Wolf’s Word: Every Racer Has A Unique Story Just Waiting To Be Told

While many publications focus on the household names of drag racing and their well-documented stories and lives, it’s the grass roots racers – the ones that race simply for the love of drag racing and the family and friends they’re able to surround themselves with at the track, that deliver the most intriguing tales.

Before coming to work full-time as an Associate Editor for powerTV nearly two years ago, the scope of my writing was little more then an expanded caption or tagline under a photograph. In between working another job full-time and finishing college part-time, I also did “stringer” duty as a freelance photographer for local and major newspapers and magazines. Telling the stories of ordinary people with a camera just came natural, and utilizing my camera – be it for photography of videography- remains my primary story-telling tool.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that statement is an indisputable fact, but in that same respect, those thousand words can tell an exceptional story on their own, as I’ve learned over the course of these last two years.

In my role as the second-string quarterback of DRAGZINE, I’m called upon to author a number of distinctly different articles, some of which I will openly admit to being a virtual novice in the content of. But it’s the opportunities to learn, translate, and tell the stories of the hard-working individuals that make up this glorious sport of ours that bring the most satisfaction and enjoyment to my job. And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my short time as a writer, it that’s everyone, and I do mean everyone, has a unique story that’s worth reading.

Oftentimes, news tips will come across my desk about a new car under construction, a new team in the sport, a current team climbing a rung on the ladder, and so and so forth. I’ll pick up the phone to call these individuals to gather some added information about the story with little intent other than to ask about their car and their race team and retreat to my laptop to type it up. In the midst of these short conversations, the compelling stories behind these racers come out, and what ensues is a lengthy and impromptu chat with a racer that I’ve never met in my life, sharing their often personal stories that simply must be told. What began as a couple of paragraphs about a racers’ new ride turns into a full blown article telling a story that would’ve been a disservice to have simply recorded and deleted.

Sandi Wold

In one of my favorite pieces to date, I had the opportunity to speak with John Wold, the husband of West coast Drag Radial racer Sandi Wold. DRAGZINE Editor Mark Gearhart had spotted the Wold’s impressive turbocharged 2000 Ford Mustang at the Auto Club Dragway in Fontana and arranged for a car feature to be done. Little did I know when I picked up the phone and placed a call to John that I would learn the story of a woman who not only competed admirably with the boys, but had decisively overcome the crippling disease Multiple Sclerosis. Quickly, her inspiring story overshadowed the feature of her seven-second racer. You could hear in John’s voice how proud he was of his wife and his overflowing joy at the time he was able to spend racing with her, and once the story was published, Sandi’s gratitude for simply publishing her story and a few photos of her car in a globally-recognized online magazine meant far more to me as a writer than the kudos from our readers. More than anything, I was honored to have been able to tell her story.

Lloyd Wofford

In 2010, I had the pleasure of speaking with and sharing the story of sportsman racer Lloyd Wofford, who was on the verge of debuting his simply stunning new ’68 Barracuda SS/AH entry. Wofford had been deeply entrenched in the Stock and Super Stock wars in the heyday of class racing in the 1970’s before walking away from the sport to run his business in 1981. Twenty eight years later, the itch was too much to overcome and the 59-year old Wofford was going racing. Wofford described his return to racing as “an absolute dream come true” to get to race again.

Lou Dreisch

Recently, a private message on a message forum turned phone conversation with a chassis builder revealed an interesting story about a Maryland-based racer named Lou Dreisch. What was intended to be nothing more than a couple of paragraphs about his beautiful ’68 Chevelle project turned into a compelling story about how Dreisch had overcome the devastating loss of his race car and trailer in a garage fire and was well on his way to finishing a head-turning 8.50 Index machine.

Eric Peterson

Even more recently, a conversation with Washington native Eric Petersen about his racing plans for 2012 revealed the story of Perry Krinitt, a Northwest Pro Modified racer who had tragically lost his life in a helicopter accident. Petersen, who had never met Krinitt, purchased his former race car and with little to gain for himself whatsoever, shared his intentions to leave the cars’ appearance as-is and sport a pair of memorial decals to honor the memory of Krinitt.

These are but just a few of the amazing stories surrounding this great sport that I’ve had the honor and pleasure of telling thus far in my time with powerTV. While many publications focus on the household names of drag racing and their well-documented stories and lives, it’s the grass roots racers – the ones that race simply for the love of drag racing and the family and friends they’re able to surround themselves with at the track, that deliver the most intriguing tales. You never know where the next story will come from, but you can rest assured that everyone has one.