Livescore
There are a lot of disadvantages to living a thousand miles from the “office” while working in a business with no remote option.
For Josh Bilicki, though, there’s also an advantage: help with childcare.
The 29-year-old driver from Richfield embarks this week on his 10th season in a cobbled-together NASCAR career but his first as a father. His wife, Kailyn, gave birth to son Cole in late January.
“My situation is unique, because I still live here in Wisconsin,” Bilicki said recently. “I live 2 miles from my parents, and my mom and my dad are gonna be such a big help.
“And my wife (also from the area) understands. You know, it’s not like I’m doing this as a hobby. This is my career. … So she’s a trouper, and I have really good family around me. If I was in Charlotte and we didn’t have as much help, that would be a ton of conversation to have with my wife saying, ‘Hey, I gotta go race,’ because she’d be on her own. I’m very lucky to have a good support system here.”
Bilicki already has competed this year in the prestigious Chili Bowl midget race. Now the NASCAR schedule is relentless, with 11 consecutive weekends in different states. The only race within a 300 mile drive from Richfield is the downtown Chicago street course.
As he has throughout his career, Bilicki will compete in multiple divisions as sponsorship permits with no fulltime schedule in any. He has started 217 races across NASCAR’s three national divisions (101 Cup Series, 107 Xfinity Series, 11 Camping World Truck Series) with a total of five top-10 finishes.
One of the highlights of Bilicki’s 2024 season was the opportunity to drive top-line Xfinity Series cars from Joe Gibbs Racing. While he will spend most of 2025 with DGM Racing, a mid-pack Xfinity team, Bilicki is hopeful he can find a chance to fully show what he can do.
But, like diapers, that costs a lot of money.
“I don’t feel old by any means, yeah, but when I see an 18-year-old that I’m racing against, I feel a little bit like a veteran, which I think is a good thing,” Bilicki said. “Like, I feel better now behind the wheel of a race car and off the track than I have in years past. And I credit that just to all the racing I’ve done, whether it’s in NASCAR, whether it’s in a dirt midget, a dirt sprint car, a sports car.
“I’ve got a lot of years left. Hopefully I can find another big sponsorship deal and go and win a NASCAR race. And I’m content making a living in the Xfinity Series or in the truck series. You know, I’m very lucky to have raced in Cup every year since 2017 and I’ll have more Cup races this year. But I want to be in something competitive.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Josh Bilicki prepares for 10th NASCAR season with new baby
Read the full article here
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