THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408170112
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
THROUGH MOST OF his 25 years, Kelly Carson has been chasing his older brother. He finally feels like he's on the verge of catching up.
Tod, 31, and Kelly compete each Saturday night at Langley Raceway in the Limited Stock Division.
Tod is the old pro, a former points champion at Langley and currently in fifth place this year as he is breaking in a new car.
Kelly stands in eighth place, an outstanding achievement for a first-year driver.
``I never even sat in a race car until I starting driving,'' said Kelly. ``But I watched Tod for five years. He was really my teacher.
``We've always competed with one another, going back to when we rode dirt bikes. I ate his dust for a long time.''
Tod began racing at the age of 14 on motorcycles, competing five years on the American Motorcycle Association pro circuit and winning the Eastern Regional championship in 1980 at Daytona, Fla.
In 1985, Kelly was in his first year as an AMA pro when the family decided to stop competing.
Three years later, the Carson family - Tod, Kelly, dad Elwood and mom Ginny - returned to racing. But it was car racing. They purchased a race-ready car from a Virginia Beach driver.
In 1989, Elwood, Tod and Kelly built their own race car. This past year, they built a second.
Tod has the new car with a bigger, stronger engine. The hand-me-down parts go on the older car that Kelly drives.
They call it the recycled car. But Kelly has no complaints.
``Tod won a championship with this car,'' said Kelly. ``He's got a lot more motor than I have, but he still says my car handles better.''
``It does,'' said Tod. ``I can't put my finger on why. But for the rest of the season we'll be trying a lot of different stuff. I'm just far enough behind in points this year that I can't catch up, so we're just going to have fun from here on out, and by trial and error, maybe we can get this car right.''
One change might be a different color paint job. Tod's car is green.
``Somebody told me green was a jinx color, and it's been a gremlin for us,'' said Elwood.
On the opening day of the season, Elwood was severely burned when a radiator hose exploded. While the races were continuing, he was transported to Hampton General Hospital.
In that race, Tod's car was hit. It blew a motor and the frame was bent, putting the car out of action for several weeks.
Kelly promptly turned his car over to older brother.
``So I really had a late start,'' said Kelly, ``and I have to be pleased with my point standing. I had a second-place finish, and I've only finished out of the top 10 once.
``It's been beyond my wildest dreams.''
Says Tod: ``It's a lot of fun racing against Kelly. You can't beat seat time, and the experience will make him that much better.''
Tod has won once this season and has numerous runner-up finishes.
``We've been running pretty good, but bad luck has seemed to pop up a lot. We were leading and the car broke. We could have three or four wins.''
The Carsons share the same pit crew - all volunteers. Primary sponsors for Tod are Bill Lewis Chevrolet and Commerce Bank. Morris-Parker and Crafter's Delit-E sponsor Kelly. There are six associate sponsors for each car.
``Sponsors pay about a fourth of the expenses,'' said Elwood. ``And it's a lot cheaper to run our second car because we can move any part from one car to the other. Basically, they are identical.''
Elwood estimates the cost at about $18,000 this year in running two cars. ``The number of races is down. It's a shorter season, and we missed several with one of the cars.''
He calls it ``a little hectic'' in trying to keep tabs on both sons in the same race.
``When there are about 22 cars in a race, my eyes are all over that track in looking out for two.''
The season at Langley continues through the second week of October.
Kelly says he still feels like he's chasing behind big brother.
``But, believe me, it feels good when I see his bumper at the end of a race. I know I'm getting there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Brothers Tod Carson, left, and Kelly Carson have been racing since
they were teenagers.
by CNB