A Little Family Backgound

- submitted by Julie

The Conlin Family has always been interested in racing. For as long as I can remember, us kids have liked racing, especially Champ Car racing. We go to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, at least two times a year. Usually for the SCCA Valvoline Runoffs and of course the Champ car weekend.

In our family we have a system. My dad started it when my sisters and I were real young. My dad wanted to have a fun way to get us into racing. He had each of us pick our favorite driver. We kept these drivers the whole year and if "your driver" won a race, you got to pick a fun place to go to, like out to dinner or the movies. If "your driver" won the championship, you got to pick something "bigger", like an amusement park or something like that. At the time my dad had Jacques Villenueve, my mom had Al Unser Jr., my older sister had Nigel Mansell, my twin sister had Paul Tracy, and I had Michael Andretti.

The author with her favorite driver.

Throughout the years my sisters and my parents have "changed" their drivers, but I have always kept Michael Andretti. I have pictures, articles and other memorabilia on my so-called "Andretti wall". Two years ago, at Mid-Ohio Michael had a horrifying crash. It happened right in front of where my family was sitting.

Going into turn 7, Alex Zanardi, clipped off J.J. Lehto's front wing and it landed in P.J. Jones' cockpit, which caused him to be unable to steer. Meanwhile, Andretti was trying to pass Jones and Blundell, by going between them. Since Jones was unable to steer, his car drifted toward Blundell, which sent Michael on a terrifying ride. He flipped over at least three times and landed in a sand trap. The car was so torn up that I didn't think that anyone could have survived the crash and I thought that my favorite driver whom I had loved for so many years was in deep, deep trouble. But, with every one on their feet, Michael climbed out and walked away as he gave a wave to the crowd. Later in his interview, he thanked God for being with him that day.

As you can see our family loves racing and we take it very seriously. We know and understand the risks involved with racing and that won't stop us from participating in and watching what we love.

Years ago, my dad used to race snowmobiles, formula cars and sports cars. Later, he and my mom competed in road rallies. My dad has always wanted to get back into racing and he thought that karting would be something that all of us would enjoy. That's when things really got serious.

In early December, my dad got on the Internet and he found a kart for sale by Kevin Picklesimer. My dad, twin sister and I, went to Kevin's house and learned what he had to offer. Which was a pretty good deal! In late January, we decided to buy the kart and went back to Kevin's house. Once we got there, Kevin explained how the things worked on the kart, and again reminded us to "Just have fun". And that's what we plan to do and so far that's what we have been doing, having fun! We plan to race mostly at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) and if we're good enough maybe even at Commercial Point!

Race back to 2000