The Racing Report is a five-part photo essay shot at short tracks in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania that will run in Farm and Dairy through the summer. Each month we will feature a different driver from around the region. For the third installment, photojournalist Matthew Chasney follows Junior Sprint driver Evo Burden at Good’s Raceway in Deerfield, Ohio.
Sarah Burden helps her 8-year-old son, Evo Burden, into his fire suit in the back of their trailer prior to the Junior Sprints feature race at Good’s Raceway in Deerfield, Ohio on June 7.
Above him is a dry erase board with a diagram of the track showing corner numbers and well as the location of the finish line and other important track features. Outside of the hauler, his father, Justin, makes final adjustments to the car before the feature race.
“Wanna know how I went so fast?” asks the young driver. “I kept my foot down on the gas the entire time!”
He loves going fast, just like his favorite drivers, Ryan Blaney and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Justin is a gearhead and was happy to support his son’s fledgling interest. He bought Evo a go-kart and built a 1/8 mile track in a field at their home in Atwater, Ohio, to practice on. Last season, they upgraded to a junior sprint car and the family began racing at Good’s.
When the signal to get to the track is given, Evo grabs his helmet and squeezes into the car. Justin and the car’s sponsor, Tyler McClamroch, a family friend, give him some last-minute advice before he hits the track. Evo is running his first full season in Junior Sprints, and there’s a lot to learn — but he’s curious and eager. The cars can top out at a mere 25 horsepower, making this a forgiving and safe form of racing for young drivers to hone their skills. Evo’s car is 9 horsepower.
Since he began racing in Junior Sprints, he’s notched several third-place finishes and he’s focusing on the little details in order to improve on that. Sarah is careful to temper the on-track lessons with encouragement. “We like to back up criticism with what he did awesome” she says.
This approach goes for track officials, too. After Evo jumped a restart in the heat race, the flag man at Good’s, Fred Bieber, pulled Evo aside and with the patience of a kindergarten teacher reminded him of the restart rules, adding “you’ll be in the winners circle before you know it”.
However, this would not be one of those nights. During the feature race, another car made contact with Evo knocking his right rear wheel loose and scoring the young driver his first DNF result. The family loaded up the trailer and made the short drive back to Atwater. Back at home, Evo practiced his post-race ritual: trading his fire suit for pajamas and snuggling up with his stuffies.
