A Young Racer Jumps to the Bigs

By Elyse Romell

Bobby LaPonte is confessedly just a youth. He is 6 years young, an only child, and lives with his family in Johns Creek, Georgia.

Though Bobby has huge aspirations. While youthful in age, he is entirely focused on his fantasy to one day race in NASCAR's huge leagues, the Sprint Cup Series.

Bobby's hopes are so big, in fact, that he frequently thinks about racing with the big fellows. According to his folks, Larry and Nancy, he even mimicks the sound of race cars during his sleeping hours.

Larry believes that his son got his interest in NASCAR while still a fetus.

"I raced the amateur road course tour for 10 seasons," he insisted. "When my wife was pregnant with Bobby, she used to come to watch me compete and we think that's when Bobby started his passion for racing."

Much like Jeff Gordon with his daughter Ella, the LaPontes have pictures of young Bobby climbing in and out of his dad's auto when he was only a baby.

Bobby might drive every day if he could, and he gets that chance with the long race year, from March to November, in the Southern part of the country. He and his father race each Saturday and Sunday, frequently traveling to other states, which include Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee, to participate in their local races.

This previous July, Bobby participated in his first countrywide finals event. He earned a win in his semifinal heat competition.

Bobby is swift to speak you that he races quarter midgets, a lesser type of the USAC Midget Sprint autos that Cup drivers such as NASCAR's title point head Tony Stewart begun his career driving.

Bobby lets you recognize that since he plans to trail in Stewart's footprints and follow that identical road in his own racing career.

This little man indeed is looking forward to realizing his huge NASCAR dreams, that of driving with his heroes in the seasons in store. - 29952

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