FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND A CHANCE TO REFLECT ON THE ROLE OF FAMILY IN RACING

(June 18, 2020) – Motorsports and families go together like peanut butter and jelly. The fabric of racing is woven from the stories of families coming together to triumph throughout all facets of the sport. On Father’s Day weekend, I wanted to look at some of the best stories of family in California short track racing over the last few seasons. Photo by Jason Wedehase

NASCAR and IndyCar have families like Allison, Andretti, Earnhardt, and Unser. But the short tracks of California have their own names that have a story to be told.

My journey to working in motorsports began when I was two years old, attending All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. with my father. We attended virtually every Saturday night until I was 17 years old, then I started to take my career on the road to Altamont, Stockton, and beyond. The love of the sport was nurtured through those nights in the family section, listening to the officials over the scanner and eating our smuggled in peanuts and skittles. Others grew up on the pit side, such as Austin Herzog.

The three generations of racing Herzogs out of Clovis, Calif. have put their stamp on the Madera Speedway. Grandfather Richard, father Bryan, and son Austin have each had repeated visits to the winner’s circle.

Austin Herzog, then age 13, started off his 2016 season on a tear in the inaugural Jr. Late Model Series at Madera. His father Bryan was fresh off a runner-up finish in the Pro Late Model standings in 2015 as well. Austin Herzog won the inaugural race for the Jr. Late Models in March then added a victory in May.

On June 18, 2016 – on Father’s Day weekend – the pair achieved a rare feat; they both won their features. Austin won the 50-lap Jr. Late Model event with a daring pass around the outside of future NASCAR XFINITY Series competitor Ryan Vargas. Bryan’s win later that evening came in a duel to the finish with Matt Erickson. He led the final 86 laps of the 100 lap contest for the win.

Austin went on to win six career Jr. Late Model Series features and in 2019, he won the Pro Late Model championship that had eluded Bryan in previous seasons.

“It’s very satisfying to see Austin excel like he has,” Bryan Herzog said. “I just wish times were like they were 25 years ago so he could get a ride based on talent and not how big of a check book you need to have.”

Earlier this month, Petaluma Speedway hosted a successful Dwarf Car Nationals with over 100 cars competing. One of the competitors in the Sportsman division was 14 year-old Joey Lingron, making his second career start in the division. The Sportsman division is designed for first year drivers to get their feet wet. Lingron was about to remind the competition that he grew up at Petaluma Speedway, side-by-side with his father Ron who is the voice of the speedway.

After a seventh place finish in March, Lingron had to wait during the Coronavius Pandemic to get back into the seat. On Friday June 12 at the nationals he showed no rust, driving from seventh to win his heat race. He started on the outside pole of the feature and never looked back. The race was halted early due to spins and crashes but Lingron was victorious.
Lingron then went on to duplicate the feat on Saturday in an event again shortened by incidents.

“(In March) when he rolled out onto the track, I locked up,” his father and Petaluma Speedway announcer Ron Lingron said. “I can’t describe it anything other than you saw every single part of his life prior as he came out, yellow rookie stripes flying in the breeze. To say I was proud was an understatement.”

“As far as announcing them, they probably are brutal as I’m fixed on Joey most of the time. I try to not fanboy on him but it’s impossible.”

Last weekend marked the return to racing action at Irwindale Speedway and the first event for the Irwindale Spec Racers in 2020. Saturday’s action was a great tribute to family in motorsports, first with Trevor Huddleston winning yet another Late Model feature at the venue his family promotes.

It was also the first race for Kenny Smith since his wife Marylou had passed away. Not only did Kenny win the Spec Late Model portion of the combined main event, his grandson Andrew Porter won in the Irwindale Race Truck portion as well.

“This one will mean everything to that family,” Low Budget TV announcer Jeffery Best said on the live broadcast. “Get ready for some tissues I think. This is going to be an emotional one.”

Saturday’s return to action for the NARC-King of the West 410 Sprint Cars will also be a family affair as Tim Kaeding continues his march towards knocking Brent Kaeding off the top of the all-time win list in the series.

Brent’s tally of 13 championships will likely never be equalled, but his oldest son Tim is well within striking distance for the overall wins lead. Brent leads with 84 victories to Tim’s 68. Adding to the intrigue on Saturday will be Bud Kaeding driving the famed black #69 his father Brent made famous. Bud himself has 21 wins, giving the family a remarkable 173 trips to a King of the West victory lane.

As racing continues its comeback from the pandemic over the 2020 Father’s Day weekend, more family stories will be written that will be told for years to come.