Column By: DANIEL SANCHEZ / RPW – COLDWATER, OH – It’s not every day that a racer decides to give one of their race cars away.
2018 Limaland Motorsports Park UMP Modified Champion Ryan Sutter did just that!
I caught up with Ryan late last week to discuss what gave him the idea for the contest and what requirements were needed to be a candidate.
Ryan said:
“I had a car for sale that I knew had good value, but inquiries were low. I thought that, when I was first starting, a car such as this could’ve taken years off the learning curve. This thought paired with my personal appreciation for those that have helped me when I was less capable, gave me the idea to try and help someone that’s still growing into this. I started racing 20 years ago with nothing, no cars, knowledge, money etc., it was because of the help of others that I still race today.”
An opportunity like this may only come around once in a racers lifetime and as you can imagine a large number of applicants who met the requirements set by Sutter began to roll in.
“I had roughly 65 to 70 applicants in total. The Facebook post about the contest reached nearly 50,000 people according to insights. The requirements were to be younger than 28 years of age, new or growing into racing and live/race close to me locally. I want to see more racers around my hometown.”
With that many candidates where did you start?
“The applications themselves started things off. I read and replied to everyone. The ones that peaked my interest, I followed up with, asking further questions and eventually narrowed it down to just four candidates. I reviewed what things each team had already as far as shop, truck/trailer, etc. and then visited only one in person.”
Once you narrowed down the applicants and asked some follow up questions, who did you find to be the best fit for this spectacular opportunity and why?
“Dustin Moore’s team. I chose them because I viewed his story as fairly similar to my own. He started in karts and has moved up into a modified. He’s limited on knowledge but very passionate about learning more. His current car isn’t allowing him the ability to improve driving and results. I felt that this pairing could make the biggest overall difference compared to other teams. I’ll continue to mentor him as long as they remain open to it but in no way were there requirement strings attached to the car. The team is free to do whatever they choose.”
Ryan left me with a few final thoughts.
“I guess I’d like to add that when I first posted this, I was actually concerned I may not get applicants or find anyone, so I underestimated the value of this to others. My underlying goals were to promote racing among young people in my area because I think it can bring a lot of good to a community. I also hoped that perhaps others in our sport will do more for others, this is for racers, teams, and tracks. We can do more for others than we know possible. Our competitive nature can sometimes get in the way of our mission to serve others. If we do not serve others in this sport, it won’t exist and if we fail to serve others in life then we lose our life. Romans 8:9, 11-13”
This is an amazing opportunity for any racer at any point in their career. After learning that 17-year-old Dustin Moore had won Ryan’s giveaway, I reached out to him to get his thoughts and feelings on this big moment in his racing career.
Dustin told me:
“This opportunity is huge for us! We don’t have the biggest budget and couldn’t afford a new race car. A new race car like this, is one of the things our little team needed. It is a very big opportunity, and we are very thankful.”
Dustin also said:
“I think Ryan is an awesome dude for doing this. I don’t say that just because I won but because Ryan gave all of us lower budget teams a fair chance to advance our racing careers. His car, knowledge, and kindness will help me a ton!”
I ended the conversation by asking Dustin what his long-range plans are for his racing career.
“I would like to become a full-time racer in a late model, modified, or sprint car. I don’t care what I am racing, I am just happy to be racing.”
As a racer myself, I know that the racing family runs deep. Ryan and Dustin are both friends of mine and I along with many others are excited to see where this opportunity leads for both race teams.