Meet Trey Robb, Sprint Car Driver - Fast Lane

by Galen Kurth

 Why would anyone put a 12 year old in a 360 injected sprint car? Well, in the case of Trey Robb, it's because he's ready for it. Perry Robb III, or Trey, has been racing since age eight, and winning at every level along the way. This is just the next step on a long climb up the ladder of racing.

Trey Remembers going to Tulsa for the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals with his father, multi-time State Fair Speedway pro-stock champion Perry Robb Jr. Quarter midgets were racing in an adjoining building, and he knew immediately that was something he wanted to do. Unfortunately, no one runs quarter midgets around Oklahoma City, but I-44 Speedway does have a class called Kid Sprints. Powered by 100cc motorcycle engines and running a top wing, they're designed for kids 6-12 years old. As Trey's dad remembers, "It wasn't a month and we had a car and were practicing."

That first year, Trey was a Rookie of the Year, Track Champion, and won the Claremore and Ft. Cobb Oklahoma Fall Fling races and the Ryan Craighead Memorial at I-44.

Next year, it was same song second verse in the Restricted class. Rookie of the Year, Track Champion, and winner of the Craighead Memorial. At age ten, again the Restricted class, he repeated as Track Champion.

At the ripe old age of 11, Trey pulled double duty at I-44 Speedway. He was Rookie of the year in both Multi and A classes, third in points in the Multis and Track champion in the A class. In just fours years of racing, he's won 66 A Features.

Each move up has meant more power and more speed. How long does he feel it took to adapt? "About halfway through the season," Trey claims, he full adapted to each new car. His father has seventeen year of racing experience, and he's amazed at Trey's natural ability and powers of concentration. "The first time he drove, he had a feel for turn speed, when to get in and out of the throttle, all that kind of thing, stuff i'd never told him. He also has the personality for racing. He's always been real cool-headed. He's mentally focused when he's on the track, and sometimes when he comes off the track you tell something's upset him, but he doesn't have a temper and you'd never see it in his driving. Last year, Trey ran 56 races on the same wings, and that's starting in the back of every race. he's reall good at staying out of trouble and not using up the equipment. He knows exaclty what's going on out there, and he has this incredible ability to stay out of accidents. That's really important in open wheel cars."

Trey will have all the support needed as he moves into the sprint cars. His father and grandfather will be turning the wrenches, along with a third mechanic, Mark Robbins. He'll also have the safest operation possible. Safety is number one, Perry states. "We've got a Maxim chassis with the double safety cage, a NASCAR Butler safety seat, and he's been wearing a HANS device for two years."

Sprint cars aren't cheap to campaign, but there's plenty of support in that area, too. Rodney Timms, owner of Western Flyer Express trucking has put the program together for Trey. It was actually Rodney's son, Randy Timms, who first told Perry that Trey needed to move up. Randy drives Late Models and Modified, and was one of Perry's greatest rivals in the Pro Stocks at State Fair Speedway a few years ago. Now his son is driving at I-44, and while watching his own son, he noticed Trey's talent. He went to his father and told him they needed to get behind the young man.

Rodney Timms has another reaston for getting involved with Robb's efforts. One side of the top wing will carry the logo of Child Help, USA, the country's largest organization combating child abuse and assisting its victims. It's a cause Rod feels passionately about. "There's three million cases of child abuse reported in this country every eyar, and that's only a third of those that happen. Almost ten million cases a year, and we've got to raise awaraness of what's going on." Rodney's grandson Austin West won the kid Sprints title last year at I-44 and will be moving up for 2005, also racing for Child Help USA. Timm's longterm plans include starting a program called, "Kids for Racing for Kids," bringing attention to the epidemic problem of child abuse. His sponsorship of Trey is one more step in that direction.

So far Trey has had a few chances to practice in the sprint. How does it feel? "Well, it's faster, but in the turns, it feels really slow," he answers. I-44 is a fifth mile and lap times in the A class are under 11 seconds, so he's used to things happening really quickly. In the bigger car, on the much larger tracks, it just seems slower.

What will Trey consider a successful rookie season? "A top 10 in points will be hard, but that's what i'd like to do." His father has his own standard. "As long as he's improving, not backing up, I'll feel like we're successful. Our main goal is for him to improve his skills. There's a lot of things about the car and the tracks he's gonna have to learn, and that takes time."

Learning is something Trey does extremely well, in the race car and in the class room. He was 6th grade student of the year at Newcastle Middle School, likes science and English and is already into pre-algebra in math. He also plays basketball and football for his school and is looking forward to maybe playing in highschool, but at 5 foot 2 1/2 inches and 95 pounds, he might find race cars are safer.

Where is Trey eventually headed? No surprise there. he's already looking at NASCAR. A path has developed from the open wheel short tracks to Daytons, started by Jeff Gordon and reinforced by drivers like Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne. If things go well wit hthe 360 sprints at State Fair Speedway and possibly the Devil's Bowl in Dallas, the next step in a few years might be to a USAC pavement midget. Hey, Gordon didn't drive 410 sprints until he was 14, and Trey won't be 13 until May, so there's plenty of time.

Trey robb is a quiet young man who know he has a talent and an opportunity. He's realistic about his first year in an injected sprint, but he's used to winning, too. He's not intimidated by the idea of racing against anybody. When i asked him what he does when he has a problem with someone on the race track, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I just beat 'em." That just might get it done.

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