Niece Motorsports work culture offers a rare look at how a bustling NASCAR team preserves balance between demanding careers and personal fulfillment, all centered in Salisbury, North Carolina. While long hours and relentless preparation define their days, the staff and their families find an unusual sense of community and fun through a unique dirt track experience on the facility’s grounds.
Championing Work-Life Balance in a High-Intensity Environment
Within NASCAR, pressures are constant and expectations high, making time management a challenge for every team member. The shop floor, buzzing with preparation for big race weekends, represents much more than just a workplace to Niece’s CEO and president, Cody Efaw. Efaw is outspoken about the importance of not letting work blur endlessly into personal time.
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I take a lot of pride in not working extra,
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says Efaw, CEO and president of Niece.
“My motto is ‘7 to 4, not a minute more.’”
But balance doesn’t always simply mean leaving tasks at the door. Not long after settling into their current Salisbury location in 2023, Efaw and his leadership team envisioned bringing relaxation and camaraderie onto their sprawling 20-acre property. Rather than settle for a basic employee break room upgrade, they set out to build something far more ambitious and deeply rooted in racing culture.
The Backyard Dirt Track: More than Just After-Hours Fun
Niece Motorsports stands apart for its daily ritual: after clocking out, team members, along with their families, head to a compact dirt oval carved out of the woods behind the shop. This little bullring—a fifth or a sixth of a mile, depending on who you ask—quickly became a lively social and competitive hub, drawing team members away from their tools and into friendly competition or simply the joy of spectating.
Someone captures the energy best:
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As much fun as you can have with 6 1/2 horsepower,
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remarks a driver in the pit lane, as go-karts whirl through banked bends. For Efaw, the dirt oval is just a piece of the bigger picture—he’s guided the growth of not just a three-team NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series operation, but a genuine sense of community that resonates even when cars aren’t on the track.
Efaw reflects on the closeness fostered among staff, sharing,
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I think it’s something where we spend more time with our work family than we do our own family. I have for 20-some years,
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continuing to describe the pressures and constant motion at the track:
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So you’re around these guys all the time, but you’re in the pressure cooker, right? You’re at the track, everything’s a go, there’s a job to do, we’ve got to go. So you never have a chance to laugh.
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Racing as a Family Affair
The family-oriented environment is at the heart of Niece Motorsports. Matt Gould, a 20-year-old racer who runs both trucks and late models, paints a vivid scene:
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It’s just awesome to know when it hits four o’clock, a lot of people at your regular jobs, they leave and go home to their families, but a lot of our families come here and watch us fool around back here,
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he says, noting the special blend of team and family,
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So it’s awesome. Like, I know as best as anybody that this race team is family-oriented, so it’s cool to see other families be oriented into this team.
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Matt’s father, Phil Gould, has been integral to the program since 2019 and currently serves as director of competition. His perspective bridges the team’s humble beginnings and its current success in Salisbury’s massive 80,000-square-foot facility. He shares,
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It’s grown from then, but it’s a small niche group and reminded me what racing was like when I first started out, which was family — like me and my brothers and buddies and friends building a car and going to the race track and racing,
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and offers a personal reflection:
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A lot of those roots came back to me and reminded me how much I like that.
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The Shop: A Blend of Tradition and Innovation
On the shop floor, the sense of tradition is palpable, complemented by creative touches like a repurposed high school athletics scoreboard and an assortment of second-hand go-karts. The buzz of activity grows as the NASCAR season opener at Daytona draws near. Team members switch between assembling trucks and getting karts ready for their next turn on the dirt, embodying a culture where hands-on work and camaraderie are equally valued.
Matt Gould, moving between fabrication tasks and assembly, says,
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whatever they need me to do,
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reflecting the shop’s collaborative environment. Meanwhile, on the same day, his father balances meetings with car-building duties, showing how the lines between office and workshop often vanish, bringing the leadership and crew together as equals.
Donovan Strauss, a rising racer with CARS Tour credentials, is just as likely to be found peeling old decals off a team hauler as he is behind the wheel. The shop is filled with individuals all pitching in, maintaining a shared ethic. Efaw reinforces the criteria for success:
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I look at people that succeed, they have work ethic,
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a measure he sees in every department.
Phil Gould further emphasizes the collaborative spirit:
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You get on more common ground when you’re in there elbow to elbow, and everybody’s pitching in,
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and highlights the value of integrating younger members into the fold,
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… I think the younger kids coming in being able to work and help is big, just gaining respect of all the people that work here. These guys, they’re our face when they go to the race track, so getting to know them and having a rapport, I think, is important.
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Cody Efaw’s Leadership and the Value of Chemistry
Efaw’s early experiences—leading small teams on a dairy farm in rural Ohio and organizing athletic squads in high school—instilled leadership values that now guide his management of nearly 60 full-time staff at Niece. He has always resisted the notion of rigid scheduling;
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I don’t want to punch a clock. I refuse to have time clocks unless the state comes in and tells me I’ve got to have them,
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he declares, and outlines his philosophy for team building:
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I do believe in everything there, from the drivers being in there working, there’s a level of continuity. Chemistry is sometimes tossed to the side over margins or profits or production or what we’ve got to get done, but if you have at the core a solid continuity and chemistry and a positive culture, you’ll be able to achieve all those things. I just think a lot of that’s overlooked because of the bottom dollar, so I think it’s very important that they come through this cycle.
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Efaw’s management approach is both visible and hands-on; he is seen making notes when a driver’s practice ends prematurely or when a setup change brings instant improvement. For Efaw, nurturing young talent and maintaining a positive atmosphere are as critical as technical expertise.
Looking to the Future: Expansion and Excitement on and Off the Track
The new season brings big goals, with the kickoff set for Daytona on February 13. Niece Motorsports trucks will be piloted by high-profile names like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in his series debut, extreme sports icon Travis Pastrana, social media star Cleetus McFarland, and Cup Series regular Ross Chastain—a former Niece regular himself. Chastain will contest the maximum permitted eight Craftsman Truck Series races with the team, further strengthening Niece’s competitive edge and profile.
The dirt track that anchors the team’s community is also poised for developments, with discussions about permanent safety walls, bleacher seating, and perhaps improved lighting inspired by their partnership with J.F. Electric. The site has become not just a recreational outlet but another symbol of the organization’s unity and spirit.
Family Traditions and Lasting Bonds Through Racing
Phil Gould warmly welcomes the traditions rekindled by the backyard track, even finding humor as the racing rivalry with his son rekindles old go-kart memories:
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Being able to go back there and turn some laps keeps me young,
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he says, then jokes,
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or makes me realize how old I am when I go out there.
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The track is both a reminder of his early days at Wall Stadium in New Jersey and a new source of joy as he faces off with his son Matt in friendly races.
Many families have found the dirt oval to be a meeting place and a source of cherished memories. The serious competition is paired with laughter and camaraderie—something a regular ping-pong table just can’t provide.
Phil Gould recalls a particularly close race with his son:
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I was racing with Matt, and actually I led most of one of the races, and he passed me about two (laps) to go, nerfed me out of the way,
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he says, describing their playful banter.
“He said, ‘Well, Dad, that’s how you taught me how to race.’ I was like, ‘Well, good point. I guess I’d be mad if you didn’t.’”
Significance of the Niece Motorsports Culture
For Niece Motorsports, the blend of precision, tradition, and shared experience forms the backbone of ongoing success. The unique dirt track not only sets the team apart from their competition but has also fostered deep connections between staff members, their families, and the broader racing community. This approach cultivates a culture where hard work is balanced by moments of levity and belonging, ensuring everyone from cup-winning drivers like Ross Chastain and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to young crew members and their families are united in the team’s journey.
As the organization continues to grow and take on fresh challenges in NASCAR’s spotlight, Niece Motorsports’ commitment to work-life balance and community spirit stands as a model for how racing teams can thrive both on the track and off, passing along the joys and lessons of racing for generations to come.
