Fast track

Ten-year-old Sarah Cripe can’t sit still.

Whenever she is at the track, the Bay Haven Elementary fourth-grader is constantly looking for something to occupy her time.

She changes the oil. She checks the tire pressure. And she wipes down the windshield of her father, Jeff’s, BMW.

When it appears as if everything is finally in order, Cripe hands her father his helmet and settles in to watch him race around the Andersen RacePark in Palmetto.

It was here on the track that Cripe got her first taste of racing. After watching both her father and older brother, Austin, 20, road race, Cripe decided she wanted to be a part of the action.

“I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps,” Cripe says. “It looked really fun, especially when I watched him pass the cars.”

Cripe began solo go-kart racing last summer on the track, where she practices weaving in and out of cones on the roughly one-quarter mile course.

“I was excited,” Cripe says of learning how to race. “It’s very fun to do.”

Cripe constantly focuses on learning new things. One practice session may be dedicated strictly to improving her time, while another session may be dedicated to learning how to maneuver around the corners.

“Solo is a great tool for learning great control because you’re not racing other cars,” Jeff Cripe says. “You’re racing against yourself. She’s strictly challenging herself now. When she’s more mastered, then we’ll move into (solo) competition events.”

Racing runs deep in Cripe’s blood. Her grandfather was a former professional race car driver, who competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona races and the Cannonball Run, a former car race from New York to Los Angeles.

Jeff Cripe began working on his father’s pit crew at 10 years old and continued to do so until he was old enough to drive.

“I was brought up in it,” Jeff Cripe says. “I was the reason they put (age requirements) on pit crews. I used to sneak in. They had no rules until I came along.”

Jeff Cripe is involved in the Sports Car Club of America and typically races four to six weekends a year; his daughter is never far from his side.

“I think it’s really neat that she’s involved,” he says. “It’s something that’s unusual. Your peers look at it as something they have no idea about. It kind of sets you apart a little bit.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking, but I actually enjoy watching (her) race more than I do racing myself,” Jeff Cripe says.

Ultimately, Cripe is using solo go-karting as a means to prepare for her future in road racing. She currently drives a kart designed for riders 12 and under. She’ll then move up to an adult kart and, eventually, a race car.

“I just want to have fun,” Cripe says.

Cripe has aspirations of attending racing school and becoming a licensed race car driver before she turns 16 years old.

Cripe’s older brother earned his license by the time he was 16 and quickly set several track records and won a pair of championships during his first two years in the sport.

During an end-of-the-season awards banquet, Cripe, who was about 7 years old at the time, accepted her brother’s trophy on his behalf.

At that moment, Cripe decided she wanted to be the next one in the family to receive a trophy.

“I want to beat my brother,” Cripe says. “It’s sibling rivalry. I want bragging rights.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].