Englewood Herald > Sports
Driver seeks to return to racing
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| Terry Gipson’s figure-8 race car was adorned with stuffed animals on this occasion. However, the green No. 62 is no more. It was damaged beyond repair in a race near the end of the 2007 season. Courtesy photo |
By Tom Munds
Terry Gipson’s to-do list includes completing purchase of the car and installing the engine so she can return to figure-8 racing when the season start in May at I-25 Speedway just north of Pueblo.
She got in a crash near the end of the 2007 season that totaled her car. A series of situations, including the current economic climate, made it necessary for the unsponsored car owner-driver to sit out last year’s season.
“As much as I love racing, I didn’t go to the track last year because I couldn’t be out there racing,” the Englewood resident said. “I just hope everything falls into place so I can go racing again this spring.”
She drives the car and her daughter Samantha Davis is her crew chief. She said her grandchildren, even though they are young, are right there to help pound out dents in the body or do other things to help keep the car running.
When she is racing, Saturday at the track dominates the spring and summer schedule for Gipson, her daughter and her grandchildren as they hit the road about 9 a.m. for a day of racing at Pueblo Speedway.
The family arrives around noon for early hot laps. Then, racing and qualifying begins about 4 p.m. and races start about 6.
I-25 Speedway is home to a number of different types of racing and the schedule is always full. Gipson is a figure-8 driver.
The classification draws its name from the track configuration in the form of a figure 8. That means, each lap, the driver has to maneuver safely through the center of the track called the cross. Cars jockeying for position in the field speed through the cross at about a 45 degree angle so there are frequent near-misses and crashes.
Every night of figure-8 racing includes a time trial which determines each car’s position in the races and the competition concludes with a 20-lap main event.
“I love figure-8 racing,” Gipson said. “Being out there on the track gets the blood really pumping. But, it’s more than that because I also enjoy the fans and the family-like atmosphere among the drivers. It’s pretty special.”
Gipson began her racing career working in the Englewood Speedway pits as a crew member for Dave Smith. Englewood Speedway closed down after the 1978 season and Gipson joined the other crew members when Smith entered races at Colorado Speedway in Erie.
Several years ago, a friend of Smith’s needed someone to drive a car in the enduro races at Rocky Mountain Speedway. Enduro racing challenges drivers to keep the vehicle running long enough to complete 200 laps around the quarter-mile dirt track.
Gipson said, for about five years, she competed in enduro races at Rocky Mountain Speedway and at the track in Fort Morgan.
Three years ago, she got the chance to drive figure-8.
“I guess I got bit by the figure-8 bug, although she crashed in my first race,” she said. “I just enjoy everything about racing and, as long as I can, I want to stick with it.”
She got in a crash near the end of the 2007 season that totaled her car. A series of situations, including the current economic climate, made it necessary for the unsponsored car owner-driver to sit out last year’s season.
“As much as I love racing, I didn’t go to the track last year because I couldn’t be out there racing,” the Englewood resident said. “I just hope everything falls into place so I can go racing again this spring.”
She drives the car and her daughter Samantha Davis is her crew chief. She said her grandchildren, even though they are young, are right there to help pound out dents in the body or do other things to help keep the car running.
When she is racing, Saturday at the track dominates the spring and summer schedule for Gipson, her daughter and her grandchildren as they hit the road about 9 a.m. for a day of racing at Pueblo Speedway.
The family arrives around noon for early hot laps. Then, racing and qualifying begins about 4 p.m. and races start about 6.
I-25 Speedway is home to a number of different types of racing and the schedule is always full. Gipson is a figure-8 driver.
The classification draws its name from the track configuration in the form of a figure 8. That means, each lap, the driver has to maneuver safely through the center of the track called the cross. Cars jockeying for position in the field speed through the cross at about a 45 degree angle so there are frequent near-misses and crashes.
Every night of figure-8 racing includes a time trial which determines each car’s position in the races and the competition concludes with a 20-lap main event.
“I love figure-8 racing,” Gipson said. “Being out there on the track gets the blood really pumping. But, it’s more than that because I also enjoy the fans and the family-like atmosphere among the drivers. It’s pretty special.”
Gipson began her racing career working in the Englewood Speedway pits as a crew member for Dave Smith. Englewood Speedway closed down after the 1978 season and Gipson joined the other crew members when Smith entered races at Colorado Speedway in Erie.
Several years ago, a friend of Smith’s needed someone to drive a car in the enduro races at Rocky Mountain Speedway. Enduro racing challenges drivers to keep the vehicle running long enough to complete 200 laps around the quarter-mile dirt track.
Gipson said, for about five years, she competed in enduro races at Rocky Mountain Speedway and at the track in Fort Morgan.
Three years ago, she got the chance to drive figure-8.
“I guess I got bit by the figure-8 bug, although she crashed in my first race,” she said. “I just enjoy everything about racing and, as long as I can, I want to stick with it.”
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