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Media Buzz
Cruising to the Big Time...12-year-old will make debut tonight at State Fair Speedway The Daily Oklahoman, April 8, 2005 Trey Robb is barely old enough and tall enough to ride a roller coaster. But tonight at State Fair Speedway, the 12 year-old will buckle himself behind the steering wheel of a fuel-injected sprint car and race against some of the best drivers around. Robb's parents and track promoter Lanny Edwards have decided to let the 5-foot-2, 95 pound Newcastle Middle School student become the youngest driver to ever race at 51 year-old State Fair Speedway. "Watching him race is just amazing," said Randy Timms, a longtime driver at State Fair whose father, Rodney, sponsors Robb's car. "It is like watching a 25- or 30-year-old. If you just saw him drive, you couldn't be convinced that he was a 12-year-old until he got out of the car. "He is as good a talent as I have ever seen at that early of an age. I think he will be driving a (Nextel Cup) car by the time he is 19 or 20." That's a lot of praise to heap on a youngster who has traded G.I. Joe's for wheel-to-wheel wars with Gary Flatt, Mike Peters and Danny Jennings, all former champions with countless laps behind them. But this move to State Fair's elite sprint car class might be the only way Robb can improve in a quest to become one of the best. He spent the last four summers racing mini-sprints at I 44 Speedway in south Oklahoma City. Robb won 66 feature races and four point championships at I-44. His last title came in a division full of adult drivers. "I watched him race all last year," Timms said. "There was no reason for him to keep spending money or years racing out there and not getting recognized. He was at a dead end." Robb has good racing genes. His father, Perry, won several points titles in State Fair's competitive pro stock division. Perry Robb hasn't raced much the last few years at State Fair, mostly to concentrate on getting Trey's racing career started. He, too, thought Trey needed to move on to better things. The move would not only be better, but it would be bigger, faster and expensive. Rodney Timms listened to the scouting report delivered by his son. The elder Timms, owner of Western Flyer Express Trucking in Oklahoma City, was ready to offer financial support. "Randy came to me and said we needed to help this kid out," Rodney Timms said. "With our friendship with the Robbs and our belief in Trey, we decided to step up and help them." Many sprint car circuits, such as the World of Outlaws and the U.S. Auto Club, require drivers to be at least 16. But State Fair Speedway promoter Edwards doesn't have age requirements for rookies. Edwards considers a driver's experience and ability. "I never heard of a driver starting at that young of an age," Edwards said. But last weekend, Edwards watched Trey finish third in a super sprint A feature at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. He was sold. So tonight, Trey Robb will drive the No. 12 sprinter on State Fair's 3/8 mile dirt track for the first time. Trey Robb has the confidence of his parents, Timms and Edwards. But he will certainly have doubters to win over in Oklahoma City and other tracks he races at for the first time this season. "I don't have any problem with him racing out here," Jennings said. "I would have loved to start racing at that age. "I think he's going to be a really good little driver. I'll treat him just like any other racer. You have to race that way." As much success as he's had in mini sprints, Trey is still 12. He will have to make mature, lightning quick decisions in a snug A feature or decide which way to steer when he sees a wreck developing ahead. Trey Robb said he's prepared. A young man of few words, he already sounds like a veteran. "I'm not nervous at all," he said. "I'm going to go out and try to win every race." |
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