John was born and raised in Chanute, Kansas. He has been married to
his lovely wife Dawn for 17 years. They have two children, Dylan 14 and
Kenton 12. John works at Allen’s Automotive, a business his father
Wendell started in 1976. He started racing at the age of 16 in the
street stock division. He drove late models for a short time and in
1991 started racing modifieds.
Here are some of John’s career highlights:
2007 Lakeside Speedway Champion
2007 CARB sportsman of the year
2007 Heartland Park Topeka Champion
2006 Linn Co. Speedway Champion
1999-2001 Three time NCRA Champion
In 2009, John celebrated not only 25 years of racing, but 200 “A”
feature wins. During the 2009 season, John competed in 62 events and
won 25% of them. He finished in the top ten 69% of the “A” features he
raced.
I arrived at John’s race shop in Chanute at 9:00 am on Tuesday,
December 1st. John was leaving that afternoon for Indianapolis to check
out the International Motors Industry trade show. After showing me
around the shop, we sat down to start the interview.
Q: You started racing at the age of sixteen. How successful were you in the early years?
A: Dad helped me to build not only my first race car, but also the
trailer. I was broke at the time and had no money for an engine. David
McGowen a good friend of my dads had a blazer he was driving at the
time back and forth to work. The blazer had an engine that fit the
rules and was souped up a little bit. He loaned it to me and we ran it
the rest of the season. We didn't start racing till about quarter of
the way into the season. I'd been helping Van Gemmill on his late
model, so they all came to see me race for the first time. During the
feature, there was a car on the side of the track with engine failure.
Coming out of the corner I lost it a little and hit that parked race
car. We tore the car up some but even after the embarrassing night, it
was obvious that racing is what I wanted to do. The next year in the
same car we won the points championship at Humboldt.
Q: What made you decide to get into a modified in 1991?
A: I was racing late models and spending every dime I had on it. I
needed a new car and also to upgrade my engine program but I had no
money. My dad gave me a lot of opportunities in racing. I did odd jobs
or projects for him, so I could make money to put back into the race
team. When we needed something for the race car, Dad didn't just go out
and buy new parts. It's a little different for maybe the young talented
drivers coming up now, then when I first started racing. My dad had
enough fore sight to know I wasn't going to be the next Jeff Gordon and
didn't want to invest everything he had to make that happen. I was at a
race and feeling a little down and was talking to Mike Clark. Mike
owned Dirt Track race cars and it was early in their career in building
cars and we kind of hit it off. We formed a partnership where they
supplied the car and my father did the engine program. That was the
turning point of my career being able to race not only a new car but
race on a national level.
Q: How long did it take to be competitive in a modified?
A: Actually, we were fast right out of the box. We had a great
combination with Dirt Works race cars and dad's engines. Dirt Works was
the leader in building race cars and dad worked hard on the engine
program. At that time, there wasn't anybody more dedicated in winning
then my dad was. He built winning engines for Van Gemmill's late model
team and did the same for our modified program. My second year in the
modified, we raced at least 100 nights and won a lot of "A" features. I
learned at an early age committing to race that many races, involved
not only a lot of work and money, but also sacrifices to family and
business.
Q: On your website you stated that your dad was your hero. How important has it been having him being a part of your race team?
A: It's been real big! At times when you're a young kid and things seem
to be falling in place, you feel that you can do everything on your
own. There were many times I was so fortunate to have his experience to
guide me. Sometimes, he just makes things happen. I've seen him change
an engine by himself in twenty minutes at the race track. Dad made me
very confident that as a driver the car was going to be ready and that
I always had a chance to win. He has so much common sense about racing.
When others wonder how their going to fix a problem, he already had it
figured out. His dedication and work ethics keep us in a position to be
able to win races. He doesn't go with me much anymore and I miss that.
Q: There's no doubt that your number one fan is Dawn. How does it feel to have her as your biggest supporter?
A: It's great! It's not that Dawn enjoys going to the races so when I
win she's able to say that's my husband, but she's one of the hardest
workers on the team. She takes care of the kids, makes sure the motor
home has food and the supplies we need, packs our clothes and updates
the website. At times, she’s out in the garage asking what she can do
to help us get ready to race. I can't say enough about the support and
help she gives me on my racing. A lot of couples struggle trying to
balance their family and racing. I'm very fortunate to have not only a
lovely wife, but a great partner in racing. I can't tell you enough how
much her support means to me.
Q: Do you ever think about the possibility of getting hurt while racing?
A: Yes, it's a definite possibility and I probably think about it more
now that I'm older. I'm also not in as good of shape as I used to be,
and want to work on that this winter. Before Dawn and I had kids, it
didn’t bother me that much. Getting hurt is always a possibility but
the team does everything possible to keep me safe in the car.
Q: What was the worst accident you have been involved in?
A: I went over the retaining wall at Coby, Kansas. The track was
rubbered up and the car in front of me blew up and threw oil down. I
ran through the oil and the car wouldn’t turn. I hit the wall head on
and flew over the catch fence and landed on other side of the track. I
had a lot of air time to think about how this is going to hurt when I
hit the ground! That was probably one of my wildest rides.
Q: Were you hurt?
A: I spent the night in the hospital but luckily did not have any broken bones.
Q: What is your favorite race track and why?
A: I like the Belleville high banks. The speed is incredible and it
keeps you on edge. When you race these cars as much as I have,
Belleville adds a little more thrill to it. Also, I’m a great race fan.
Belleville racetrack has a lot of tradition. Drivers like Jeff Gordon
have been very successful racing there. I can’t tell you how many of
the racers who have won there went on to be very successful at the
higher level. I think it’s a proving ground of who’s who. I’m very
proud of my accomplishments at Belleville. I’ve won the last seven
times we’ve raced there. The fans are great and the atmosphere is
different then other race tracks. It takes a lot of nerve to race at
those speeds, especially at the high speeds we attain. The fans are
usually sitting on the edge of their seats.
Q: What is your most cherished “A” feature win?
A: It’s kind of funny, Dennis. A lot of the wins I don’t really
remember. I would say that my 200th win at Belleville is at the top of
the list. That was big for me and it was on my favorite track. To be
honest when we get in the truck and head for home after maybe
celebrating a win, we start thinking about the next race. The next day
it’s a clean slate and what you did the night before really doesn’t
matter. I guess my philosophy is that you’re only good that night and
the next race is another new day.
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