Casey Racing speeds past the competition at Midvale Speedway
This competitive racing team from Holmes County calls itself Casey Racing, a fitting name for this team. Fifteen-year-old Matt Casey is the racer in the family, competing in kart races at Midvale Speedway. His father, David Casey, builds and works on his son's cars and acts as crew chief at his races. And on race day, the rest of the family is always sitting in the bleachers to cheer on their favorite driver.
This year, Casey Racing blew away the competition race after race. Matt led the league in points and racked up six-straight feature wins in the 13-15-year-old division, earning the title of Midvale Speedway Junior Champ, not to mention out-racing some of the more experienced drivers at the Midvale Speedway.
Throughout all these triumphs, Matt's favorite races were the ones that came down to the last second. "I like the good competition," said Matt. "The close ones, not the blowouts."
The father-son duo credits the year's achievements to patience, practice and hard work.
"After a lot of practice, everything clicks and you finally get it set, that's when you start to do well," said David Casey, who works on the car before, between and after races. It is important that Matt spends time with the car so he knows when something isn't working correctly, he explained. "It takes a lot of patience and just learning how a car works. Matt needs to tell me what the car is doing and then I can adjust for it."
For Matt, learning about cars has proven to be an easy task due to his father's expertise and experience. Not only is David a Village Motors employee, whose job involves working with cars daily, he was a racer himself, just like his son.
"I raced when I was younger," said David. "I always had a love for it and so does [Matt].
Matt learned his love for cars from his father, which is the reason he followed in his father's footsteps and started kart racing three years ago. Now, his parents still play a role in Matt's racing success, whether they are providing and maintaining the racecar or cheering on their son from the stands.
"My parents are a big part of it. They help out with being able to race and they are there to support me," said Matt.
But Matt's favorite part about racing is not the people he meets or the fun he has with his family, although these are certainly important factors. For this 15-year-old boy, the best thing about racing is whipping that kart around the track as fast as it will take him.
"I get to go fast," he said.
And fast he goes, as those karts whip around corners at 55 to 60 mph. For next year, Matt hopes to keep kart racing with better lap times, and eventually he wants to graduate to a bigger car. Once again, Casey Racing is sure to be a force to be reckoned with at Midvale Speedway.
Published: October 12, 2011
