Dylan Smith, Racing From

Randolph Union High School junior Dylan Smith is congratulated by the race announcer and admired by two young fans after winning the feature race at Adirondack International Speedway. Though only 16, Dylan plans to make the big jump to Thunder Road racing next year. (Provided)

Go-Karts to Thunder Rd.

By Jill D. Montgomery

Dylan Smith is no stranger to the world of car racing. A few of his credentials include three-time Go Kart track champ, two-time over all Kart champ at Thunder Road, and third place finisher in the Race of Champions in 2005. That race took the top 200 Go Karters in the country and was held in Foxborough, Mass. Dylan was the youngest driver there.

All this at the age of 16. Smith’s 16^th birthday was in June. Dylan has been racing since the tender age of five.

Smith’s racing career started at Thunder Road in Barre, racing Go-Karts. He moved up through the divisions there and then briefly ran an Enduro car in Groveton for three races, which didn’t turn out to be much of a challenge.

Dylan moved on to the Allison Legacy North Division after that. He ran just five races there as a 14-year-old to preserve his rookie status, and then had his rookie season the summer after that. Smith finished that year 10^th in points and ran all but two races.

The 2008 season has just a few more races to go and Dylan is around 48 points in first place. In the last seven races he has had three wins and three seconds.

The Allison Legacy North Division runs cars that are between the Tiger Division and the Late Model Sportsman cars at Thunder Road in Barre. The Allison car is a 3/4 scale Nextel Cup car, powered by a four cylinder Mazda motor. Thunder Road cars run a V-8 motor. But Ken Smith, Dylan’s dad, explains, "The Allison cars are harder to drive because of the short wheel base."

Ken and Nancy Smith, Dylan’s parents, are both very supportive of Dylan’s racing. It is a little harder on mom because she works most Saturdays at the Post Office. Also Nancy confesses that she has a hard time watching Dylan go around the track at close to 100 miles an hour.

Ken, though, treasures the one-on-one time that racing gives him with his son.

"It’s something we do together and we have done almost every weekend since he was five. For me, the other sports that Dylan participates in, I’m just a spectator." Dylan plays soccer, basketball and baseball at Randolph Union High School, where he is a junior.

"The time that Dylan and I have together during race season is a gift. We have five or six hours driving together in the car. He is really a gifted driver. He has a rare talent for what he is doing."

Dylan drives a Monte Carlo with the number 34, in honor of Windell Scott, who is the only African-American to ever win a Winston Cup Race, and even that was under protest. The trophy that Scott received for winning the race wasn’t even metal—it was a wooden one.

The Allison Legacy circuit runs between Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire. Smith’s future plans include racing a late model car at Thunder Road. Smith’s sponsors have been his mom and dad, Abel Mt. Campground, Randolph National Bank, Brookside Customs, Edward Jones, and Gendron’s Excavating. Dylan and Ken are joined by Jason Rogers, who helps take care of the car and Matt Billow, for the racing team on the Allison circuit.

The Smith racing team has been in negotiations with Pete Fecteau, who has won ACT championships and a Thunder Road Championship. The parties have recently come to an agreement. Dylan is going to drive the #75 Fecteau race car next year. Ron Rathburn is the crew chief and Pete is going to tutor Dylan. Smith will run four or five races elsewhere to give him a chance to get used to the bigger car and faster speed.

Smith will race a late model Sportsman class car at Thunder Road in 2009 at some point. Fecteau will supply the car and he has the experience and wisdom to pass on to Smith. As Ken puts it "they are passing the torch to Dylan".

Smith cheerfully states that "my favorite part of car racing is the speed. The car goes around 80 miles an hour and the Late Model cars go around 90 miles as hour. I plan on doing this until my body can’t take it any more."