Mozingo to push for point's title
By Ross Wood Sports Editor

Jamie Mozingo (48) gets ready to pass another car in the Mardi Gras Bash race on Feb. 9. Mozingo won the race. Below he is pictured with his car and trophies. Photo by Bobby Smith

You could easily say racing for Jamie Mozingo is a family affair. It was his father, Ike, who got him started in the sport just a few years ago.

"My father went to the short tracks and dirt tracks to watch races," Jamie said. "One day he came back and wanted me to go and watch one of the races."

He and his father went to the new track in Loxley to watch a race and in the division Ike wanted him to try one of the cars wrecked and flipped nine times.

"I asked him if he was sure this was the kind of racing he wanted me to get started in," Jamie remembered. "But we went back to the next race and it grew on me."

Turns out that race involved front wheel drive 4-cyclinder cars called the Stinger division. "It has really become popular in the last few years," Jamie added.

So two years ago he entered his first race, using a car that was sitting in the back yard of a family member.

"That was a good learning car to have my rookie season," he said. "I didn't do bad but I learned what I needed to do with the car."

In that division the cars are still stock, meaning they have not been modified in any way other than for safety.

Then last year Jamie retooled his car and put together a season that could best be described as magical.

"Because of my job I was not able to race every weekend," he said. "I was only able to race in about 21 total races and only about 17 in Loxley."

A normal racing season has anywhere from 35 to 40 races.

Jamie was able to turn those 17 races into third place in the point's race as he won five races and finished second in five others. Over the total of 21 different races he competed in, Jamie finished in the top five 18 times.

"This is not a hobby," he laughed. "It is more of an obsession. I do it because I love it."

It is not the money that pushes the drivers as there is a $10 fee to enter the race and then another $10 cost that goes towards the points race. And with the rising cost of gas, the price of this obsession is even greater.

"I have spent a lot more money than I have won but this is something I really enjoy," Jamie said. "I hope to be able to run even more races this season and hopefully I can compete for the points championship."

He started the 2008 season with a bang as he won the heat race and the feature race, at the Mardi Gras Bash, on Feb. 9 in Loxley.

He won the points-earning feature race despite having a blown tire and getting spun-out by a competitor.

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