3/8/2017
GLSS-Great Lakes Super Sprints
Dads Racing Sons (times 4)
The only thing better than going to the race track with your dad is racing against your dad at that race track! It is not unusual for Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Fathers, Mothers, Sons and Daughters to spend weekends and holidays together at local race tracks. But what is unusual is to have 4 fathers and sons racing against each other in the same race.
On August 13, 2016 we had 20 cars roll into Thunderbird Speedway for a Friday night race. As registration proceeded I realized that we had 3 fathers and their sons registered to race. Before registration was over we had 8 of our 20 cars being raced by fathers and their sons.
On that night at Thunderbird Speedway in Muskegon, MI, our father/son racers were: #2T Ralph Brakenberry (64 yrs) and #3T Tank Brankenberry (40 yrs) of Pigeon, MI. #61 Don Smith (55yrs) and #26 Lukas Smith (19 yrs) of Lebanon, IN. #3A Mike Astraukas (44 yrs) and #31A Tanner Astraukas (15 yrs) of Pierson, MI. #57 Mike Dunlap (41 yrs) and #37 Noah Dunlap (14yrs) of Wapakoneta, OH.
Representing Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, these 4 father/son teams have another thing in common. They all like to take their wings off their cars and race wingless! As unusual as that was, there is a high likelihood we could have this whole bunch together Sunday, July 23rd at I-96 Speedway when we will have MTS Sprints and Great Lakes Super Sprints running together this summer!
There are many fathers and sons that have raced against each other, but 4 fathers and their sons racing at the same track, in the same class and on the same night is pretty incredible. My fascination with the father/son combo got my brain working overtime. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head: How many of our member cars involve the immediate family in the pits?
I finally got some time and sat down to make a list of our members and see who made up each drivers crew in the pits. You might be surprised to find out that 90.3% of our teams are made up by immediate family! These are family members that are driving the car, wrenching on the car, driving a push vehicle, fueling the car and cleaning the mud off the car (or any other job that needs to be done).
Interestingly, 42% of our member cars bring mom, dad, sisters and brothers and work in the pits together as crew! The table below represent the 31 driver/members from 2016 and their family dynamic:
29% are 3 generation combos (Include Grandfather, Father, Son)
55% are 2 generation combos (Father Driver/Son Crew, Son Driver/Father Crew, Daughter Driver/Father Crew, Father Driver/Daughter Crew, Grandson Driver/Grandfather Crew)
7% = Husband/Wife driver and crew combinations
9% = Driver/Crew combination
It’s an awesome thing to see families together in the pits at the local race tracks! With all the bad news we hear every night on television or daily on the radio, it’s encouraging to see so many families racing together. The future of our country is being preserved and strengthened at local race tracks in every state and every weekend!
On that night in Muskegon, MI, where 4 dads and their sons strapped into their sprint cars and rolled on the track and into GLSS History; Dustin Daggett’s son, Mason, was in the pits and represented 4 generations in the Daggett hauler that night. In my humble opinion, looking around the pits of a GLSS race; the future is bright for families in sprint car racing. As the saying goes, “The family that races together, stays together!”
Article Credit: Barry M. Marlow
Submitted By: Barry Marlow
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