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Auto City rolled out the first Stars and Cars Collector Series Autograph Cards last Saturday night.The program will feature a different driver collector card each week. The featured driver is selected at random from a list of those who want to participate. The cards are made right there on the spot and are available for fans before racing begins.

This week’s lucky winner was 14 year-old Jake Thompson in the Hornets Division.

Luck had everything to do with Jake’s face landing on the first collector card, but hard work, good skills and impeccable genes landed him the number one spot in the Hornet feature.

As the grandson of Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer, Jay Woolworth, Jake has a whole lot going for him.

“It’s fun being his grandson,” Jake said. “I get to work on his car and mine and I get to know everybody, too, because everybody knows Gramps.”

Although 2009 will be Jake’s second season in the Hornet division, it’s his seventh season of driving with Gramps.

“He (Jay Woolworth) lives out in the country,” Jake said. “And he has let me practice driving out there since I was seven. My whole family races; Grandpa, my uncles, my cousins, everybody. I always knew I was going to race someday. I was just waiting to be old enough.”

Jake is not just driving like his grandfather, he’s racing like Jay Woolworth. Jake broke the track record on opening night at Auto City this season with a new fast time of 17.39.

“The whole day I was practicing below the track record,” Jake said. “I saw it on the scoreboard after qualifying, but I wasn’t sure. My friend, Jeff Karaba, was there that night and said, ‘You broke it!’ as I was rolling back into the pit area. I just smiled and said, ‘Sweet’!”

Thompson broke his own record again this week, but then had a little “tec”hnical difficulties and had to change his exhaust system.

“We had it done at the beginning of the season,” Jake said. “The shop said it was the right size, but I guess the muffler is ¼ inch too big, so we had to put a smaller one on. Everybody pitched in, Auto City Style, to help me get it done. Drivers, mechanics, pretty much anybody with tools came over and helped.”

Thompson started his second feature of the season all the way in the back, made a few classic Woolworth moves, a few Jake “the Snake” moves, and took his first feature win.

“That feels good!” Jake said after the race. “It was a lot of fun!”

And how does Gramps feel about Jakes first win?

“That’s a good job,” Jay Woolworth said. “He’s following his Grandpa!”