Car Racing is in the Blood

There is a saying that goes like this “like father like son”. However, in the local car racing circuit it has been changed to “like grandfather like grandson”. This season the local race tracks have seen a young newcomer by the name of Thomas Cook. Thomas may be new as a driver but not new to car racing. He is the grandson of racing veteran, Bill Cook, who has been driving the Mohawk Express M 70 for the past 42 years.

Thomas states that his grandfather has been his inspiration and mentor that helped launch his own racing career. Thomas has been watching Bill race ever since he can remember and has worked in his grandfather’s garage and pit crew since he was eight years old. Now at the ripe old age of 14, Thomas drives his own Sportsman car and has his own pit crew.

Young Thomas has been driving a race car since he was eight years old. In a large field behind his grandfather’s house is a dirt oval where Thomas learned and practiced his driving skills. He had to be 14 years old before DIRT would allow him to race. Last year Bill gave Thomas his own race car which he painted on it the number 35.

Number 35 is also the number on Thomas’s basketball jersey. After racing season closes, Thomas will hang up his fire suit in exchange for a tank top, shorts and high tops and hit the basketball court. He will be entering his freshman year of high school at Salmon River Central School this fall and vying for a spot on the boy’s basketball team. “I think my #35 has brought me luck” states Thomas. Basketball is also a passion for Thomas’s grandfather. Bill is a former standout basketball player for SRCS and you can see him on the sidelines of an SRCS girls’ basketball game helping his daughter, Coach Karen Francis.

Thomas has had a strong start to his race career. In his debut race he started 19th out of 20 and finished 11th overall. He describes that first race as “awesome”. When asked if he ever gets frightened he admits that the thought of getting into an accident does make him a little nervous. One time he hit a tire that was in the infield but sitting close to the track. His car went into the air but “I didn’t flip, I just bent a couple of bars”. Thomas’s experience with working in his grandfather’s garage gives him the knowledge to be able to fix his car when it needs it.

The adrenaline rush that Thomas feels when he is waiting for the green flag to emerge outweighs any fear he may have. He also likes the good feeling he gets when he hears his fans cheering for him. When asked how other drivers have accepted him he replied “good, they respect me and I respect them”.

Thomas sums up his racing experience by saying “it’s really cool to race with my grandfather and it’s a lot of fun”.

Thomas’s grandfather, Bill, started driving race cars in 1970 but has been in the racing business since 1957. He began his racing career by building race cars. He was raised on a farm and would fix the tractors and other farm machinery when they broke down. When he graduated from high school he went on to Canton ATC where he received his Associates degree in automotive technology in 1970. The year he graduated as well as the year his second daughter, Ellen, was born, became his race car number “70”. About two years later Bill opened his own auto repair shop, Cook’s Auto Repair, which is still in operation.

Bill remembers back to 1953 when the Fort Covington track opened “My father would have to work every other Sunday. When he had to work I would go to the road from noon to 2:00 p.m. and watch the cars go by. Then I would go back to the road around 5:00 p.m. until around 8:00 p.m. to watch them go back by”. When Bill was around 12 , he and a friend saw a “real nice car” at the Ft. Covington track and vowed that they were going to have a car like that someday.

Bill’s passion for cars, his education and his business sense has provided Bill with a 42 year racing career. He has seen many changes in the industry. “There is never a point where you can say ‘I know it all’, there’s always new things and new innovations happening because of the growing popularity in racing, which is a good thing” comments Bill. “With the advance engineering, the changes are very technical. It used to be that if a tire held air than that’s all we needed. Now we get have suspension tires and have to pay attention to the size, width, hardness, air pressure grinding, etc. Safety has also come a long way and is probably the biggest advancement” adds Bill.

Bill has also had a lot of help in his racing career. He estimates that over the years he has had about 100 neighborhood boys, including his son Lee, in his pit crew at one time or another. Many of whom have gone on to be part of another pit crew, race a car or own their own car. He has also had financial backing from many sponsors. “I would like to thank all the pit crew that I have had over the years and sponsors that have helped me financially. People only see the driver and the car but there is a whole team behind me that is so important” Another person that has been very important in his racing career is Bill’s wife, Martha. She is represented by the M that is seen before the number 70.

When Bill was asked what he thought about Thomas entering the racing world you could see his face beam with pride. “I like Thomas racing and really enjoy working with him. We get along good and I like seeing that he is starting to get his own ideas in designing and doing things with his car. He needs to learn how to do things to continue when I am done.”

Bill, whose age is only two years younger than his car number, is not ready to give up racing just yet. “I don’t know when too old is. I know drivers who are 72 and 74 years old that still race or have raced until that age.” He plans on returning next year for his 43rd season. When asked what he likes about racing, Bill smiles and says “just fun and a lot of good friends”. He has enjoyed meeting many good people and likes to get together with them to reminisce. “Everywhere we go someone knows him” comments Martha.

Bill and Thomas race at Mohawk International, Cornwall and Brockville Speedways. They are partial to Mohawk International. “The new track has made a difference locally. It is one of the nicest tracks in the Northeast. The stands are pretty full on race night” comments Bill.

It’s Saturday afternoon and there is a fury of activity as Bill and Thomas get ready to head to Brockville. Thomas drives a race car but he is not old enough to drive a regular vehicle. His Mom, Julie White, hops in the driver’s seat of the truck that hauls the race car. Julie doesn’t mind Thomas’s interest in racing. “ I know where he is everyday and it keeps him out of trouble” she says. Martha hops into the truck with Bill and the small convoy heads out. I can’t help but smile and think “the family that races together stays together”.