Looking back at that night, there was a lot out in front of each of us. We were young and filled with excitement, each of us pursuing our own individual racing dream.
What struck me about Scott — an observation that never left me — was his genuine passion for sprint cars. He had fallen in love with the sport, and his ongoing hope was to stay employed doing something related to sprint cars.
That‘s what he really, really wanted; to somehow make a living in racing.
So far things had gone OK, he explained. He hoped he could do this for a while. And then he laughed.
“Otherwise I‘d have to get a real job,” he said. And he let loose with a funny laugh, where even his eyes were smiling.
He needn‘t have worried about getting a real job. Scott‘s dream was to make a living as a racing mechanic, and he did more than make a living. He reached the very pinnacle.
The first fortunate event for Scott was growing up in Mitchell, Ind. The early benefits were twofold: Scott‘s high-school auto mechanics teacher was Larry Kinser, younger brother of Karl Kinser; and legendary sprint car owner Dizz Wilson campaigned his race car from a tiny garage in Mitchell.
Still a teenager, Scott began tagging along with Dizz and his wife Zelphia when they went racing. It was the beginning of a rich education for Scott, as the irascible Wilson taught the young pupil the value of hard work and long hours in the shop.
In 1981 Scott was hired by Richard Briscoe, with Chuck Amati at the wheel and later Randy Kinser.
The 1984 season was a turning point in Scott‘s life when Karl Kinser hired him to take young Mark Kinser out to follow much of the World of Outlaws tour.
This not only introduced Scott to a significantly higher level of competition, but it was also his first experience with “the road.” Their performance was good enough to win races and see Mark share Outlaws Rookie of the Year honors with Greg Wooley in 1984.
Midway through the 1986 season Scott joined iconic mechanic Galen Fox at Gohr Racing, and along with Galen‘s son Steve fielded a sprint car driven by Kenny Jacobs, winning 14 races.
In 1988 Karl Kinser again reached out to Scott. Karl proposed that Scott rejoin his team to help oversee engine development and assembly while Karl traveled with Steve Kinser on the Outlaws trail.
This began a long, golden era for Scott Gerkin. Over the next seven seasons he and Karl Kinser worked extremely well together, dominating the competition with eight series titles, five Knoxville Nationals triumphs, and more than 200 feature wins.
Think about some of the people who comprised Scott‘s educational background: Dizz Wilson, Richard Briscoe, Galen Fox, and Karl Kinser. Collectively, that is such an enormous amount of knowledge that it‘s difficult to fully comprehend.
Through it all Scott was always in learning mode, listening and ready to discover new ways to squeeze another ounce of performance from a race car.
In addition to learning, another key factor came into play. Scott began to forge a close friendship with Steve Kinser, the type of friendship that is unique and enduring. The two men connected on many levels; personal, professional, and just the way they looked at things.
That friendship came into play in 1995 when Scott joined Steve Kinser when the latter launched his own team. Over the next 20 years the two men were inseparable, continuing to win many races and championships at the top level of the sport.
It wasn‘t easy, not by any means. Like anybody who has ever raced the Outlaws schedule — yesterday, today, and tomorrow — the road was an endless grind.
For a brief period in 1998 — maybe a couple of months — Scott stepped away from racing for a construction job near home.
That didn‘t last long. Despite the hardships of the road, the powerful desire to compete and win was too great. In due course Scott was back on the job — and on the road — once again.
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