The hobby stock of Solomon Bennett may seem a bit rustic, but it still garners attention. Plus, at roughly $25, the savings of not buying a wrap allows him to spend money on areas that help his car perform. Don’t discount that fact. He has a feature win under his belt this year.
“At the start of the season, we had a wrap all sketched out on a computer,” Bennett, of Minburn, Iowa, said. “Then, we thought of the reality of the $1,000 needed to wrap the car.”
So, Bennett; his wife, Meaghan; and 13-year-old son, Jensen, went to work. With some Sharpies and a couple of spray cans of paint, they crafted a winning paint scheme.
“Painting the car was an art project,” said Bennett. “We had fun with it.”
However, sponsors also factor into the budget equation. Did they appreciate Bennett’s presentation of their names?
“They loved it,” Bennett said. “They thought it was cool. So, did he fans and track announcers. We stood out in the crowd, and we will stand out at the [IMCA Speedway Motors] Super Nationals [at Boone Speedway in Iowa].”
Most importantly, Solomon Bennett said the savings helped him to race three nights at week for the entire season. He competed regularly at a trio of Iowa tracks — Boone Speedway, Marshalltown Speedway, and Stuart International Speedway.
Bennett won a feature at Marshalltown Speedway. He finished fifth in points there and third at Stuart International Speedway. Overall, his MyRacePass record shows him with 45 races, 20 top-five finishes, and 40 top-10s.
“People tell me that they love the look, no matter where I take the car,” said Bennett. “Why? They usually say it takes them back to the old days. Hobby stocks were simpler then. Racers hand-lettered their cars the best they could for little or no money back in the days before [computer-generated] graphics on expensive wraps.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
