History
Hello. My name is
The Amazed Child
Y9 Racing
began when I was just a small boy. The name "Y9" came later, but my amazement of car
racing started then. My stepfather would take me to Trail-ways, Lincoln and
Dorsey Speedways on Friday or Saturday nights. I can only vaguely remember what
is was like. It was always late at night, usually
past my bedtime. There were the bright lights, sometimes dimmed by the ever
present
clouds of dust. There were
people of all ages there; men and women, fathers and sons and even mothers
and daughters. Lots of them were wearing brightly colored
t-shirts with drawings of cars and drivers names on them. The smell of the exhaust coming from the track could only be overpowered
by the smell of vinegar when you pass by the French fry stand. The man on the
loudspeaker barked out driver’s names and where they were on the track. There was a general
commotion everywhere and then there were the cars. This is where the amazement
truly began. These were not the family wagons or vans. They weren't even like
the sports cars
or the local hot rods of the neighborhood. These
were race cars, the real deal. Built for one thing and one thing only…to go fast. They were loud and earth shaking. They were
a little scary but at the
same time exciting for a young little tike like myself at the time. We would watch them roar around
the track. The gust of dusty wind would follow, forcing us to wipe the grit from
our eyes as they passed. He would cheer for his favorite driver and I would
follow along. He would yell and curse at the enemy drivers and I would follow
along (well almost) We watched the late models, the sprint cars and the street
stocks, but my favorites were the figure “8” cars at Dorsey. Looking back, these
guys were insane. This was the most exciting racing I had ever seen. The cars
would weave themselves like a zipper through the center of the track at full
speed. I thought they were the best drivers in the world, but looking back now,
I think they were just nuts. Dirt track racing was the
best entertainment I had ever seen and I couldn’t wait to go back every week. This was my
first taste of auto racing and it came at the local dirt tracks and the
amazement has stuck ever since.
The Reintroduction
As the years went by and my interests changed, I got away from the sport of auto
racing. I moved out on my own, got married, bought a house, started a business,
played in a band and had a baby daughter. (This was over a span of 22 years by
the way) I was trying to live life
to the fullest without getting into too much trouble. My reintroduction to
racing came from my sister of all people. My sister married a guy named Scott Coghill.
His
family had a long history of auto racing and he was actually a driver. This
sparked my interest again. I went to a couple of races with him and I even hung
out in the pits when he raced his father Les Coghill’s 1940 Ford
Vintage Series car. I still wasn’t quite hooked yet, but it got me exploring the
possibilities.
Scott’s family history in racing. Ray Kable and car owner Reds Coghill (left)
Legend Car Racing
My investigation of auto racing was somewhat discouraging. The costs involved
with most type of racing were astronomical. I really couldn’t understand how
people could spend so much money building and maintaining a race car with such
small potential for winnings. I would never be able to justify this to myself,
or my wife. There was however a glimmer of hope.
There was a type of racing called Legends Cars. Legend car racing was started
for the purpose of creating a competitive type of racing that relied mainly on
the skills of the driver to win instead of the size of his wallet. It began in
the early Nineties in
The Car
I
purchased a car in the fall of 2005 on the internet for six grand. I didn’t know
much about the cars at the time, but that was the going rate for a used car. I
had to go to
2006
The car was parked for the 2006 season mainly because I was still playing a band and my wife and I had a baby daughter named Isabella. (aint she cute?)
The winter of 2006 though we got started on the car. Scott was a lot of help tearing the car down and getting it up to date. Jim Lowery was a lot of help setting the car up for dirt track racing as it was used for asphalt before. Scott had to bow out due to a serious back injury, so I called on some other friends and family to help with the team. I thought that it would be too much for me to do it on my own. My friend Andy Durkit said he would be interested. He has experience in auto mechanics, but this was his first venture into racing. My uncle Skip Hopper was also interested. They both have excellent minds for figuring out how things work and how to make them work better. They have proven to be a vital part of the race team. Oh yeah, It was official now. Y9 Racing was now a team. We even have shirts and hats to prove it. ☺
The First Season
We only ran a few races in the first season. We were just getting our feet wet.
There were multiple things we were looking to find out:
- Could we commit? Trying to balance a race team with family and work
obligations can be a daunting task. You need committed people. Or maybe the
people need to be committed. I can’t decide. A lot of preparation is necessary
to show up ready to go on race day. There is a lot to remember. You would be
surprised how easy it is to forget things like fuel. You have to keep your
priorities straight. Everybody on the team tries to keep a happy home so that
they have a home to go home to. It is easy to get caught up in the racing
atmosphere and let other things slide. Our limited schedule helped us to keep it
in perspective. Everyone was happy. This was a success.
– Could we be competitive? We ran in the back mostly for the first season.
This was to be expected. We were inexperienced and we had a lot to learn. And
learn we did. We learned a lot the first season. We went from being lapped in
the heat races to passing people by the end of the season. We weren’t contenders
for the win by any means, but we were progressing. When I say we, I mostly mean
me. The crew gave me a great car for every race.
– Could I drive? Having a car and a team doesn’t really matter if you
don’t have a driver. I wanted to see if I could handle it. You can armchair
quarterback all you want from the stands (or from an armchair), but it takes a
certain kind of person to strap themselves into a race car. I didn’t know if
I was of that kind of people. I have to admit I was definitely overwhelmed the
first time I hit the track. None of the years of experience driving on the road
prepared me for what is necessary to handle dirt track race car. I am slowly
becoming accustomed to being on the track, but I don’t think I will ever
totally get used to the adrenaline rush you get when coming around turn four looking for
the green flag.
– Could we afford it? We do not have any sponsors. The team is funded by yours
truly. Luckily, Legends cars are are on the lower end of costs, but auto racing
is expensive at any level. There is always a chance of getting into costly crashes, but we had
been pretty lucky that season. It looked like we could make it financially...for
now. Of
course we could always use a sponsor.
Today
We have been increasing
our schedule, getting more organized, working on the race shop and continuing to
expand our knowledge wherever we can. Our goal is to maintain a respectable and
competitive race team while still remembering to keep it fun.
Thanks for reading. Hope to see you at the track.
Thanks,
PS: As far as the Y9 name is concerned. That is probably a longer story. I will
probably dedicate a whole web page just for that. If you really want to know,
please come back.
Special Thanks to:
My loving wife Tori
Don Hindman
Skip Hopper
Brent Marquis
Randy Kissinger
Andy Durkit
Scott Coghill
Jim Lowery
Robert Patrick
Bob Murray
Jack and Ben Durkit
Reid Hopper
Jason Scott
Hank Scott
Jason Foxworthy
Jim Black