Adam's Racing History

After several years of ‘backyard’ go-karting we began racing competitively in the spring of 1992, entering go-kart races throughout Southwestern Ontario. The car, driven by son Adam and crew-chiefed by father Jerry, was powered by a 5HP engine and was capable of racing speeds in the 50mph range. Great amounts of success were achieved early on, winning two track championships and nearly 60 races in only two years.

The next challenge was to be Micro Sprints, a car only slightly larger the go-kart, but much faster. Micro’s are designed with a Sprint Car style body and utilize large wings to generate aerodynamic downforce. With power being provided by a 440cc snowmobile engine, these cars easily topped 70mph. The competition was much stiffer in this division with car counts exceeding 40 on any given night. Although our on track success was limited to one win in the inaugural season, we accomplished our goals by qualifying for every 22 car feature race, and finishing 10th in the overall points standings. At seasons end, Adam was voted rookie of the year by his fellow racers, beating out a dozen other candidates.

Over the next few years in the Micro Sprint division, our consistent runs continued, resulting in many top 5 and top 10 feature finishes and more top 10 points results. The 1996 season marked the first year or competing with a car completely of our own design and construction. It’s success was tremendous. A second car of West Racing manufacture was added for the 1997 season, with Jerry driving in selected events for research and development purposes.

The 1999 season saw the team move from the short dirt tracks of the Micro Sprint series to the larger, faster, paved ovals of the Hurricane Midgets. Immediate success was achieved, with Adam challenging for race wins from the first night. The year was a great success, scoring three heat race wins, many top 5 feature finishes and ending up 5th in the season ending standings despite missing 3 of 18 events. For the 2000 season, we debuted our first purpose built ‘pavement’ car and Jerry scored his first top 5 feature finish. Overall, the team competed on a part time basis, but had an impressive streak of 7 consecutive top 5 feature finishes.

In 2001, our racing path took another turn after purchasing a 360ci Sprint Car from a local racer. Although we had only attended a small number of Sprint Car races before buying the car, we felt that this would be a good experience and present some interesting challenges. Initially, plans were made to sit out the ’01 season while preparing for a 2002 debut. However, at the last minute an engine was found and we were able to complete the car in time to make the trip to Brighton Speedway for the first Southern Ontario Sprints (SOS) race of the season in early May. Despite finishing last on the track, we were optimistic about our performance and eagerly awaited the rest of the season. The next races saw our performance improve steadily, finishing in the top 10 for the first time at Ransomville Speedway in June. Unfortunately the summer months were plagued with small mechanical difficulties. The problems weren’t significant enough to keep us from the track, but the finishing results were less than expected. The only DNF (‘did not finish’) of the season came after an accident caused by a flat tire. The damage was significant enough to put us out of the race, but it was repaired in time to return to the track the following week. With a lot of hard work, things turned around for the final month of racing with a 5th place finish at Brighton Speedway on Labour Day Weekend. Our strong runs culminated with an 11th place finish in a field of 24 cars at the season ending Canadian Sprint Car Championships. Overall for the season, we were able to finish in the top 10 nearly 30% of the time, and completed the season 10th in the overall points standings that saw 33 cars compete in at least one race, and an average of 18 cars per event. Although we had no set goals entering the season, the biggest disappointment of the year came in the final regular event of the season as a flat tire turned a solid top 10 run into a 13th place finish. This result caused us to lose the Rookie of the Year title by only 1 point after leading the standings from the first night.

The 2002 season was a huge improvement over a solid rookie season. Despite racing against larger, more competitive field of cars, we were able to finish in the top 10 on a regular basis and also challenge for top 5 finishes. Overall for the year, 5 races at Brighton Speedway resulted in finishes between 4th and 9th, a top 5 at Ransomville, and consistent finishes between 8th and 13th at the ultra fast Ohsweken Speedway. South Buxton raceway was the sight of our only DNF of the year as debris from the race track caused damage to the engine, ending a very strong run. A finish of 8th out of 43 cars in the final points standing capped off a competitive season.

During the fall of 2002, Adam submitted a resume to be part of an international program to bring ‘up and coming’ Sprint Car drivers into the United States to race for an established team on a professional basis for a 1 year contract. After a lengthy selection process, he was named to be the 2003 Knoxville International Driver Development (KIDD) representative from more than two dozen talented racers from Canada, Austraila and New Zealand. This meant that Adam would be moving to the Sprint Car Capitol of the World, Knoxville, Iowa, to drive for Hall of Fame car owner and mechanic, Bob Trostle. The key difference between my own car and the KIDD car was the additional 300hp, over 800hp total, that came from the 410ci all aluminum engine. Adam competed in the 410ci class at Knoxville Raceway every Saturday night and also traveled to other local races including World of Outlaw (WoO) events, the pinnacle of Sprint Car Racing. Throughout the season, finish results steadily improved as he gained the experience necessary to navigate the 800HP car, reaching speeds of over 170mph at some tracks. During the middle part of the season, the team qualified for several ‘A’ main events including races at Knoxville and Oskaloosa in Iowa, Granite City, Illinois and Sedalia, Missouri. Sedalia and Granite City were both WoO events. The biggest event of the season was the Knoxville Nationals where over 120 of the best Sprint Car drivers from all over the world converge every year for a week in early August. My overall result was an 8th place finish in the ‘D’ main, and having a ranking of 68th for the week.

After the Knoxville season was complete, Adam returned on Canada and competed in the final three races of the SOS season with a best finish of 9th at Ohsweken Speeday and a solid 14th in the Canadian Sprint Car Championships in a field of over 30 cars.

With Adam’s gained experience and new J & J chassis, goals were set high for the 2004 season. Initially the plan was to finish in the top 10 on a regular basis and challenge for top 5 finishes on any given night. But even the team could not have predicted how successful the season would be. The season opened with a 5th place finish in Brighton followed by a career best run of 4th at Ohsweken in the following race. The top 5 finishes kept coming and included two 2nd place runs and a 3rd in three consecutive July races. To date, season record stand as 10 top 5’s, 13 top 10’s and 0 DNF’s in 16 races. Two equally devastating events during the season was a missed race due to motor problems that kept Adam from winning the SOS points championship and a what looked to be a sure victory at a Sprints on Dirt (SOD) race ended after being spun out by a lapped car near the end of the race. The Canadian Sprint Car Championships was the final scheduled event remaining for the season. Adam claimed the dash win and was just a few laps short of taking his first victory.

In 2005 Adam dominated the Southern Ontario Sprints tour posting a top ten in all but two events. He scored his first two career wins, the first on June 11, 2005 at the Brighton Speedway and his second just a few weeks later on July 8th, 2005 at the Ohsweken Speedway. His two wins and incredible top ten streak helped propel him to the 2005 Southern Ontario Sprints Championship.