ANDERSON, Ind. — In preparation for the 500 Sprint Car Tour and the USSA Kenyon Midget Series season opener April 6 at Anderson Speedway, we asked the drivers who participated in the series’ media day on March 8 at the Anderson Country Club one question:
“Who has had the biggest influence on your racing?”
Their answers follow.
500 Sprint Car Tour Drivers
Donnie Adams Jr.: “My father, Donnie Adams. He raced for many years in midgets and sprint cars; the Little 500 primarily. I went to all the races he raced and he was my mentor growing up, starting with quarter midgets. He was still alive when I started racing, but he passed away in 2006.”
Brady Allum: “Definitely my dad. He wants me to accomplish everything I can in this industry, and he tells me to keep going forward even after mistakes. He’s my crew chief as well as my dad; he’s pretty much my whole crew.”
Dalton Armstrong: “It’s hard to pick just one. Growing up, I guess it was Jeff Gordon. I grew up in the Gordon-Earnhardt era. I also look up to Tony Stewart; he’s from Indiana and just like a normal dude that had a lot of success in racing; he’s just a down-to-earth guy.”
Trey Burke: “My dad. He has taught me everything I know, and he made me the person I am. He drove mainly midgets and some winged sprint car stuff. He helps on my team now, and coaches me.”
Tim Creech: “Probably my dad. He always supported me. He recently passed away, but pretty much everything we have is because of him. He started racing sprints and I started racing midgets the same year, but he only raced maybe 10 times. He got so busy helping me he didn’t have time to race himself.”
Scott Hampton: “I’d say my father. When I was growing up I was playing stick and ball sports, and my father was pretty hard on me. He probably could have been a pro ball player himself. When I got into racing it was all new to my dad, and he wouldn’t get on me about racing, and kept it fun. I did quarter midgets and micros first. Then we ran sprint cars together for a few years.
“I couldn’t work and go to school and maintain the car at the same time, so I started driving for Jerry Powell, and my dad got out of the picture at that point,” Hampton continued.
“I started to get burned out, and eventually I got hooked up with Ted Slinkard. He and my dad get along great and it’s been a blessing. I’ve never had a better car owner. Now my dad is always there, ready to help, no matter what time of day it is or what needs to be done.”
Jackson Macenko: “It’s probably a little cliché but my hero growing up was Jeff Gordon. When I started in go-karts my kart had to have flames, be No. 24, and it had to have the bright colors. Even off track I tried to be professional, well spoken and clean cut like him.”
Tony Main: “I’ll go with Donnie Adams Sr. He has passed away, but he got us started in racing, and then in the early stages of racing he gave both me and my dad a lot of advice about racing and how you learn at the track.”
Kyle O’Gara: “There are multiple people. It’s hard to go against my dad; my brother Andy, and Sarah [Fisher O’Gara]. I also spent a lot of time with Mel Kenyon. We have a rich family history in the sport; I think I was born into it. I started karting at five years old, but Dad worked at Team Menard and Dreyer & Reinbold when I was little, so that’s all I knew. I didn’t really follow stick and ball sports.”
Tyler Roahrig: “My family. They help my confidence even when things are looking bleak, and they help me keep my head in the game. I’m a third-generation racer, so it was all I ever knew growing up.”
Bobby Santos: “That’s easy; my dad. He got me into racing when I was literally riding go-karts in our backyard when I was two years old. He’s invested all his time to my career from day one. Still to this day he and my mom don’t miss my races, and they try to help me as much as they can.”
Garrett Saunders: “Doug Wolfgang. I’ve always done dirt racing; this will be my asphalt debut. With my dad [Irish Saunders] being with Hoosier Tire for 44 years, he knows Doug Wolfgang very well, and I can call Doug for advice on chassis set-ups or anything.”
Kody Swanson: “It would be my dad, for sure. He raced everything: supermodifieds, late models, Grand American modifieds. He won all sorts of stuff on the west coast. I grew up as a race fan first. He still comes to the races and enjoys being a dad rooting for me and Tanner.”
Jake Trainor: “Probably Bobby Santos. He lived one town over from me, and his dad was a great help in my career. I grew up loving open-wheel racing; it was something I always admired, and I wanted to strive to be involved too.”
Billy Wease: “My dad. He taught me everything I know. He was a very good race car driver; he drove modifieds. Watching him race at Anderson and other places around here fueled my passion for racing. He still works on our team; we’re a family operation.”
Kenyon Midget Series Drivers
Landon Brown: “My father. He’s the one who got me into racing, and he taught me basically everything about racing that I know since day one. I raced go-karts before; this is my second year in Kenyon midgets. My father drives Kenyon midgets too, but this year he’s going to focus more on me than his own driving.”
Evan Hammond: “Apart from my dad, a man named Gary Lawson. He coached me in karting, and he’s a legend in pro karting. I have to thank him for teaching me to drive karts.”
Jeff Hill: “I would have to say my dad. We never raced as kids but he took me to Anderson, Eldora, Winchester, Salem; we went to short-track races all over the Midwest being fans. Then we started out in karts and now we’re in midgets. He still loves going to watch.”
Lee Pierce: “That’s a tough one. I would say when I was about 8, John Downey. He raced go-karts, and that kind of got me started. I started going to the track and helping him out, and that evolved into me wanting to race. He graduated high school and moved on, and I continued in karts for a while and then moved into things with cages and belts.
“My dad loved to go to the race track and he was my biggest influence going forward after John. He has passed, but he loved going to the races and helping me out, and talking to people. Lots of times I would have to chase him down at the track because he just loved talking to people,” Pierce continued.
“And my current influence now is my wife. I got divorced and got remarried, and my current wife is the one who pushed me to get back into racing. She said if it’s something I really wanted to do, I should do it. She’s literally done so much to get me back into it; making the connections and all sorts of things. She said if you truly love something, you should do it; it will make you happy and you’ll be a better person and father for it. And the stars have aligned, and I’ve figured out how to do it so far.”
B.J. Shaw: “For me, probably my dad. I think that a lot of the things that I do in this sport are for him. He’s helped get me here, and he’s funded me since I started in karts when I was 12 years old. When I’m down, he’s there to pick me up. He’s been the biggest influence in my career.”
Kyle Sheard: “My grandpa. He got me into it when I was 6. He used to race midgets in Ohio. He passed in 2020, but he loved watching me race karts. He never saw me race midgets, unfortunately.”
Ryan Shilkuski: “Probably my dad. He’s supported me my whole career, and he’s taught me everything. He raced midgets mainly at Granite County Speedway, and lately he’s been racing Illina midgets. He’s my crew chief/mechanic too.”