The call is strong. It gets even stronger when you take those first steps. You just can't push away from it until you've had your fill. Sometimes, you can't walk away from it even then.
Anyone who has sat in a race machine and felt the throttle response, or witnessed a competitor in the side window knows. There are thousands who experience it week in and week out. It's safe to say there are equally that many who wish they had the same opportunity.
Jason Osborne, now of Eagle Lake, Florida, got a taste of racing early in his life, close to his Illinois roots.
"My first racing memory is watching my dad race at Spoon River," he said. "He had a Bomber car."
Jason was just starting elementary school when this happened. He was too young to have a formal role. "I didn't do anything to help with the car. I just hung around. If you'd have asked me then, I would have told you I was helping."
After his father stepped aside from the driving chores, there were still cars in and around Jason's world. Family friends had a car and nights at the races were still a part of the plan. Eventually, he and his brother would put together a beginner's car, but there were limited opportunities for the now teenaged Jason to get some seat time. "We didn't do all that well," he recalled.
This car was only in the picture for a year. Jason moved to Florida and the formal side of racing stopped. There were no contacts at race shops in Florida. The family knew no racers for Jason to continue his hands-on education. There would be an occasional visit to Auburndale Speedway, but then the boom in NASCAR racing really caught his eye. He became a fan, going to Winston Cup races when the chance came up. Following the sport from the spectator side became about the only racing connection.
An OpportunityJason still managed to catch a couple of local races every now and then. He also happened to tag along with a friend to DeSoto Super Speedway in Bradenton, Florida, on a hot Saturday morning. Organizers of the Fastruck Racing Series had put together a special driving experience for sponsors and series VIPs.
Six trucks from the series were waiting in the pit area. Prospective drivers went through an orientation program, and then started to do a walk around the 31/48-mile high-banked paved oval. Upon arrival at the start/finish line, organizers began to assign drivers to trucks. Each truck would get three racers. When the assigning was done, 17 people, a number not divisible equally by three, had been put into a truck. Either one truck would be short-handed, or there needed to be another volunteer.
"What about him," said Fastruck driver Billy Barstow, pointing to Jason. "You want to drive?"
It took Jason about 3 milliseconds to say yes. In racing, sometimes you need a little luck. It helps to be in the right place at the right time.
New HorizonJason's racing experience had been confined to an entry-level dirt car some years ago and only on a few occasions. The thought of what had been never crossed his mind as he was putting on the gear for what was about to be.
"I was very anxious," he said. "I thought, 'I'm ready for this.'"
Randy Storer would serve as his crew chief. Randy, the latest driver of the truck in series competition, instructed Jason to keep an eye on the gauges and keep an ear open for more guidance. It was Jason's first time with a spotter's radio chatter in his ear.
"Having that spotter talking to me made me feel a lot more comfortable in the truck," Jason related.