My racing family

My family history seems pretty normal my great grandfather on my dad’s side was a World War ll veteran, and I will say that he was quite a big drinker back that but it was pretty common. My grandfather is one of the biggest factors of who I am and what I have become. He was the guy that let me make stupid mistakes and then make me realize what I have done. He was also the one who has got me into racing. My grandfather on my mom’s side has played a significant role in my life. When I was a kid and now whenever I wanted to build something he would help, if I got in trouble he would help, he would also just listen to what I had to say. Racing, racing has always been a part of my family for years my grandfather started back in 1978 in the charger division at Oxford Plains Speedway. He decided to build a car not knowing much if anything about racing, he competed and raced for several years, it was twelve years until he won his first race when he won people started paying attention to him. He was able to get into a pro stock and race for a guy named Paul Dehayes he didn’t do great but they learned a lot and was still racing several divisions such as, the figure eight, chargers, enduros, and the pro stock. My grandfather really made a name for himself mostly in the enduros he was named the king just for that reason he started racing street stocks in the nineties and ended up win 3 championships 01, 03, and 05. My dad a second generation driver won his first street stock race in only his second year of racing. He struggled with winning a championship he finished second in points nine times and finally got a championship in 17. He raced in several different divisions until now including limited, street stocks, enduros, pro stock, late model, Outlaws, and one figure eight race he was good winning several races along the way. My grandfather was getting sick and put me into a car when I was just thirteen years old, we build the car and in just my first race I ended up with a solid 6th place finish which really caught people’s attention. We went to Oxford and I struggled, but I did get some trophies finishing second and third several times. In 17 we went to Wiscasset where I started, and I was able to get my first win followed by another win at the end of the year and also finishing second in the biggest race of the year this made me what everyone considered a top dog. In 18 I ended up winning four races with winning three in a row. I again finished second in the big race at the end of the year. This has always been in my family history and I want my kids to follow the same footsteps. Hunting and fishing, it has been around the world and my life forever. Pretty much both sides of my family hunts and fish but some more than others, the Emerson side of the family is definitely the big time hunting and fishing people we all hunt on that side, including some close family friends. In fact, it is such a big part of our life and our diet that we go out to Colorado in October almost every year to go try to get an elk and some mule deer. For fishing on the other hand, our family vacation that both sides of my family goes on is a lake that all we do is pretty much fish and swim. Hunting and fishing has always been close to my family’s heart we always harvest the animals humanely and we cut up ourselves and eat the meat. I have thought about pursuing a career as a game warden or a biologist, but I just can’t give up racing I have worked hard and spent a lot to get where I am today. My family is what I seem to think is normal and some people may not think that driving a car around a racetrack is normal, or whenever I get a free day I go fishing and hunting. My family has done this all my life and I honestly would not want to change that one bit I love it. This life has changed me, I have stayed out of drugs or alcohol because of this. I spend a lot of the money I make on hunting and fishing equipment, and not only that I really don’t have any free time either i’m racing on the weekends and working on it on the weekdays or i’m hunting and fishing with my family.

Photo by rbatina on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND