerly driven by Johnny Sauter, for GMS Racing. Moffitt, 26, won six races last year in an impressive run to the title. He’ll open the season in Friday’s NextEra Energy 250 (6:30 p.m. CT, Fox Sports 1).

Michael Annett: The Des Moines native returns full time with Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned JR Motorsports in the Xfinty Series. Annett, 32, will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet in Saturday’s NASCAR Racing Experience 300 (1:30 p.m. CT, Fox Sports 1). He posted three top-10s in 33 starts in 2018.

Joey Gase: The Cedar Rapids native will drive full-time in the Xfinity Series in the No. 35 Toyota for MBM Motorsports. Gase, 26, also was attempting to make the Daytona 500 in Thursday night’s qualifying races in the No. 66.