Midget Race Car

I know this isn't a NASCAR machine, but I thought some folks, especially those in the Midwest, would be interested in these pictures.

My friend Warren built this car two years ago, and his son Tim is the driver. We've raced Go-Karts together and built a couple of 4-cylinder modified cars that Tim also drove when he was a lot younger. Tim did pretty well his first season racing this car at Sunset Speedway in Banks, Oregon. He was "Rookie of the Year" in 2006. They took the car down and made some major changes to it and had a new paint scheme applied. Warren also built the motor for it and made some changes to that this year also. Anyhow, here are some pictures of the car, ready to go for this season.




















Guess Who?? It would take a shoe horn for me to get into this thing. I think my helmet would be sticking up above the roll cage






Jim 8-)

That Is Awesome There Buddy Thats A Sweet Looking Machine, Lot's Of Money Tied Up In That Thats For Sure. LOLOLOL I Would Be Afraid That I Would Crash It Right Away, Thanks For Sharing The Pics Jim Tell Your Buddy Thanks Also.

Looks like a lot of work and money tied up in that baby. Sure glad I got cheap hobbies,lol. Looks mighty sharp, that's for sure.

Great pics!

hey they run them cars at rockford speed way ....ever been to the battle at the dam ....beaverdam wisconsin ??

That is and awesome car I would like to see it on the track.

Nice race car...Those things can haul butt.

UPDATE:

Since I took those pictures, Tim has won almost every heat race, and trophy dash so far this season. And, he HAS won EVERY FEATURE race so far. There is only one more race left this season. He has won six in a row and on the 16th of this month will be the 7th and last one for the season. The kid is on fire. I'm sure proud of him. I've know him since he was born. He raced Go-Karts (the high dollar variety) with me for one season at Clark County Fairgrounds in Vancouver, Washington back in the 80's. We won every race we went to. In fact I raced two seasons there and was High Point Champion both years. We got rid of the Go-Karts and Tim's Dad, Warren, and I built a four cylinder modified car and ran that for a year with Tim as the driver. The first year we built a conventional car and the second year we bought a sprint car chassis and made a center steer upright car. Tim never did that great either of those two years. He was in his teens then. When I heard that he and his Dad were building a midget two years ago, I told people "Well he'll probably have a lot of fun, but he just doesn't have what it takes to compete with these guys around here. He just doesn't have that killer instinct." Well needless to say I have eaten a lot of crow this year because of that statement. And I would eat a lot more of them to see him continue the way he has been doing.

I can say this here because neither Tim nor anyone in his family knows anything about BigfishMidwest or JMJ, and would never see this. Warren told me confidentially about three years ago that Tim was having a real problem with alcohol. Warren told me that Tim had disappeared for a week or two and nobody had any idea where he was. They finally found him. He had checked into a motel down on the Oregon coast and had taken an overdose of some kind of pills and Warren suspected that Tim was trying to end his life. So knowing how Tim loved racing, Warren did everything he could possibly do to get Tim interested in getting back into racing. Tim and Warren built this car entirely themselves. Warren has always amazed me when it came to fabricating thing like this. He sometimes borders on genius. Anyhow they got the car built and then Warren went into hock and sent Tim to a drivers school in California for about a month. It is run by an ex Midget, Sprint and Outlaw driver. I can't remember his name now. Well that school helped him immensely. He was voted "Rookie of the Year" last season and well, he's taken it all the way this year.

Since Tim got into the racing again, he's been able to land a high paying job with a company called Simplex. They design and develop firefighting equipment. The division that Tim is in does aircraft firefighting equipment. They send him all over the world to design and develop firefighting equipment for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. He had a previous background in that same field with another company, so that's how he landed this job.

So for whatever it's worth, the sport of "Automobile Racing" has evidently saved this kids life, and he's back on the right track with his life and future. And as I said before, I'm sure proud of him.


Jim

One thing I forgot about was the Number 71 on Tim's car. That was my number back in my motorcycle racing days.

Thats all it takes sometimes...just have to find something your good at to keep you motivated and positive.

I'm glad his life is back in order and he has to have a great dad to do all he has and will do to make sure he keeps it going right.

That Is Really Great To Hear Buddy That Drinking Stile Of Life Is A Ruff One, I Sure Am Glad To Hear That He Turn The Right Corner And It Sounds Like He Is A Champ In My Book.