Go, go, go and do it four wide if you have to, is what 2008 Merritt Speedway Pro Late Trucks Champion Dick Stout is all about.
“I call him Wild Man Dickie Stout,” Merritt Late Model driver Dona Marcoullier said. “He’ a good man with a great personality. He brings a lot of character to Merritt and he’s a great competitor; a real champion. No one can keep a straight face when they meet Dickie.”
Stout grew up at the track, watching and learning from his dad. He spent many years wrenching for a living, but his true love is driving fast.
“I hate working on them,” Stout said. “But I love driving them. Nine years ago Opening Night at Merritt was rained out. It was the first time I had been to the track in awhile and I got the bug right then and there. I bought a chassis on Sunday and built my first truck that week.
We were hanging off the side of the trailer, finishing up the truck, on the way to the speedway that Saturday!”
The first night out was not all glamour and checkered flags for Dick.
“We started in the back of the feature and I placed 11th out of 14,” Stout said. “Everyone thinks they can do it. But that first night on the track shows us all that we have a lot of learning to do. I was happy with my finish and was up for the challenge in front of me.”
The Stout family has been faced with a personal challenge this year that almost kept Dick from competing in 2009.
“Up until a few weeks ago, I didn’t think I would be racing this year,” Stout said. “On March ninth, my wife Shelly had a blood vessel burst from a blood clot in her mid-brain. She was in a coma for a couple of weeks and suffered a stroke during this ordeal. We didn’t know if she was going to make it for a while. But, she opened her eyes on my birthday, March 23rd. We were all so relieved.”
During Shelly’s coma, Dick put all of his racing equipment up for sale.
“I really didn’t think I’d be racing this year,” Stout said. “With the hospital bills and everything, selling the truck seemed like the best thing for now. But when Shelly found out she had a fit. She loves everything about racing. She wouldn’t let me sell it.
So many people have stepped up to support us. I can’t thank everyone enough. Because of the great people in racing, and my sponsors, I will be on the track this year.”
Shelly should be coming home from the hospital this week and there are a lot of people hoping to see her at the track, too.
“If you’re a Merritt fan and you’re thinking about Family Fun and Family Racing; you’re thinking about the Stout family,” Merritt Promoter Rick Ancel said. “Shelly is a Real Track Mom. All the kids are always around the Stout team.”
Stout is happy to have the opportunity to race at Merritt this year, but says it can not be his first priority.
“I’m not looking to be a dominant force this year,” Stout said. “I’ll be happy to roll with it as it comes. But I have higher priorities. If Shelly needs me on a Saturday, that’s where I’ll be.”
“Dick always brings a good fan following with him on race night,” Ancel said. “He is always so excited and energetic. Dick won’t hesitate to go four wide. If there are three going in to the corner, Dick don’t care! If he can get out a few nights this year, that’ll be great. Hopefully Shelly will be able to make it out, too.”
It’s hard to tell which of the Stout’s love racing more.
“Shelly would say she just goes for the Speedway Food!” Stout said. “But she tells me she loves racing because it makes me happy and she loves to see me happy. My worst night at the track is just as good as any “good day” I’ve had off the track, because that’s where I want to be.”
