This is the story of a dream…a dream which comes to fruition over the next two weeks.
The hands and heels, what am I driving this week, where do I show up, how can I get from here to there life of Geoff Ensign has a direction this week, as a convergence of opportunity, friendship and fate has brought the 22 year old Sebastopol, CA native to the signature race of the division he hopes to call home for the forseeable future. Always having a sprint car dream and always wanting to go faster than the next guy since the day he saw his first race, Ensign has three races coming up in the next week in Iowa, the 360 Knoxville Nationals, the Oskaloosa Front Row Challenge and the crown jewel of sprint car racing, the 52nd Annual Knoxville Nationals.
To say he’s had to struggle to put these races on the schedule is an understatement. Ensign, coming from middle class roots in a town known more for its environmental awareness than desire for horsepower has literally had to move his base around from shop to shop to keep this sprint car dream alive. Having zero sponsorship money behind him at the beginning of the year, and only support from his family, Ensign has leaned heavily on the “where am I working this week?” and “can you help me out with tire money?” angle. He quit his job last year as a welder to be able to make every race of the USAC Western Classic Sprint Car Series after scheduling problems popped up, and ultimately won the yearlong championship in that series, becoming a USAC Champion at 21 years old. Always willing to pack up and sleep wherever he finds a bed, spending nights in race shops and putting thousands of miles on his not quite yet broken down 1988 pickup, Ensign somehow has managed to lead the main event win count at Petaluma Speedway in 2012 with five main event wins in total between winged and wingless sprint cars all without a major sponsor to start the year and all without a winged 360 ride to start the year. A vagabond has nothing on this guy. Ensign seems to have a knack for finding a ride where others can’t, and has teamed up this year with a couple of teams who have given Ensign an opportunity to continue his dream of racing for a living. He has rewarded wingless car owner Jim VanLare with three main event wins and winged 360 owner Brett Lay with two. This is a 22 year old who knows the struggle, is willing to work on his own car since he’s always had to, knows how to set up a car because again, that’s all he’s ever known. No sponsors, no extra money? Having to drive 50 miles to work on a car for an hour? Calling people last minute to be able to get a ride to a race? That’s where Ensign lives every day and it’s old hat for the 22 year old wise beyond his years. This leads us to next weekend…and fate.
Fate has a funny way of working sometimes and a casual conversation at a bar in Sturgis, SD during bike week turned into this ride for Knoxville and Oskaloosa. Geoff’s father, Rob, is a Harley Davidson lover, and had to experience bike week at least once. Over a beer in Sturgis, he struck up a conversation with Dave Lems, a fellow Harley rider. It turns out Lems is a sprint car owner and driver, and the two hit it off immediately. Long story short, and years of friendship later, Rob Ensign has a son who is a USAC Champion, winning sprint car races, and has a sprint car dream. Lems had always kept his eye on Ensign due to the friendship, and finally met him at the Oval Nationals in Perris, CA last year where the two began discussing Knoxville 2012 and Oskaloosa. Fast forward a year and here we are, with Ensign at the wheel of the Lemspro Racing and Machine #22x for Knoxville and Oskaloosa. Adding to the good fortune, Ensign has picked up a 360 Sprint Car ride with John Biggins, also out of the Sturgis, SD area and will drive his Biggins and Son’s Trucking #83 sprint car for the 360 Nationals making it three races in a week total, something Ensign has only dreamed of happening. Ensign will qualify Friday for the 360 Nationals and Thursday next week for the 410 Nationals.
Ensign also received a phone call last week from Jason Smith in Victoria, Australia. Smith has been keeping tabs on Ensign since last year as well when he had his Cinderella run to the USAC Championship, and has looked in from abroad on Ensign’s website (donated) and Facebook (free) pages. Smith also happens to own a sprint car and has offered a seat to Ensign during this winter offseason in the states, which happens to be summertime in Australia in February and March. The plan is for Ensign to race about 15 races down under this offseason in the Master Fitout Solutions #60 house car at various locations.
The race, they say, isn't to the swift. But it is always to the swift and the game. It so happens that Geoff Ensign has these two important qualities in deep abundance. If you can find a driver willing to work harder and risk more to make his dreams come true, you’ll find yourself searching for weeks.
The dream continues this Friday in Knoxville.
To contact Geoff Ensign, search Geoff Ensign Motorsports on Facebook, contact him via email at geoffensign@rocketmail.com or visit his webpage at www.ensignmotorsports.com.
- Ron Lingron on Jul 30, 2012
- Article Date: 7/30/2012