Sports

Local racer Ryder White is smokin’ the competition in the Mini-Stock series

June 29, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Local speedster Ryder White is quickly making a name for himself on local ovals after moving up into a new class of racing this year.

Previously he ran the Junior Late Model class at Sunset Speedway in Innisfil, Full Throttle Motor Speedway in Varney, and Sauble Speedway.

This year, Ryder moved up to the Mini-Stock division.

The Mini-Stock division is a full-sized car – Ryder drives a Honda Civic – and he’s not competing in an age class anymore; he’s up against adult drivers on the track.

It took some getting used to as the car handles differently and now has a clutch, but he has adjusted really well and won the first heat he entered in this racing season.

Last season, Ryder was awarded the Sauble Speedway Late Model championship after winning every feature race.

At 13 years old, Ryder doesn’t have a driver’s license, but he can handle a high-speed car with precision on the track.

Ryder’s Honda has a 1.6 L engine, which is the stock engine that comes with the car.

“I thought he would be at the back,” Ryder’s dad, Mike, admitted of what he thought might happen when Ryder started driving a full-sized car with experienced drivers. “I was worried that some of these guys who have been racing for years, and saw him, thought he might be a risk on the track. After his second weekend of racing, he had guys approach him and say ‘we were side by side on the rack, and I have no issues with you at all.’ For us and our first time with this car, I said, ‘just go out and follow some cars and see what it feels like.’ He went out, and the next thing you know, it’s the first night, and he won the first race.”

Other drivers and pit crews have been very helpful when they realized that despite his young age, Ryder is an excellent driver and knows how to race.

Mike is also Ryder’s pit crew chief.

Ryder was able to go out to the race track and get some practice laps in to learn how to drive the new car.

“This car, surprisingly, is easier to drive,” Ryder said, comparing it to his previous Junior Late Model Car. “It’s bigger, its got suspension, and it’s easier to turn. I’m already liking it better than the old one. At the first time at Sauble, we hadn’t practiced there before. In our first practice I spun out twice because we had slower, less grippier tires on, so when I was trying to go quick the back end would slide out. Then we got a good practice on new tires. After that, the first heat came, and I started second. I saw my opportunity to pass first place, and I got it.”

Ryder hits some pretty fast speeds – around 150 kph – at the end of the straight.

There’s a full season of racing ahead, and Ryder seems to have the right stuff for competition on the oval.

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