News Director 
Story By: PAUL KINNEY – DURHAMVILLE, NY – Throughout my thirty year racing career, I’ve had the most fun someone could possibly have. I have created somewhat of a brand (PKM), I have met some of my best friends, and raced with some of my heroes. I have had a bunch of ups and downs along the way (as does everybody), but the good times always outweigh the bad. Winning and good finishes make the all nighters, and long weeks in the shop worth it.
There are a lot of things we didn’t accomplish over the years, but we sure did have some memorable celebrations. Dad and I have become the best of friends, and have spent every weekend together since we started way back in 1989. At age four, he got me my first quarter midget which we raced up and down the east coast, stacking up over 400 heat and feature wins over a ten year period! After that, we dove right into a DIRT Sportsman car at age fourteen. We raced at a handful of tracks and grabbed a few wins in those three to four years before jumping up to a 358 Modified, and eventually a Big Block Modified. That is where we did most of our racing for the next ten to twelve years, winning numerous races, including a few in front of our hometown crowd at Utica-Rome Speedway.
We made a ton of memories during the Modified days and learned a ton along the way, but we were getting tired. The amount of work was starting to not be worth the results we were getting, and we needed a change. Towards the end of the 2011 race season, we were ready to throw in the towel or make some serious changes. Our last race at Utica Rome was a rough one, we tore up a car that we had lettered ‘For Sale’ and thought it was a sign (time to hang it up). Seeing our frustration, childhood friend Jason Barney offered me to hot lap his No. 87 360 Sprint Car after the features were done that night, to see if maybe that seemed more fun and exciting for us. I took him up on the offer, and boy was it fun!
That following Monday, Dad and I worked on getting a list together of all of our modified stuff, and put it for sale. We needed to buy a Sprint Car and we did just that! I’ve spent the last eight years running the full ESS tour and it was the most fun and success I’ve had during my entire thirty one years racing. I got some of my most memorable wins, met some of my best friends, and made the best memories running around on tour with the rest of the ESS gang.
My Dad has always made sure, through blood sweat and tears, that I have had everything I’ve needed to fulfill a successful racing career. From getting sponsors each year, working his ass off at the family business, leaving Mom alone every weekend, and long nights at the race shop, he has done it all.
With that being said, we as racers give up a whole lot to be on the road and at the racetrack every week. We miss every family function, every friends wedding, every summer party, and many other important things that happen in our lives. We wouldn’t trade it because that’s “what we do” and it takes a special breed to do it. Racers spend every dollar they have, have little to no free time, travel from state to state in the middle of the night, eat dinner at 3 am in a parking lot, wake up early to make sure the race car is ready for another night of battle, and so on, over and over again.
As with everything in life, at some point, everything must come to an end. For myself and my long racing career, that time is now. I want to do all the things that I’ve missed for thirty years. I’ve been fortunate enough to always have supportive sponsors, but money is always an issue when funding a racing operation. It’s also no secret that my body is getting worn out. I’ve been told by my doctors and my chiropractor that my back will never get better, and the abuse from racing is only making it worse each time I climb in the seat. I used to have little to no fear when I strapped in the car, but that has also changed a bit. Sprint car racing is very dangerous. I’ve seen friends get injured, and I’ve seen a lot of other racers have either career or life ending accidents. That scares me, as i have a whole lot of things I want to do.
I just want to send a HUGE thank you to Dad and Mom for making it all possible and giving up so much for me to chase my dreams, Samantha for supporting me in every decision I ever make (right or wrong), Gary for helping make it happen all these years, and to every sponsor that has supported me or had a part in making my life so much fun. There has been so many people that have lent a helping hand or given advice over the years, so I want to thank them too, and of course all of my fans! They have kept us digging even when I wanted to throw in the towel.
It scares me that I may be labeled a “quitter,” or be thought of as “giving up.” I’d like to call it retiring from a lifelong racing career, and moving on to different things, as well as trying to keep my body in one piece. It also scares me that I may be making the wrong decision, but I feel deep down (and with the reassurance from family and friends), that I’m making the correct one.
I’m going to miss all of my ESS family, but we will all stay in touch. Good luck to all my buds, stay safe, and most importantly HAVE FUN out there! We will always make time to hang when we can and “rip some lips.”
Thanks everyone,
much love. -PK-
