Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Last week my son and I went to the NARC shows at the Douglas County Dirtrack and Cottage Grove Speedway. I have been taking my son to the races for a few years now and, while he enjoys going, it's more about spending time with dad and eating a bunch of junk at the race track and less about sprint car racing. That all changed on this trip thanks to some really good racing and more importantly two drivers who went out of their way to make a new race fan. Those drivers were Cole Macedo and Gauge Garcia.

Right off the bat he decided that he liked Macedo becuase of his style and cool looking car. It didn't hurt that he won the race that night. After the races we went into the pits and he made a beeline to Macedo's pit. Cole was very friendly that night and chatted with us a bit. After that, I went to talk to another driver and my son went back to Macedo's pit. Nearby he encountered Gauge Garcia, who talked at length to my son and made him feel welcome.

The next day when we were leaving our motel to head to Cottage Grove we encountered Dominic Gorden's team repairing their car in the parking lot. I stopped and we went over to look. I was intending to let my son see a car in it's disassembled state. Gorden's crew chief immediately offered to let my son sit in the car, which was really nice of him considering that they had wrecked the night before and had lots of work to do. They were a friendly group. 

That night at Cottage Grove my son was super excited to watch Gauge race and was really upset when he was wrecked on the third lap. He was doubly upset when Justyn Cox passed Macedo late to take the win, but finally accepted that it was a great move by Cox. What happened in the pits then was fantastic. He went straight to Garcia's pit but this time Gauge was busy fixing his wrecked car, but he still managed to find the time to say hello. The crew chief, Brent, then gave him the front wing and had Gauge sign it. My son then went over to Macedo's pit and Cole gave him the trophy from his trophy dash win that night. Needless to say, my son was ecstatic.  

I know that our story is not unique, but this is how sprint car fans are made. This dad has tried for years but all it took were two drivers and crew chiefs to make the difference. Thanks to Cole Macedo, Gauge Garcia, Gauge's crew chief, Brent and Dominic Gorden's crew chief. 

Excellent story!   Double thumbs up

Awesome story, loved reading that

Great story, glad to hear you probably now have a little race buddy for many years to come. I can tell you now that he has caught the bug your travel, ticket, and race entertainment expenses are now going to increase but that is a good thing. I've been taking my son since he was 1 to races and he is now 8 and I cherish all of the race adventures and experiences we have had. We have talked to both Macedo boys a lot over the years since they have raced a lot here in Ohio and both of them are top class and very nice to the young ones. We had a similar experience with Brad Sweet the first time we went to Eldora and after the race my son went right to his car because his favorite colors were both blue and yellow and Brad stopped talking to his crew chief and got to my sons level and talked to him about his night (even though he was only 1) and let my son sit in his car. Both Carson and Cole are 2 guys we always have to stop by and see as well to say hi.

Taking your kids to the track is by far the best decision a dad or anyone can make. The amount of memories and good times you will have are too many to describe. I wouldn't trade the road trips, miles, money spent at the pump, money spent at the ticket window, money spent at the merch trailers, and cleaning out the car next day for anything. Even if your kids are grown or if they have their own kids take them. I take my dad with us from time to time and even though he annoy's the ever living crap out of me on most occasions (typical father/son stuff) it is a great feeling sitting there in the stands and just enjoying the evening. He and I share memories of when I was a kid, when he was a kid, make bets, make excuses why our pick lost and the other's won, take turns spoiling the child, etc.