By Doc Lehman
With this being December, thoughts of the yuletide season usually brings about a sense and tinge of nostalgia for past Christmas seasons. With thoughts of ‘ol St. Nick and other ancillary notions upon us we thought we would survey various people involved in the world of dirt Late Model racing and ask what special memories they have of being an overly-excited kid at Christmas time and what particular present they received in their youth that still stands out in their memories today and what best exemplified their ‘perfect’ Christmas.
“I was probably eight or ten years old and it was back when they first came out with the mono-shocks bicycles. I rode that bike and rode that bike! My brother (Chris) and two or three other kids on the block had them. And we raced those things and raced those things, basically, from the time we were eight years old until we were 14 or 15 years old. That’s when I started driving Late Models.”
-STEVE FRANCIS - former WORLD 100 & DTWC winner
“I got a dirt bike for Christmas one year. I think I was around 12 years old. It was my favorite Christmas gift because it started my racing career.”
-RYAN MARKHAM-central Ohio LM star/’06 Hilltop Speedway champion
“I guess I would have to say whatever was in my Christmas stocking that was always hung on the family room by the Christmas tree. We didn’t have a fireplace. It would be loaded with all kinds of different things. Candy, money, trading cards, GI JOE’s (the real ones) and more. I can remember always going to it first thing on Christmas morning.”
-BRET EMRICK - WoO LMS Race Director
“My favorite pre-teen Christmas present was when I was 6 years old and I received an Aurora ‘Model Motoring’ race set. It had two Fords and the old steering wheel controllers. It was just part o my budding love affair with racing. My Dad and I spent countless hours racing each other. And he spent countless hours repairing the cars and track!”
-REV. BILL WAUGH - RPM Racing News columnist
“One of those electronic race tracks. It was something that I had always wanted, I suppose, because of the speed of the cars and you could build your own track. So you could change tracks, sort of like traveling from track to track.”
-BRYAN DURIG - former Late Model racer
“I would have to say that my favorite gift would have to be the two-passenger go-kart that my Mom and Dad got me for Christmas when I was nine years old. As they say big things come in small packages. Mom and Dad surprised me by placing a picture of it in a regular old Christmas card, and let's just say that I don't think I have ever jumped so high in my life! This present was unexpected, because Mom and Dad said I wasn't allowed to have a go-kart until I was at least ten years old!”
CARRI MASON - crew chief for former STARS champion John Mason
“It had to be my first erector set. I thought it was so cool to be able to build and design all those things. Especially the robot that would walk across the floor.”
STEVE CRUMBACKER - Hagerstown Speedway Race Director
“Thinking back, I would have to say it was the Christmas that I woke up to find a brand new, 50 cc Honda Mini trail dirt bike. I was not expecting it because my Dad was not a big fan of motorcycles. He thought they were too dangerous and much preferred me on four wheels instead of two. I guess he knew how bad I wanted it and finally gave in, but made me promise not to be trying anything crazy on it, and to ride it with respect. I had a lot of great times on that bike. It seemed to open up a whole new world of adventure for me as it would go so many places I could never go on my go cart.”
MIKE SWIMS - Promoter of Dixie (DA) Speedway
“I'd have to say it was a remote control car I received several years ago. I had to assemble and paint it. I was pretty excited. That car is long gone now but I still remember how I felt when I got it.”
-BRIAN BIRKHOFER - former World 100 champion
“When I was about 8 years old I got a 1/24th scale slot car set. Being an absolute racing nut then already it was the greatest gift ever. My older cousin and I set it up right away and raced for about 10 hours straight until we melted the track. I guess was hard on equipment right away.”
-JIM BERNHEISEL – ‘02 Renegade DirtCar Racing Series Rookie of the Year
“When I was six-years old Santa Claus brought me a Knight Rider Big Wheel. Prior to that I had the very humble Big Bird Big Wheel, which obviously wasn't very intimidating. So with my newfound image I challenged cousins, friends, and fierce competitors to out-duel me on a make shift race track in my dad's garage. Call it home track advantage if you want, but I was the ‘Big Wheel’ Champion of Greenwood, WV after that Christmas morning!! Although, I did get protested for having a futuristic ‘illegal wiring harness’ mounted inside the molding of my big wheel! Fortunately I was not only the owner and promoter of the racetrack but the tech inspector as well. Needless to say I wasn't deducted points or money and was only put on probation until the end of the year!”
CLINT DOLL - GottaRace.com
“The best Christmas present I had was probably when I was eight years old and my mom and dad's friends, the Don Deane family, came to our house from the north side of Indianapolis, and we had a blizzard. They and their four kids were stranded at our house for several days and we made all kinds of crafts. Us (Rayburn) girls had never done anything like that before, our ‘crafty’ things were to groove tires, and things like that. Anyway, Mrs. Deane and my mother, Judy, crafted this beautiful little sleigh out of styrofoam, and decorated it. We woke up on Christmas morning, and our beloved family cat, Mittens was asleep in it, and right next to that beautiful sleigh, was a two-foot high SESAME STREET replica. Handwritten in my mother's very distinct handwriting was a note from Santa Claus telling my sister, Carla, and myself that we had to share! I know that I cherished that little playhouse still, when on my thirteenth birthday, I got a new drill!”
KIMBERLY RAYBURN - Administration/CJ Rayburn Race Cars
“I got a 26" Schwinn bike for Christmas back in about the late 50's and it didn't take me long to take it apart and put it back together. My parents should have known back then what I was going to do for a living. I have always been in to taking stuff apart and see what makes it work and then putting it back together.”
-MIKE FARR – Genesis Racing Shocks
“I remember being five or six years old and getting a red pedal tractor for Christmas. I recall pedaling it inside his house and how my mother nearly had a heart attack whenever I’d go racing past the china cabinet.”
DICK BARTON - multi-titled champion
?My ‘all time’ favorite Christmas gift has a kid, and I remember it like it was last year, was the Hot Wheels race set. You have to remember that when I was a kid they had just started making Hot Wheels cars and racetracks and it was a big deal back then. Now the kids have so many different things it’s unbelievable. My son is 8 years old and has a PlayStation and he beats me on the NASCAR racing game! With all of the computer games that are out there now I know he would think that the Hot Wheels set would be boring, but my friends and I had a blast with it way back when.”
-RICH GARDNER – Multi-Eriez Speedway track champion
“Looking back my favorite one would have to be the screwdriver set Santa gave me when I was, I think, 10. I was forever taking my Dad's tools-when my parents saw it on the list-they agreed that it would be a great idea! Actually it was a great idea-they got put to very good use over the years. I guess being a woman it would seem quite strange that is wasn't a doll or something along those lines, but honestly, I don't think I ever got a doll as a gift. Never touched them! There we trucks, and cars and guns & cowboy hats under the tree for me. To this day I thank my parents and Santa for letting me grow to be what I am and do what I like. That's why they were all special to me.”
KAREN TEETS - DIRT LATE MODEL writer
“My favorite Christmas gift of my childhood was a riding tractor. It had rubber tires and I used to drive it up and down the driveway pretending to be Fireball Roberts & Richard Petty. I would drive it all throughout the race broadcasts on the radio and literally ran the rubber off of the wheel to the point that I was running the raw wheel on the concrete and cutting a path into the driveway. That's when my Dad gave me the black flag. Shortly thereafter he got me a go-cart.”
OZZIE ALTMAN - broadcaster & president of Victory Lane Communications
“I would have to say that my all-time favorite Christmas gift came from my brother. He bought me my first quality SLR camera. He knew I had liked photography since junior high days and we were both racing nuts, so he suggested I try and combine the two. I had had those same notions, but was just getting started in the working world and didn't have the funds to get it going. He bit the bullet and got me my first outfit. Now, nearly sixteen years later, I have enjoyed some success, made a ton of friends and made a wealth of memories that will last forever. That will always be the most thoughtful and special Christmas present I have ever received.”
TONY HAMMETT - noted racing photographer
Merry Christmas 2006 from the entire Lehman family and Lehman Motorsports Services!
©2003-2006 Doc Lehman/Dirt America/LMS
A DA Holiday Rerun!
With this being December, thoughts of the yuletide season usually brings about a sense and tinge of nostalgia for past Christmas seasons. With thoughts of ‘ol St. Nick and other ancillary notions upon us we thought we would survey various people involved in the world of dirt Late Model racing and ask what special memories they have of being an overly-excited kid at Christmas time and what particular present they received in their youth that still stands out in their memories today and what best exemplified their ‘perfect’ Christmas.
“I was probably eight or ten years old and it was back when they first came out with the mono-shocks bicycles. I rode that bike and rode that bike! My brother (Chris) and two or three other kids on the block had them. And we raced those things and raced those things, basically, from the time we were eight years old until we were 14 or 15 years old. That’s when I started driving Late Models.”
-STEVE FRANCIS - former WORLD 100 & DTWC winner
“I got a dirt bike for Christmas one year. I think I was around 12 years old. It was my favorite Christmas gift because it started my racing career.”
-RYAN MARKHAM-central Ohio LM star/’06 Hilltop Speedway champion
“I guess I would have to say whatever was in my Christmas stocking that was always hung on the family room by the Christmas tree. We didn’t have a fireplace. It would be loaded with all kinds of different things. Candy, money, trading cards, GI JOE’s (the real ones) and more. I can remember always going to it first thing on Christmas morning.”
-BRET EMRICK - WoO LMS Race Director
“My favorite pre-teen Christmas present was when I was 6 years old and I received an Aurora ‘Model Motoring’ race set. It had two Fords and the old steering wheel controllers. It was just part o my budding love affair with racing. My Dad and I spent countless hours racing each other. And he spent countless hours repairing the cars and track!”
-REV. BILL WAUGH - RPM Racing News columnist
“One of those electronic race tracks. It was something that I had always wanted, I suppose, because of the speed of the cars and you could build your own track. So you could change tracks, sort of like traveling from track to track.”
-BRYAN DURIG - former Late Model racer
“I would have to say that my favorite gift would have to be the two-passenger go-kart that my Mom and Dad got me for Christmas when I was nine years old. As they say big things come in small packages. Mom and Dad surprised me by placing a picture of it in a regular old Christmas card, and let's just say that I don't think I have ever jumped so high in my life! This present was unexpected, because Mom and Dad said I wasn't allowed to have a go-kart until I was at least ten years old!”
CARRI MASON - crew chief for former STARS champion John Mason
“It had to be my first erector set. I thought it was so cool to be able to build and design all those things. Especially the robot that would walk across the floor.”
STEVE CRUMBACKER - Hagerstown Speedway Race Director
“Thinking back, I would have to say it was the Christmas that I woke up to find a brand new, 50 cc Honda Mini trail dirt bike. I was not expecting it because my Dad was not a big fan of motorcycles. He thought they were too dangerous and much preferred me on four wheels instead of two. I guess he knew how bad I wanted it and finally gave in, but made me promise not to be trying anything crazy on it, and to ride it with respect. I had a lot of great times on that bike. It seemed to open up a whole new world of adventure for me as it would go so many places I could never go on my go cart.”
MIKE SWIMS - Promoter of Dixie (DA) Speedway
“I'd have to say it was a remote control car I received several years ago. I had to assemble and paint it. I was pretty excited. That car is long gone now but I still remember how I felt when I got it.”
-BRIAN BIRKHOFER - former World 100 champion
“When I was about 8 years old I got a 1/24th scale slot car set. Being an absolute racing nut then already it was the greatest gift ever. My older cousin and I set it up right away and raced for about 10 hours straight until we melted the track. I guess was hard on equipment right away.”
-JIM BERNHEISEL – ‘02 Renegade DirtCar Racing Series Rookie of the Year
“When I was six-years old Santa Claus brought me a Knight Rider Big Wheel. Prior to that I had the very humble Big Bird Big Wheel, which obviously wasn't very intimidating. So with my newfound image I challenged cousins, friends, and fierce competitors to out-duel me on a make shift race track in my dad's garage. Call it home track advantage if you want, but I was the ‘Big Wheel’ Champion of Greenwood, WV after that Christmas morning!! Although, I did get protested for having a futuristic ‘illegal wiring harness’ mounted inside the molding of my big wheel! Fortunately I was not only the owner and promoter of the racetrack but the tech inspector as well. Needless to say I wasn't deducted points or money and was only put on probation until the end of the year!”
CLINT DOLL - GottaRace.com
“The best Christmas present I had was probably when I was eight years old and my mom and dad's friends, the Don Deane family, came to our house from the north side of Indianapolis, and we had a blizzard. They and their four kids were stranded at our house for several days and we made all kinds of crafts. Us (Rayburn) girls had never done anything like that before, our ‘crafty’ things were to groove tires, and things like that. Anyway, Mrs. Deane and my mother, Judy, crafted this beautiful little sleigh out of styrofoam, and decorated it. We woke up on Christmas morning, and our beloved family cat, Mittens was asleep in it, and right next to that beautiful sleigh, was a two-foot high SESAME STREET replica. Handwritten in my mother's very distinct handwriting was a note from Santa Claus telling my sister, Carla, and myself that we had to share! I know that I cherished that little playhouse still, when on my thirteenth birthday, I got a new drill!”
KIMBERLY RAYBURN - Administration/CJ Rayburn Race Cars
“I got a 26" Schwinn bike for Christmas back in about the late 50's and it didn't take me long to take it apart and put it back together. My parents should have known back then what I was going to do for a living. I have always been in to taking stuff apart and see what makes it work and then putting it back together.”
-MIKE FARR – Genesis Racing Shocks
“I remember being five or six years old and getting a red pedal tractor for Christmas. I recall pedaling it inside his house and how my mother nearly had a heart attack whenever I’d go racing past the china cabinet.”
DICK BARTON - multi-titled champion
?My ‘all time’ favorite Christmas gift has a kid, and I remember it like it was last year, was the Hot Wheels race set. You have to remember that when I was a kid they had just started making Hot Wheels cars and racetracks and it was a big deal back then. Now the kids have so many different things it’s unbelievable. My son is 8 years old and has a PlayStation and he beats me on the NASCAR racing game! With all of the computer games that are out there now I know he would think that the Hot Wheels set would be boring, but my friends and I had a blast with it way back when.”
-RICH GARDNER – Multi-Eriez Speedway track champion
“Looking back my favorite one would have to be the screwdriver set Santa gave me when I was, I think, 10. I was forever taking my Dad's tools-when my parents saw it on the list-they agreed that it would be a great idea! Actually it was a great idea-they got put to very good use over the years. I guess being a woman it would seem quite strange that is wasn't a doll or something along those lines, but honestly, I don't think I ever got a doll as a gift. Never touched them! There we trucks, and cars and guns & cowboy hats under the tree for me. To this day I thank my parents and Santa for letting me grow to be what I am and do what I like. That's why they were all special to me.”
KAREN TEETS - DIRT LATE MODEL writer
“My favorite Christmas gift of my childhood was a riding tractor. It had rubber tires and I used to drive it up and down the driveway pretending to be Fireball Roberts & Richard Petty. I would drive it all throughout the race broadcasts on the radio and literally ran the rubber off of the wheel to the point that I was running the raw wheel on the concrete and cutting a path into the driveway. That's when my Dad gave me the black flag. Shortly thereafter he got me a go-cart.”
OZZIE ALTMAN - broadcaster & president of Victory Lane Communications
“I would have to say that my all-time favorite Christmas gift came from my brother. He bought me my first quality SLR camera. He knew I had liked photography since junior high days and we were both racing nuts, so he suggested I try and combine the two. I had had those same notions, but was just getting started in the working world and didn't have the funds to get it going. He bit the bullet and got me my first outfit. Now, nearly sixteen years later, I have enjoyed some success, made a ton of friends and made a wealth of memories that will last forever. That will always be the most thoughtful and special Christmas present I have ever received.”
TONY HAMMETT - noted racing photographer
Merry Christmas 2006 from the entire Lehman family and Lehman Motorsports Services!
©2003-2006 Doc Lehman/Dirt America/LMS
A DA Holiday Rerun!
