Second-generation race car drivers are commonplace. Third-generation drivers come around less frequently and it is quite unusual to encounter a fourth-generation wheelman.
One of those fourth-generation racers is Brinton Marvel. It is also unusual that a racer from Indiana moves to Northern California. Such migrations usually go the opposite direction.
His great grandfather, Bill Marvel, was a legendary auto racing supporter in many ways and has been inducted into several Halls of Fame. A statistician, writer and publicist, he occasionally raced mostly for fun. Bill Marvel died in December of 2020.
Brinton’s grandfather, Brad Marvel, raced with USAC throughout the Midwest and in California, while his father, Justin Marvel, raced midgets and sprint cars with numerous sanctioning organizations.
Brinton Marvel did not get that early start in racing that many Californians do. He was a teenager before he began competing.
“I tested in a 305 sprint car at Bloomington Speedway when I was 15,” explained the younger Marvel. Hunter Schuerenberg helped me, kind of took my under his wing, helped me build a car alongside him as he was getting into winged racing himself.
“He taught me the ins and outs of how to put one together and the quality of work he showed me I still use to this day. So we put a 305 together and raced with the RaceSaver series when I was 16 and 17.”
After a couple years in a 305 along with two wins, Brinton moved into a winged 410 at age 18. His first race came at Tri-City Raceway in Illinois. He recalled one of his favorite memories from his first few 410 races.
“My third night in a 410, still one of my coolest memories to date,” remembered Brinton, “Danny Smith (Sprint Car Hall of Famer) brought out a backup car and let me run at Atomic Speedway.”
Moving to California, Brinton Marvel became aware of something not nearly as common in Indiana, the proliferation of younger sprint car drivers.
“I was talking to Michael Faccinto at a drivers’ meeting,” Brinton recalled, “and I said I’m 22 years old and I feel old. And he said, I’m like the third oldest one here (age 33). It’s crazy because you have all these kids who are sprint car drivers and this is something I had not seen in the Midwest.”
There is a star-strewn list of drivers who have left California to race “back east.” Drivers normally don’t leave the Midwest to race in California, though, racing wasn’t the primary reason for Marvel’s relocation.
“My girlfriend is Morgan Sandhagen and she was living in Florida at the time and I was in Indiana. We met at the 2019 Knoxville Nationals,” Marvel explained. “She had a great job opportunity here in Red Bluff, Calif., and I was kind of tired of doing the long-distance deal, so we agreed to both pack up and move.”
“I got to talking with Harley Van Dyke (car owner) and one day, luckily, he called and said bring your seat and we’ll give you a shot,” Marvel explained. “I couldn’t thank him more for the opportunity.”
Sandhagen has raced winged karts for more than 10 years, primarily at Red Bluff Fairgrounds. She met Marvel while finishing college in Florida.
Marvel also works at QRC in Red Bluff, where outlaw karts have been built since 1985.