 |
 |
Like Father like Son, Brian Sones has the Winning Touch
Submitted by Dino Oberto
on Monday, June 14, 2010 - Share
 As a youngster, Brain Sones spent many summers watching his father, Ken Sones, race at Sundance Vacations (Evergreen) Speedway. From 1990 to 1998 the elder Sones was a top dog racer, winning 17 features between the street stocks and thrillers classes. Through most of those seasons he was also among the title contenders.
Going to the track during that period was a family affair for the entire Sones clan of Sandy Valley. Not only was dad racing but Brian, along with his brother Tim, got on track as well during intermissions with the Kids Big Wheel competitions.
Fast forward to the present and the Sones are still having family gatherings at the speedway and still gracing Victory Lane as 20-year old Brian is carrying on the racing heritage.
Although he followed the path of his dad by competing and winning in street stocks, he recently achieved victory in a class that his famous father never had the opportunity to race in, modifieds. This past Memorial Day weekend Sones pulled off a rousing victory in the track s sport mod division.
It was pretty emotional because it s an older car that we run and we hadn t finished in the top 10 in a while and to be able to beat all those other guys was an accomplishment. The drivers in that class are all very good and to win against them really gives you your confidence back, recalled Sones, who was actually pondering giving up racing due to a string of bad luck since moving into the modified.
In the street stock we were fast but in the modified we never even finished a race until two weeks before we won and I just hate losing and so does my dad. He told me the only time you fail is when you quit so we stuck with it.
The sport modified is identical in appearance to full or tour-type modified with the exception of the tires, carburetor and engine which are all smaller. For a driver who cannot foot the cost of a regular modified it is the perfect match. For traditionalists the car can best be described as a Sportsman class racer.
I actually look at the sport mod division like the Nationwide Series in NASCAR. There are a lot of guys in that class who also run in the regular modifieds with the bigger engines and tires and that helps them because they get the extra track time, explained Sones.
But it helps me too because I m racing against that type of competition and it shows that I can beat them now. It s also something that my dad never did. It s something that I ll always have on him. The modifieds are big here in the Northeast and when you win in one of these cars you ve pretty much won in the lead division on the east coast.
Sones, who will be graduating this year from Bloomsburg University with a degree in elementary education, actually gave up playing basketball for racing. When he attended MMI in high school he was a player on the jayvee and varsity squads until his sophomore year. But once the itch to race set in, shooting hoops became less important.
I was always into racing. I raced go-karts but got in a bad wreck and then started playing basketball instead. But once I stopped doing that I definitely knew I wanted to go back to racing.
When Ken Sones left the sport he never looked back and never hinted about his sons doing it either. It actually came as a surprise to the folks when Brian broke the news that he was about to start driving race cars.
He (dad) definitely didn t want to go back. He quit and was done with it. I had actually won a $1000 in a raffle at a Penn State Hazleton basketball game. With that money I went out and bought a street stock and he wasn t too happy about that. It took some convincing but once we got the car he was supportive and behind me, said Sones.
It s special to me to be able to race at the same track my dad did. They just held the Evergreen reunion and to see him in the record books, that means a lot.
We re very close. I consider my dad my best friend. We call each everyday and talk about the car. In Victory Lane I handed him the checkered flag because every time he won I would get in the picture holding the checkered flag. So when I won with the modified I had him do the same thing.
And just like a decade ago, it s a get-together and that always includes his mother, Trish. Back in the day she was very passionate in her support of Ken, cheering him on to many a victory and now that her son is doing the same that fire of excitement still burns within her.
She s my biggest fan and probably annoys a couple people who sit around her in the stands. But she loves winning and she loves racing and she would do anything for us.
From father to son, Brian Sones, like so many others that race at Sundance and across the country, are the shining example of how short track racing continues to be a sport that flourishes through family traditions.
|
|
About
PARacingOnline.com |
Advertising
Opportunities |
Terms of Service |
Privacy Statement |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
Recent Headlines |
Hoffner, Surra, Calhoun, Anderson, and Surra Victorious at Hummingbird Speedway on Fan Appreciation Night!
- Monday, August 02, 2010
Darrell Lanigan Wins WoO Late Model Event at Tim Bainey's Central PA Speedway
- Monday, August 02, 2010
Payoff Increase for the UFo/ULMS Red Miley Rumble at PPMS!
- Monday, August 02, 2010
Kot Repeats While Hoffner, Barnett, Shannon, and Fedder Pick Up First Wins of the Season at Hummingbird Speedway
- Monday, June 14, 2010
Bobby Jones Aces Hand One of Mahoning Valley Poker Series
- Monday, June 14, 2010
|
|
What You Can Do To Help Make
PARacingOnline.com Better
The cost associated with running
PARacingOnline.com is around $400 per
year. This does not include the amount
of time spent keeping the site updated.
In addition to these cost,
PARacingOnline.com would like to upgrade
the message board and use newer style
board that allows users to create new
topics, be notified when someone
responds to their posts, and private
message fellow users. This cost an
extra $150. Rather than continue pulling
from my own pocket, I am asking that if
you are able, please make a contribution
to the site. All contributions will go
towards making the site better, and the
promotion of the site.
|
|
 |
 |
|
