When I was 13 years old, my dad asked me what I thought about racing cars. I didn’t know too much about cars, and I didn’t know what that entailed. I agreed to it not knowing how it would change my life and how it would help me get closer to my dad.
When my dad first told me that my racecar wouldn’t be like regular cars, I was confused about what he meant because didn’t all cars go forward and backward, no matter what? Well, this car did move forward and backward, but the car had a manual transmission. People who have driven in a car with a manual transmission can relate to the pain and agony I was going through when I first learned how to work the car in a 2005 Ford Ranger. I remember stalling the car multiple times, but my dad was always there to help and correct me through my failures. When I finally got it down, I would drive through our salvage yard he would throw tires, wheels, and pieces of debris at my car for me to learn how to stop quickly and learn how to go again.
When my first race on July 19, 2017 came, I remember being nervous as ever and not knowing what to do. My dad sent me out on the track for practice laps and assured me everything was going to be okay, and to remember what we had practiced at the salvage yard. I ended up not doing well but in hindsight, it was my first race, so I could’ve done worse.
Fast-forward a few years, I wasn’t the best in my racing class, but I wasn’t the worst. I would normally finish second, third, or fourth, but on the night of May 14, 2022, it was a different story. I was in second place with one lap left to go with the leader about 1.5 – 2 seconds in front of me, (in racing that is a big lead). I did not know how I was going to catch him, so I figured I would play things conservatively and settle for a second-place finish. However, to my surprise, the leader spun out in turn one. I then took the lead and ended up winning. I remember getting out of the car and I couldn’t hear a thing. Everything around me was quiet, and the one voice I heard was my dad.
“You better get on top of that car,” he said.
I got on top of the car and put my arms up in the air in a celebratory fashion. I then hopped down from the roof of the car and my dad gave me the biggest hug he had ever given me in my life as he picked me up in a bear hug. The picture we took in Victory Lane was only one of three ever I’ve seen him smile in.
When I reflect on my 2023 season, I know that I could have done better, but I also know that I had fun, and that is the best thing I could ask for. I remember the drives I had with my dad to Waco on Fridays and Kennedale on Saturdays, the stops we made, the memories we had, and the laughs that we shared. The feeling I get from racing makes everything else go away. When it was just me and my dad I got to experience some of the best memories I will ever make.
When I go to college, I know that my racing career will limited more than ever, but I will make sure to make the best of every moment so that they will continue to shine like gold in my memories.
