I was born on September 14th in West Chester,
PA. I began riding 4 wheelers at the age of 2. I then
asked to start racing motorcycles and my Dad said that it was to
harsh on my body and that when I got older, I would
understand. So we started going to the local race events,
both drag racing and dirt stock car and sprint car races.
That’s when I got bitten by the “racing bug”. I really got
excited about the circle track stuff and as I got older, asked if
this was something I could do. So we did some checking around
and found out about quarter-midget racing. I could not
wait. We talked to my grandparents and they helped to buy my
first car. I race at my home track at Honey Brook Speedway,
home of the Doylestown Quarter Midget Raceing Club (DQMRC).
That first year I won 7 races, all in junior novice, and placed
second at our Keystone Invitational but only because the tie
breaker was that the other racer signed in before me.
At this point there was no looking back. I practiced
whenever I could and began racing more classes (Jr. Honda, Jr.
Stock, Lt. 160 and eventually World Formula) picking up multiple
awards. We set track record and won the states race at
MCQMRC. I also got fastest time qualifier, Hard Charger
awards and even unfortunately, a Hard Luck award. I competed
in states races every Memorial weekend and 4 Grands National
events, all in many different states. This really helped to
build my confidence.
At age 11, Dad and I talked about if this is what I really
wanted to do and if so, then we should think about moving on to
other venues of racing. So the search was on. I decided
to move onto 270 Micro-Sprint racing. We only ran 12 races
that year, qualified for 11 of those 12, won 2 of them and finished
8th in the point ranking at Wyalusing Motorsports Park
in upstate Pennsylvania.
Along the way, we had a lot of people that helped us - Lane
Motorsports, Buckwalter Motorsports, the Hues family and Gary
Buckwalter, who used to pick me up and let me drive his “A”.
Gary also was a big help with my driving style and understanding
many things that go along with racing.
That next year, I had my first full year of racing. I
raced at 5 different tracks. I raced Kutztown on Wednesday
nights, Linda’s on Friday nights, and alternated between Wyalusing,
Greenwood Valley and Hamlin on Saturday nights. I also raced
the 2 special Sunday shows at Penn Can Speedway. We finished
third in points at Wyalusing, qualified for all 40 races ran, won 3
A mains, 10 heat races, and finished consistently in the top 10
with many being in the top 5 or better. We topped off the
season with the “Super Bowl” of racing with the Nationals Open at
Linda’s Speedway. I timed 40th of 80 cars, raced
in the 8th heat with a starting position of
7th, and finished third and transferred straight into
the A main feature with a starting spot of 24th of 30
cars. We finished 17th after experiencing
mechanical failure but not before racing to a top-ten spot prior to
that. What a rush! What a great year it was!
Now, in 2013, I’ve added a Micro 600 to my resume. I
really love racing and love that we go to different tracks to push
my skills and test my abilities. It also allows me to meet a lot of
great people and connect with other racers which allow me to learn
so much more than if I only raced at one track.
Yes, it’s a lot of driving, but it worth the trek!
