Published: July 17, 2008 01:53 am            

It’s a family affair: Racing means a lot to area families competing in ‘Wednesday Night Lightning’

CHARLESTOWN — No other sport unites a family more than auto racing.

That’s evident in all forms of motorsports, especially in NASCAR where families like the Pettys and Earnhardts have become household names over the years.

Racing has also been special to several families in Southern Indiana, and some of those families got a chance to race on Wednesday.

The first-ever “Wednesday Night Lightning” took place at the Clark County 4-H Fairgrounds, which was a part of this week’s Clark County 4-H Fair festivities.

Jeffersonville resident Keith Levell, the promoter of the go-kart racing event, knows firsthand on how racing can bring a family closer together.

Following a drag-racing tenure, Levell began racing go-karts in 1993 and has continued to do so ever since. When she was 5 years old, Levell’s daughter, Kimberly McKim, caught the racing bug and wanted to give go-karts a try.

Shortly thereafter, Levell put McKim in a go-kart and she raced for several years. McKim has not raced on a consistent basis the last few years.

“She grew up with a wheel in her hand. When she was 5 years old, she said, ‘Daddy, I can do that.’ I told her as long as she maintained her grades in school that she could have a go-kart,” Levell said. “We traveled every weekend and the time together in the truck talking down the highway, you can’t put a figure on that. We shared so much.”

McKim said racing is a great way for her to spend time with her father.

“It’s just something we can do together,” McKim said. “It’s fun to do and you want to do it.”

Racing has also been important to the Trinkle family. On Wednesday, 5-year-old Cole Trinkle of Jeffersonville competed in his first-ever race. He became the fourth generation in his family to strap into a race car.

“Any kind of driving time at all is good for anybody, especially a 5-year-old,” said Justin Trinkle, Cole’s father who drives in the super stock division at Salem Speedway and in the modified division at Bluegrass Speedway in Bardstown, Ky. “If you’re going to make it anywhere, you’ve got to start them as early as you can these days. This is how all the big-name NASCAR drivers started.”

Justin’s grandfather, Earl, began the Trinkle racing tradition by running at the Sportsdrome. Justin’s father, Tony, and uncle, Wayne, continued their family’s racing legacy, as they both competed in the ARCA/RE-MAX Series in the 1970s. Justin started his racing career when he was 11 years old.

“When your family is into it, that’s pretty much all there is,” Justin said.

Joe Waters, a deputy sheriff for the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, has promoted the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program at the fairgrounds’ go-kart races the past couple of years, including on Wednesday.

Through those races, Waters has witnessed how racing can unite a family.

“Racing is kind of a family business, and it gets the families involved,” said Waters, who gave a D.A.R.E. gift bag to drivers ages 14 and under before Wednesday’s event. “That’s something a lot of our kids are missing today is a family. Racing kind of brings a family back together. It keeps them close and tight-knit, which they should be.”

“Wednesday Night Lightning” attracted an estimated 60 drivers, ranging from ages 5-65. Fifteen classes competed on the 1/5-mile dirt track on Wednesday.

McKim says driving go-karts on dirt is more exciting than racing on asphalt.

“You get to slide around on dirt,” she said.

        

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