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Young, fast and fearless

Contributed by: Michael Bremkamp on 4/15/2008

If "Speed Racer" could ever be a more appropriate moniker, it would be so for one Dillon Pointon.

Dillon is living a dream that so many other young boys and girls aspire to. He races in scaled down race cars and is making his name well known in racing circles. Dillon is 12 years old and attends elementary school in Littleton where he is an excellent student. He enjoys all types of motor sports, including dirt bikes, ATV's and any type of competitive racing.

Dillon's dad, Andy Pointon, has been building and painting show cars and hot rods since age 16. He never raced on an oval track. He got his thrills, along with Dillon, driving the go karts at Action Karts near Bandimere Speedway ( see www.actionkarts.com for more info ). The track had rental karts which start beginners out in the basic automatic unit. It didn't take long before Dillon was moved into the Tag Karts. These automatic shifting karts are capable of 70 MPH speeds.

At this point in time the owners of the track, James Olmstead, (better known as JB to those in the know), and his wife Ann Louise, told Dillon he was a natural and really needed to start racing. Andy took it from there.

"Ten thousand dollars and 60 days later we were at our first race and had no idea what to do. At age 7, Dillon ran his very first race in the 85cc shifter karts that can reach a speed of 100 MPH. We basically tried a few things to make the cart right for Dillon and he went out and finished last and was lapped. We went home discouraged but not ready to throw in the towel. We ran competitively in the Colorado Sprint Championship for3 years."

They settled in and after dealing with the politics and adjusting to the level of competition, Dillon ran competitively in the 85cc division, having several first place finishes and always finding himself in the top three in points at seasons end. It was in 2006 that the family made the switch to the Mini Cup Series.

Andy added, "Dillon (age 10 at this time) took to this type of racing, rather than the road course. He had a great first year running in the top three in the Tri-State Super Stars and won one of the four MMRA national Tour races. he finished second in another."

The MMRA Mini Cup cars are 1/2 scale versions of the Sprint Cup, NASCAR type race cars. The MMRA cars have a 390cc Honda engine and full racing suspension. In his first year Dillon finished in the top 3 of the Tri-State Future Stars. In his second year with the Mini Cups he went on to winan MMRA National Touring race. Half way through the season he switched to the Baby Grand Division. The Baby Grand Stock cars are 2/3 the size of the full size NASCAR Series cars, 1500 pounds with a 125 HP 4 cylinder motor and a 5 speed transmission. They are capable of a top speed of 160 MPH.

Dillon was the first MMRA Junior Pro driver in the Colorado area and the youngest in the country at age 11. Dillon was given the opportunity to race with the Rocky mountain Scale Late Model Association since there were no other Junior pro drivers in the Colorado area. He had to start in the back and in his first 4 races he ended up finishing in the middle of the pack.The big race for Dillon in 2007 was held at Colorado National Speedway, where he anticipated doing very well. The Wednesday practice session went well early on as he and his dad Andy worked on getting the setup just right for the race on the following Saturday.

After running several competitive lap times, he asked to take the car out one more time. After only a few laps, he drove into turn three running a deep inside line, lost control coming out of turn four. The car rolled down the front stretch 3 times. When the car came to rest, his crew chief radioed to Dillon asking if he was OK.

Dillon, in the true fashion of a racer came back and said "I'm fine and that was sooo cool!!"

The crew worked hard, got the car back together and into the race. Dillon started the 25 lap Main Event in the 14th position and finished in 6th place after driving a clean and steady race. Dillon finished 26th in 2007 in the Future Stars division with 259 points There were 34 other competitors from around the country in that particular division. There is no doubt of the talent of this youngster and` he seeks higher goals for 2008.

"I want to focus on the Baby Grand cars this year. My ultimate goals are to get a college degree and become a professional race car driver."

Dillon's 2008 racing schedule is extensive as he will compete in the #29 Chevy Monte Carlo with the local Colorado based club. He will race at tracks in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and the Grand National races at Las Vegas Speedway and Mission valley Speedway in Polson, Montana. Go to the MMRA web site at www.mmraracing.com for further info and schedules.

Dillon's sponsors for 2008 are, Colorado Quality Products, Body's By Brown, Center Chem and Glen Corp.

Take a weekend and attend one of these races to see Dillon and the many other young hot shoes as they display their skills in the fastest growing spectator sport. The hard work ethic and skill level that Dillon and his competitors put out each weekend is something to behold. Dillon is just one of thousands of youngsters that are fully involved in racing and preparing them selves for a life in the fast lane.

With his admirable goals and continued success, Dillon is destined to be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Andy Pointon finished by saying, "As a family race team, we have one main, standing rule. We do this strictly with fun in mind. The day Dillon is not having fun or says he's done, is the day we sell it all and go fishing."

Let's hope, for future's sake, that won't happen for a long time to come.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Michael Bremkamp

Brighton , CO

Michael Bremkamp has posted 4 stories and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Michael Bremkamp 's average story rating is 0.
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