If you're building a car and going racing for the first time, then StockCar Racing wants to hear from you. We are particularly interested inhearing from racers who have been motivated to go racing by stories inthis magazine. This also applies to former racers who have been on thesidelines for a while but who have decided to get back in the sport.Here's how it works: Send us photos of your car as it's beingbuilt--preferably photos with people actually working on the car--andinclude a short summary (150-200 words) explaining how Stock Car Racingmagazine helped you get on track. We'll follow along with your periodicsubmissions all the way through the car's completion.
The written partis critical. This can include specific examples of Sleepy's hands-ontech that motivated you, or tech examples from some other magazinecontributor, or you can simply give us details on how our focus on entrylevel racing has inspired you to hit the track. The images can be 4"x 6"color prints, as many as you want to send via U.S. Mail, or you canemail jpeg images (highest resolution possible), along with your writtensummary, to larry.cothren@primedia.com.(If you choose to email the material, though, limit the submission totwo images plus the written portion. If you email more than two images,we'll reject your submission.) Send print photos and written summariesto:
SCR Get On Track
5555 Concord Parkway South
Smith Tower, Suite 326
Concord, NC, 28027
We'll select the best entries for our website, and one entry will bechosen for a full story in the magazine, so send us your best stuff.
My name is Tony Lima and I live in Costa Mesa, CA. In order to tell mystory I have to go back 35 years. When I was a young boy growing up inCarson, CA I used to go to the races every other weekend. I also usedto race motorcycles up until my early thirties. Needless to say, racinghas been in my blood a long time. During the last four years I havebeen subscribing to Stock Car Racing magazine the desire to go back toracing has been increasing, almost like adding fuel to the flame ofracing. This year I finally gave in to that desire, thanks to Stock CarRacing magazine, and built my first street stock race car. I raced itfor the first time on Sept. 24th at Perris Raceway and the car handledtremendously due to Sleepy's Track Techs like "Roll Steer and ItsEffects", "Sway Bars", "Street Stock Set Ups", and "Protect Your Headand Face" articles. Most importantly, the August issue on Street Stockswas invaluable. I never miss reading Sleepy's Track Tech Question andAnswer for Racers no matter what.
Scott Freund
Hollister, CA
I am a long-time racing fan and subscriber to Stock Car Racing magazine. After reading about other racers in your magazine, I was inspired to goracing. Since working in law enforcement and not a mechanic, I wasnervous about buying a race car. I started racing gearbox karts ontracks such as Sears Point. After reading Tech articles in yourmagazine, I was ready to move up to a racecar. I made the big jump intoa Sportsman Late Model, racing at Altamont Raceway on the fast mile. We were fast and won a trophy dash. My wife became a racing fan andstarted to read your magazine. She bought me a new late model after ourearly success. We decided to start a family but we had fertilityproblems. We started to divert most of our money to cover doctor bills. She even took her time-scheduled shots at the track. We were unable toafford both racing and the doctor bills so we started focusing on ourfamily and put racing on hold. We now have 3-year old twins and a 2year old. In 2006, the dream will continue as the family goes racingagain.
Stock Car Racing Magazine has been instrumental in curing my "need forspeed". As a police officer in the Chicago Suburbs, I've loveexcitement, and driving a police cruiser all day can be fun. However, Iwanted more.
Luckily one of my co-workers was already an established Legends Cardriver. I loved watching NASCAR but I knew nothing about thenitty-gritty of automobiles, except how to drive fast. My friend waskind enough to let me help with his Legends team. His teaching wasinvaluable, but combined with picking up all the issues of Stock CarRacing, I quickly began to learn the ins and outs of building andmaintaining a stock car. In fact, my friend trusted me so much that helet me drive his car the following year when he had a work-relatedinjury.
Unfortunately, the next season he had to sell his car, and I justcouldn't afford to buy it. Yet, I still had such a desire and foundMini-Cups to be in my price range and learning curve. After two seasonsI have several victories and multiple top five finishes. I hope tosomeday move up to larger cars as I progress in my mechanical skills.But until then, I'll continue to work my tail off to win every Mini-Cuprace!