It took Carter Davis three years to reach victory lane. However, he made it, with his father, Kyle, and his father’s friend and sponsor, Aaron Shearn, among the first to congratulate him. Davis’ first victory came in hobby stocks during the Spring Kickoff Classic at Park Jefferson International Speedway in South Dakota.
His road to victory lane began three years ago after being a longtime crew member for his father.
“I started on his crew when I was a little kid,” Davis, of Hinton, Iowa, said. “Then, three seasons ago, Dad texted me and wrote, ‘Hey, do you want to get in the car tonight?’ It’s been me in the driver’s seat ever since.”
The father-and-son team competed at tracks nearby their home. Their 2014 chassis from Jet Racing is a decade old. It took a hard hit last September during the IMCA Super Nationals.
“I put her into the wall at Boone Speedway,” said Davis. “Dad and his friends had to straighten out the chassis. She’s had her repairs, but she’s still in good shape despite what I put her through.”
Back to Park Jefferson International Speedway, Davis started the feature second. He then battled with Corey Black for most of the race.
“Corey kept showing me a nose, but he later told me he couldn’t find a line to get around,” Davis said. “He made me work for the win.”
The emotion of the win in front of a big crowd caught up with the Davis family in victory lane.
“My dad walked up and he was crying,” said Davis. “When I saw that, I started to shed some tears.”
Carter Davis hopes the win might be the indication of a breakout year.
“We were close to a win so many times, but it never happened,” Davis said. “We were long overdue.”
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.
