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I look back at
it now with the realization that we had no idea what we were
getting ourselves into. We attended Novice Day at Mini Indy where TJ was able to drive a club car. He had driven go-karts and four
wheelers at a family farm but had never been on a banked race
track. I can still see the excitement in his eyes as he put on the
race suit and helmet and was buckled into the car. As he began to
turn laps, faster and faster hitting his marks, the novice
director looked at me and said, ‘I hope you brought your checkbook
because you need to buy that boy a car’. Two weeks later we had
our first race car, a used Nervo-Coggins Quarter Midget. Our
racing career had begun.
The first year of Quarter Midget racing, known as the ‘novice
year’, is exciting, scary and confusing all at the same time.
Learning how to set up a race car when you have zero knowledge is
a humbling experience. You rely on the experienced guys at the
track who thankfully are more than willing to help out. That is
one of the wonderful things about racing, the friendships you
develop with your fellow racing families. For four years the folks
at Mini Indy became our extended family. The racing on the track
was just one part of the adventure. It was great fun watching the
kids develop their racing skills and go from the novice classes to
competitive racing. There was the excitement of working with the
other fathers repairing a damaged car under yellow and getting the
driver back on the track again before the race restarted. And
after racing was over the real fun began, relaxing around a
campfire with friends discussing the adventures of the day. We
still stay in contact with many of our old Quarter Midget friends
in Indy and recently had some great times with them the weekend of
the Hoosier Swap Meet.
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