So to Jim’s surprise when he heard that his 2nd Cousin, Michael Miller, had purchased a used Stock Car, and so he wanted to help sponsor his passion through WORKERS.COM. Michael is now in his third season of racing and is starting to get his feet under him on race days. There are hundreds of Stock Car and Midget Car drivers in the Midwest and the competition is fierce. It is fun to watch these (mostly) backyard mechanics and family passions on race day. Most races are streamed online, so if you want to see raw non-commercialized entertainment check out some of these Friday and Saturday night races. They do not disappoint.
"I started racing soap box derby in 2005 when I was 10 years old until 2013. My Dad, Aunt and Uncle raced in the 70s and 80s, and my great uncle Dean Stielow (relation to Jim) raced back in the 30s. So that's how I learned about soap box derby and wanted to give it a try. I had a lot of success racing that, in 2006 I won the local championship race in the stock division in Norwalk, Iowa which sent me to the world championship in Akron, Ohio where I finished in the Top 18 out of, I believe, 144 cars in my division.
Then in 2008 I finished 2nd in the Nationals race in the stock division, 2009 I was the National points champion in the stock division and finished 3rd in the Nationals race that same year. In 2010 I won the local championship again in the super stock division and only won 1 heat at the World Championship that year.
Racing soap box derby started my love for racing and I knew I always wanted to race some sort of car. I went to college for automotive so I could learn all about cars. Finally saved up enough money to buy the sportmod that I race now. It has been a huge challenge learning everything there is to know how to make the car handle better and how to drive to the car to go faster. I've been making progress and learn more each time I go out on the track and hopefully soon I'll start having better finishes and winning some races."
