Timmy Smith Making His Mark In The Dirt

“You win some, you loss some” he says but so far this 2009 season at TR Speedway, Timmy Smith has lost only three Stock 8 races. “Can anyone beat Timmy Smith?” “Timmy Smith wins Stock 8“, you have all seen the headlines week after week. You have even seen him step out of his normal class to run in Limited Sportsman and still stay up front with the dominators of that division.

So is Timmy planning on building him a Limited or is he planning on moving up any time soon? “No” he said. “I started out 12 years ago in Stock 8 and sometimes I now run Renegade but have no plans on building another car.” Learning this information was almost like hearing that he went right into college after grammar school but Timmy said, “ It was not like it is now. Back then it was more like running Renegade. Things have changed so much since I started out in the racing world back in 1997.”

With 197 wins in his racing suit these last 12 years, his average has been 1.4 wins per month over the entire span of his racing career at surrounding dirt tracks. Now that is not including the 2 championships he has won at Thundervalley, 1 at Sugar Creek, 2 at Riverside and 2 at his home track TR Speedway. He has ran out of room for the trophy’s he has won and since has started giving most of them away to children or other individuals. He said, “I have no more space unless we start building on a room just for the growing population of the trophy case.”

Even while working in the logging industry, Smith has been able to always make time for all things racing. Keeping his car running rests solely on himself. “If I am the only one working on my cars, then if something goes wrong, it is on me and no one else is to blame” said Smith. He has however had help from time to time. Dwight Smith, Lester Hall and Charlie Caldwell help out on occasion when needed like last August when Timmy had a crash at TR Speedway in turns one and two that flipped his car several times. This crash was “the worst he has had in his racing career” said Smith. Unable to move for several days, these guys came over and helped get the new car ready which he was back into within a few weeks. Blue Ridge Automotive has also been a sponsor as well.

I asked Smith what he would say to the young drivers just getting into the sport and he said, “Come out on that track each week and know that you are just as welcome to be there as anyone else and simply run your race. Don’t let anyone intimidate you, drive safe, drive smart and have fun.”

His fans are a huge part of the reason he loves what he does. This man can talk to anyone and never meets a stranger. He said “one of the things I love about coming to the track on Saturday night, besides of course racing, is to meet and talk to everyone I possibly can.” A people person this man is and an all around nice guy.

When Timmy Smith is not out on the track or working, he is spending time with his wife Michelle and two daughters Chelsie and Malory. Juggling time I am sure can get tough but he has managed to make room for it all.

I personally would like to Thank Timmy Smith for taking the time to speak with me. Good luck out there and I look forward to seeing many more wins come your way.

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