How did I get this stuff in my blood?

The thrill of Motorcar racing was instilled into me at an early age by my father. I can remember when I was 9 my brother and I would fight over who was going to get the poster of a rally car from my dad’s racing news magazine. It was like a prized possession to hang that picture over your bed until the next one came out the following month. It was so big that you could easily hide two or three Sunshine Girls under it.

My dad took me to Mosport many times to see the Indy races (They were called USAC then) with the like of A.J. Foyt, Jonny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock and Bobby Unser Sr. We watched Formula Fords, Formula Atlantic or anything else that was on 4 wheels.That would include, in 1976, watching a drunken streaker try to skateboard down the track on the hill towards corner 5 and totally wiping out. It was a mess and the ambulance drove him away as his buddies literally were falling out of the trees behind us, laughing at him.

Yes Mosport in the 70’s was a cool place to hang out if you were not intimidated by the drunken bikers that seem to have taken over the place.I also saw the Last Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport with Jackie Steward and the next year we attended Montreal with my Uncle Bart to watch Gilles Villeneuve win at the inaugural race.

For a short while in my early 20’s I raced on the weekends at Cayuga Speedway with my 1971 Dodge Charger. I had to be careful because if I blew up the car, my friends and I would be hitch-hiking back to Toronto. The Charger was a boat (heavy) and I never won past the quarter finals, but it was a great time with all my friends.

Mathew and I started Karting in the summer of 2000 in Ottawa. One example of our weekend antics include sleeping in our little trailer at a track in New York State and making every meal with the grease of sausages because we forgot to bring the butter. It was fried sausage something or other if you had to do it on the grill! Mat and I spent so much time together that it really improved our relationship and I got to watch a young man develop skills and respect for racing. Today, all three kids are racing and we are much better organized. Everyone has a duty the night before a race and prior to 05:00 on race day, cause that’s when the truck will depart the driveway. This year we a have a much larger racing trailer and we will be modifying it for bunk beds and other amenities to allow us to stay overnight more often. This will give the racers an extra day of practice to hone their skills and tune their Karts.

The only thing I cannot stand about Karting is when the Formula 1 Race in on the same day as our race. But now we have a PVR, so I’ll watch it when we get home, but I am one of these nuts that will get up at 03:00 to watch it live rather than the replayed version later in the afternoon. I can count the number of friends on one hand that have stayed up and watched a race past midnight (right Bob)

Karting is a great family sport and it gives you the opportunity to watch your young racers improve each weekend. Not just their skills, but their respect for one another and for the sportsmanship. Remember, these guys are racing at over 100K with only a hair separating them, and no one wants to be passed so it’s a fight right to the end. And for the most part it’s a clean fight by all.