Rookie sportsman racer Gage Phillips didn’t wait for the “perfect car” — and it resulted in his first win, coming at Big Diamond Speedway last week.
The 2019 Troyer chassis started out as a dirt modified, but one built for the pavement of Mahoning Valley Speedway. The engine has never been serviced, with its seals from 2014 still in place. Yet, the combination proved to be a winning one.
He had never raced at Big Diamond Speedway, and the decision to haul there came at last minute.
“To win was very surreal,” Gage, of Fleetwood, Pennsylvana, said. “I wasn’t expecting it — no one was. I prayed that I would hit my marks and keep the momentum going — that’s the key. In sportsman racing you can’t afford to slip up ever — the other racers will be on you in a second.”
Gage has a history of not turning down opportunities. That’s what led to him starting racing in vintage cars.
“A friend of mine drove a car for my future car owner, Dave Dissinger,” Gage said. “When my friend went in a different direction, I ran into Dave in the pits and he offered to let me drive his vintage car at Grandview. I had never driven a race car before.”
Dave won the Big Diamond Speedway sportsman championship in 1999 and 2001. He also served as the track’s promoter from 2006 to 2010. Over the course of 5 years, Gage and Dave racked up 24 wins in the vintage class.
“Dave taught me everything,” Gage said. “I knew nothing about driving. He took me under his wing and gave me the dos and don’ts of driving and race car maintenance.”
Last year Dave and Gage entertained the idea of racing in the sportsman class.
“We were having a good time racing in the vintage division,” Gage said. “We won 10 features last season [and] we were looking for something more challenging.”
They found their car for sale for $3,500, and Gage Phillips bought it. Dave put in an old crate engine he had. And once again they found a winning combination.
“Dave was ecstatic,” Gage said. “He had faith in me and got me into racing. He helped me every step of the way. We won against all odds. We proved you don’t have to buy everything new to win. Experience and desire made this team win.”
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.
