After nearly a decade away from racing, Kirt Grubb is back behind the wheel. He is piloting the No. 25 Mini Stock and Kirt is ready for some racing action!
Racing has been in Kirt’s blood from a very young age. His Grandmother, Aunts, Uncles, Dad and Brother all had racing in their blood. “I remember being in diapers and going out to the garage to help work on racecars. Now that I think back, I was probably more of a hindrance than a help but it made me who I am today.” Kirt shares.
While the Grubb family has raced at different tracks in Northern Indiana, New Paris has always been home. “My dad, Rick Grubb, raced the No. 12-pack Road Runner when I was a kid. As a matter of fact, my first racing experience was when I was 5 and my dad won his first race at New Paris Speedway.” Kirt remembers back to the good ol’ days of racing. “Back then my favorite class was the Hobby Stocks and my favorite driver was Bobby Blount. Whenever you saw Bobby Blount pull into the pits, you just knew you were looking at your winner for the night.”
Rick quit racing in 1979 but that did not stop Kirt from working on cars. In 1993 Kirt’s older brother Kevin built himself a Street Stock and that started Grubb Racing. That season, Kirt was the Crew Chief for Kevin and then Rick bought a car so once again, racing was a family affair.
In 1997, Kirt acquired a Mustang and he and Kevin turned it into a Mini Stock which Kevin drove. “I am perfectly happy working on the cars. As much as I enjoy racing, if I had to choose one or the other, I would rather work on the cars. Its what I know I am good at.” Kirt said.
At the Blowout in 1997, Kirt got behind the wheel of a racecar for the first time. “It was the 12-pack Jr. Car and I crashed it in the Heat but I finished the 50 lap Feature.”
In 2000, Kirt ran his first and only full season so far. “I was not planning to race at all but I hot lapped Kevin’s back up car and that changed my mind. I only won 1 heat and my best finish was 3rd in the A but it was still a great time.” Kirt recalls those days when the Mini Stocks were still a new class. “Racing the Mini’s back then was very different. Now it’s very intense and (lap times in the) 16.5’s were nearly unheard of and now that is considered a mediocre time.” While the Mini’s are still the cheapest class, they are much more expensive now then when the class first started.
Up until this season, Kirt has been unable to return back to racing. “I was originally going to take the 2009 season to get a car ready for next year and to get K & K Engines going but I had a free weekend and ended up at New Paris Speedway just to watch but ended up catching the racing bug again.” K & K Engines is the business that Kirt and Kevin are starting up with hopes of having the Fabrication and Paint business up and running within the next year.
While Kirt is enjoying his time behind the wheel of the No. 25 car, his main focus is getting Kevin faster and handling better. “Kevin is my favorite driver out there. Not only because he is my brother but because he has a low dollar car but competes with the high dollar cars with nothing but pure talent.” While Kirt looks up to his brother, his Inspiration is his dad. “If it were not for my dad, the Grubb’s would never have been into racing at all.”
While this year held several problems for Kirt, he is looking forward to next year. “My goal for the 2010 season is to Coach T.J. Szalewski into a top A Feature contender and to get Kevin a well deserved championship. Also we are going to concentrate on building good engines for K & K Engines. Building a good product means getting more customers and getting a good reputation. That’s what we need to launch K & K Engines.”
Kirt would like to send out Special Thanks to his dad for turning the No. 25 over to him this year, Kevin and Kelly Grubb for letting him drive the car, Mom and Dad for their constant support, Boyd and the entire Unleashed gang for being a great team.
Kirt’s would also like to Thank his sponsors, Boyd’s Auto Recycling, Stock Car Extreme, K & K Engines and Grubb Racing-Unleashed.
