Hollister’s Bobby Grewohl is on his way up in the racing world.
This weekend, he embarks on his first season of professional racing
at the Phoenix International Raceway
n By Joshua Staloch
Sports Editor
Hollister – Right about now, the smile on Bobby Grewohl’s face stretches pretty much from ear to ear.
The 18-year old Hollister native is currently in Phoenix, AZ for the first weekend of a very important year in his racing career.
The young driver is looking for a strong finish at the Phoenix International Raceway in the Copper Classic event of the USAC Western Midget Car Series. And, given the fact that on Thursday, Grewohl turned in the fastest time of any of the drivers at the track, including a pack of very-experienced veterans, the immediate future is looking very bright for Grewohl and his racing career.
Also, Thursday was also the first time Grewohl had ever been behind the wheel of the car he’ll be competing in this weekend.
That’s more than a little bit impressive.
“To do what Bobby is doing goes beyond amazing,” said Darrell Clark, Grewohl’s racing mentor and a long-time player in the auto-racing world. “There were countless other teams on the track (Thursday) with all of these old pros. For him to do what he did (post the fastest time of the day) is just incredible. He’s one in a million.”
Clark isn’t joking when he says Grewohl is one in a million. His upcoming season in the USAC Western Midget Car Series is intended to be his springboard into the big time: A seat in an Infinity Pro Series car next season and then a ride with Chip Ganassi’s Indy Racing League team the following year.
That’s right, in a couple of short years, one of Hollister’s own will likely be among the ranks of those who have had the honor to race at the Brickyard in the Indy 500.
And there’s no reason to think that he won’t make it. Grewohl’s racing resume speaks volumes as to his level of talent. At age 12, he was the national karting champion in the 60cc class and, by the time he was 15, he took the championship in the 125cc class.
Keep in mind that these aren’t regular go-carts we’re talking about here. A 125 CC kart is a 100+ MPH machine and it handles like it’s on rails.
Having a karting background, coupled with some seat time in Formula Fords, where Grewohl was crowned the Western Region champion his first year of racing in the series, is how great racers start their careers.
Given the fact that Grewohl has enjoyed an unbelievable amount of success since he started racing, one might think that he’d have every right to get a big head, as successful racers tend to do once in a while.
Not the case.
Grewohl is a firmly grounded individual. He’s humble in whatever he’s doing and his true appreciation of where his life is taking him shows in the way he carries himself. He’s so excited about being able to race, in whatever form he can, he’s about to bust.
“He’s just a great young man,” said Ron Sutton of Ron Sutton’s Winners Circle, an organization whose focus is developing young racers. “He’s humble but very confident in the car. He’s got great parents and that helps. Bobby’s very driven by this. He made up his mind at a very young age that he was going to make this happen.”
And now he’s doing it.
“I don’t even have words to explain it,” said Grewohl when asked what he loves about the sport. “It’s just awesome.”
Note: The Free Lance will be keeping in touch with Grewohl all season long to document his progression in this, his first year of professional racing.
