Typically, when sport stars win big, they say they’re going to Disney World or Disneyland, but not Bobby Trapper Jr. After his first career victory last Saturday, he and his wife, Katrina, headed off to Italy.
“It’s only fair,” Trapper, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said. “I get to do a lot of racing and Katrina likes to travel. Compromise is important in marriage.”
His first feature victory came in the modifieds at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. Trapper’s a regular there, where he was slated to miss his only night for his wedding. Luckily, the night rained out and Trapper wound up never missing a race.
The weekend following the wedding, Trapper won the Minuteman 20, a consolation race for the annual Freedom 76er.
“Before the race, [Katrina] said, jokingly, ‘We can’t go to all these races and you not win,’” said Trapper. “When I won the 20, she ran all the way to victory lane.”
Last Saturday, while Katrina packed for the trip, Trapper attained the goal he set for himself in 2012. That’s when he first jumped into one of the modifieds of his father, Bobby Trapper. Trapper had served on his father’s crew since he was a child.
The night he achieved that dream, he drew pole for the feature. However, the win wouldn’t come easy. Ryan Watt chased him until lap 25, when Watt popped a tire. Then, on a restart, Brian Hirthler beat Trapper into turn one on the inside. Trapper reclaimed the top spot going down he backstretch. He led the final five laps to the checkered flag.
“We had a good turn to a dismal season just before our trip to Italy,” Trapper said. “The win helps a lot. We know what we are coming back to in a couple of weeks.”
Bobby Trapper Jr. feels that the vacation will only help his racing effort as well.
“Just like in a race car, balance is very important in a marriage,” said Trapper. “Racing takes up a lot of our time for half of the year. It’s good for us to have a break.”
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.
Photographers
The Outside Groove contributor from Macungie, Pennsylvania, has covered the sport since 2012. Sabo serves as the official track photographer of Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. Photography is a family ordeal for Sabo. He shoots with his daughter, Abby, at Shellhammer Dirt Track in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. At Grandview and other venues Sabo travels to, he and his father, Stephen “Poppa Pepper” Sabo Sr., capture the night’s action with their cameras.
