It’s a homecoming for NASCAR hauler driver Damon Lopez. Raised in Ontario and a graduate of Chaffey College, he got his start in motorsports back in 1999 by answering an ad in the paper.

Before he knew it, he was working in hospitality at the Auto Club Speedway, formerly known as the California Speedway. The way he describes it, motorsports are in his blood. 

“This area is what we call the lounge or the office,” said Lopez, showing off the upstairs area inside his hauler.

“Up here we have our two engineers, we have our crew chief and we have a technical director. This is where all the work goes on and also our driver will come up here for the meetings.”

Throughout his career, he’s been a tire specialist, pit crew member, and now he’s a hauler driver for the 95 Leavine Family Racing. As the lead hauler, he goes to all 36 races and covers over 62,000 miles throughout the NASCAR season. 

“When the sun is out, you get to see a lot of great things, you get to try a lot of different food in a lot of different regions of the country,” said Lopez.

Not your everyday trucking job, he hauls some impressive cargo including two NASCAR stock cars. It’s essentially a moving garage full of everything a professional race team needs for race weekend.

The hours are long and the road bumpy so these state-of-the-art haulers often serve as a second home. 

“Sometimes this becomes your living quarters,” said Lopez. “The longer trips that are like 10 hours or longer due to DOT laws, I have a partner so at that point, you have to sleep back here when you’re going down the road.”

It’s race weekend and there’s no time for sleep. The fans are out and Lopez is ready for the traditional hauler parade. 

“Just a bucket list thing,” says NASCAR fan David Sanders as he waits for the haulers to start their parade. “Always wanted to see them and there it is here, so I’m like 'we gotta get up here.' Drove an hour or so to get here.”

Over the years, Lopez's teams have won two championships and five Indy 500s. Now that he’s hauling for NASCAR, he’s hoping his 95 team will bring home a trophy in his hometown.