The second part of the Father’s Day blog, featuring several drivers talking about the influence of their dads:
Ryan Satter (#67 Wissota Street Stock and Limited Late Model, Dent, Minn.)
“My dad raced in the 80s and early 90s around the area, he quit the spring of 1994 and I was born the fall of 1994. I never got to watch my dad race but I grew up watching film of him in Wee Town, Glyndon, and Fargo and flip through all the old photo albums he has. I was obsessed with racing since I was born. He bought me a snowmobile to race when I was in kindergarten, tried that for a winter but never really got into that like I did cars. He sponsored Dave Zimmerman for many years and took me to the first ever fall classic in Alex and we stood on Dave’s trailer that night. Dave went on to win that night and I got to be a part of that, that was enough to drive me passion. I begged dad to take me weekly growing up after that, we would run to Alex or Glyndon, Fargo and Fergus. When I turned 16 I started working for one thing, to buy my own car. I was 17 sitting at Christmas and he showed me a street stock he found for sale out in North Dakota, the next day we went and looked at it. We had lunch discussing it and what my thoughts were on it. He reminded me just how time consuming it was and the money it takes to race, I didn’t care I told him I was racing and there was no way around it. Since then he’s traveled every were with me racing across the country, staying up all night driving and working on cars. He and my mother have sacrificed a lot in their own lives to help me pursue my passion and I am forever grateful for that. I have spent more quality time with my parents and made life long friends doing this crazy hobby and I wouldn’t change a second of it. This sport is truly a family sport and some nights we want to just fight about the nights events, the next day we are the best of friends and working on cars and traveling again. The time I have spent with my parents, family and friends is time I will cherish forever.”
Tyler Peterson (#1TPO Modified, Hickson, N.D.)
“My dad... there’s so much I could say. Without my dad, my racing career would have never started or even been thought of. But here we are, nine years into my racing career and my dads probably been doing it for 25-30 years. I can remember being a kid and cheering on Corky EVERY Friday night at RRVS when he was driving my dads #6m super stock. Those nights are really what got me hooked. We’ve been through it all, the highs and the lows. And with racing there are a lot of lows. My dad taught has taught me through out the years how to overcome the lows. His guidance and understanding of this sport made the lows easier to overcome because there’s always another race. There’s not much he hasn’t seen or done in racing, so he always has a solution to a problem. I’m fortunate enough to have been able to share my childhood and early adult life with my dad going to hundreds of races all over the country and doing it together. We’ve had a ton of success over the years. We’ve overcome the lows, and enjoyed every step of this journey together. In my nine years of racing, he’s missed one race. And boy, what a disaster that was. He fortunately let me take his truck and trailer to I-94 speedway as long as I took Kelly Jacobson with me because I was only 19 and he didn’t trust me at all (lol). Well, the second we got there I pulled in the pit area and sunk the truck and trailer in the middle of the pits. The night was all but forgettable from that point on, and I can’t help but think. “Wow this wouldn’t of happened if my dad was here”. Moral of the story is I’d be nowhere without my dad. He’s the smartest, most hardworking, and toughest guy on the planet. He’ll lend a hand to anyone that asks. (Seriously to anyone that ever needs help, just ask him, he’s not that scary I promise). I could go on for ever, but we’ll end it here. I love you dad, happy Father’s Day!”
Victoria Stutsky (#24 Wissota Midwest Modified, St. Andrews, Manitoba)
“I didn't come from a racing family, but growing up my dad always took me quading and snowmobiling until one day he bought me a go kart. We had four awesome years of fun racing go karts, both of us winning championships. Then when it was time to move on my dad got hooked up with some guys and the next thing i know i was racing my first race in a midwest modified. dirt racing was new to the both of us, so we have both been learning everything there is to know everyday since 2016. my dad sacrifices so much for me to be able to race, he encourages me to keep going when i feel like giving up, and he especially hasn't given up on me. i wouldn't be racing at all if it wasn't for him, and i hope soon he gets to experience the thrill of racing himself! he spends so much time taking me racing on weekends and working hard every night in the shop for me. I can't thank him enough. happy fathers day, dad!”
Erik Robertson (#9R Wissota Late Model, Casselton, N.D.)
So where do I start. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity not only to help but to race with both my Dad Kevin Robertson and my father in law Joe Pellman. I have had a blast racing with them. I still get to race and travel around with my dad and still enjoy turning laps with him it’s like racing your buddy’s at a go cart track. I always run a little harder with him. I hope someday I get the opportunity to race one more time with my father in law. My dad has done more for me and has supported my racing career as much as one person can and then some. Family has always been a huge part of why I race. When I first started I worked on the car in my Dad’s shop with him and built the motor in my Grandpa Sams shop I learned more working side by side with those two then anyone could imagine.
Kyle Langland (#66 Wissota Midwest Modified, Casselton, N.D.)
“Our dad, Larry Langland, raced for many years and it gave us a little taste in racing. However, all three of us were never quite old enough at the time to be a big help to him or fully understand racing. Flash forward to today, our dad has been the most important piece to our racing career. Without him, we would not be racing! We all realized how little we knew about racing and never realized how much time, effort and work you need to put in weekly. Our dad has showed us all of this along the way and continues to be by our side and support us day in and out with racing. We are also very appreciative to him for giving up racing in order to support all three of us Langland boys’ sports habits when we were younger. This family sport has kept us all really close together and we are constantly learning something new from our dad’s racing knowledge. I know Kyle, Taran and Alex cannot thank our Dad enough for everything he has done for us with racing!”
Justin Vogel (#10 Wissota Street Stock, Brooten, Minn.)
“To start this conversation off we have to go back to when I was a toddler my dad always involve me in all the yard work and lawn mowing and fixing vehicles which made me want to do the same! My dad and a few buddy’s raced a car in high school I believe but they didn’t race much. My dad worked at long haul trucking and once again I was always there studying him work on things, asking a million questions about anything and everything! After Long haul my dad bought brooten auto and we went to races at Viking speedway pretty frequently!! Dad and one of our mechanics Jim Fischer bought a street stock together and Jim’s brother in law Scott Searcy drove it for a couple years and then Gary Reents drove for a year! In that time I had a chance to ride with Jeff wildung in the Cystic fibrosis double seater late model from that point on I was dead set on getting behind the wheel! So dad bought the other half of the car and we started racing!! Dad flips the bill for a lot of the big ticket items on the car and also helps work on the car any time I need him to!! We have traveled thousands of miles together some bad and quite trips home but many others talking about what a great time we had!! I just want to say thanks to my dad for helping me achieve so many of my dreams!!!”
Jordan Adams (#20 NOSA Sprint, Reynolds, N.D.)
“My dad’s influence on me is really what got me hooked on racing. I remember Friday nights as a kid waiting to go to the races with him. If those nights wouldn’t have happened, I probably wouldn’t be in a race car today. Getting to do something we both dreamed of together as a team has been such an awesome deal. Lots of quality time which has brought us closer. Sure there’s some nights I want to come in and throw my helmet at him, but most nights we have a good conversation on what went well and what didn’t go so well after the race.”
Alyssa White (#14 IMCA Hobby Stock, West Fargo, N.D.)
“As I sit here writing this, I am finding it so incredibly hard to put into words how influential my dad has been not only in my racing career but also throughout my everyday life. If I’m being honest, there have been days and nights where I felt like racing wasn’t even worth it anymore because so many things had gone wrong that week. But my dad has always been there to pick me back up and encourage me to let the issues of the previous weeks make me a better driver for the upcoming ones. He has shown me that if you love something, you give it your all. You spend countless hours working on it, improving it and learning about it. You watch last week’s races and you mentally note where you went wrong so it can be fixed for the next week, you strive to be the best that you can possibly be even through the rough patches and most importantly you love with all your heart and you never give up. Without my dad, I wouldn’t be racing. He gets up at 6 a.m., goes to work for 9+ hours a day and then comes home and works on the race car for hours on end just to go to sleep and do it all over again the next day. There have been times in the garage where we are at each others throats and the tension is so high that my mom has to tell us to stop talking to each other haha. We fight, we argue, we yell and sometimes we leave the other and go in the house but I wouldn’t want it any other way because at the end of the night apologies are said and silent “I love you’s” are expressed.”
Kyle Anderson (#59 Wissota Street Stock, Jamestown, N.D.)
“My dad is the whole reason I'm out there, he used to pit for numerous of his friends way back in the day but when I was born and started going out to the track when I was about two he was pitting for Brad Vining in the #3 street stock. I'd come with every week and scrape mud off of the car and sometimes stray away to the neighboring cars and scrape mud on there cars. And just starting with that has led to this being my 15th season racing having 7 years in karts, 3 in pure stocks and this year being my fifth year in a street stock. And for the all those years of him working countless hours at work and putting we've ever had into my racing career is something I could never thank him enough for or ever give back to him what he has given to me and what I love to do. Not sure if it was much of an influence but he certainly showed me to something I could never live without.”
Brody Carlsrud (B1 INEX Legend, Moorhead, Minn.)
“My dad was one of my inspirations in racing. One time he took me to the race track and I wanted to start going every weekend to the race track. Then I saw these go karts one time and my dad told me do you want to try one and I was like yeah. So then about a week later I jumped in one and I loved. Then eventually we bought one from Ryan Rested. My dad has been my biggest supporter in racing throughout my racing career and I can’t thank him enough for what he does for me we have spent so much time together and I love every minute of it. I can’t thank him enough for what he does for me.”
Eric Riley (#51 Wissota Street Stock, Morris, Minn.)
“My dad is pretty much the main reason I started racing. I grew up going to enduro races with him and watching him race. As soon as I was old enough, I got into an enduro car myself. My first car was a little front wheel drive car. One day at the track after the pit meeting, my dad handed me my helmet and said “here, you’re running my big car today”. And the rest was history! Without him I probably never would have got into racing. And, more than likely wouldn’t still be racing. He puts in countless hours down at the shop, even nights when I go home early, he stays down there and works on something. His work ethic is second to none and something I look up greatly.”
Morgan Ward (#37jr Wissota Modified, Watertown, S.D.)
"Scott Ward -- my hero, my teacher and my father. It’s all because of his dedication to my racing program I am where I am today! Since I was four months old I was hooked on this sport and it only took me 18 years to talk him into getting me behind the wheel. He taught me it takes time in the shop, hard work in the off season and a strong head game that you can make it through any race! Going into my 9th race season, I couldn’t be more proud to be “Scott Ward’s, The Wild Child, daughter and keep the “Ward” name in the racing world for years to come! Thanks Dad for allowing me to keep following my dreams."
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