Devon Ostheimer is just one of several South County teenagers who chose racing over stick-and-ball sports and has the highest aspirations when it comes to getting behind the wheel. Like Hollister’s Ryan Bernal, 15, Ostheimer wants to brush bumpers in NASCAR.
Moving from quarter-midgets to winged and wingless sprint cars, which can reach speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour, Ostheimer is currently atop the point standings heading into the Spec Sprint Nationals being held in Chico in October. He often finds himself pitted against men as old as twice his age. Other times, he’ll be side-by-side with Bernal, who, like Ostheimer, has already compiled an extensive collection of race-related trophies and accolades despite not even owning a driver’s license.
“You can say we’re rivals. We’re both young, we’re both trying to make our career out of what we’re doing,” says Bernal, who spent time driving Micros in between quarter-midgets and sprints.
Both drivers idolize the fiercely competitive and outspoken Tony Stewart, who, like some of NASCAR’s best, saw his career take off following successful stints in several different styles of racing, including sprint cars on dusty and muddy tracks. Due to the terrain, sprint cars are far harder to handle than the souped-up monsters taking left turns on varying forms of concrete ovals.
“Eventually, we need to get back on the pavement,” says Don Ostheimer, Devon’s father and crew chief, “but pavement is just so expensive.”
Gilroy’s Mike Hill, 19, knows all too well about the seemingly permanent pit-stops that come with a lack of money. Getting his start in quarter-midgets before eventually moving over to open-wheel racing for Formula Ford, BMW and Mazda, Hill’s career in the Indy Lights Series, a developmental series for IndyCar, stalled last year when his sponsorship dollars ran out mid-season. He was in seventh place at the time.
Working as an instructor at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Hill is hoping to collect enough sponsorships to return to Indiana in the fall, where he will test cars with his team (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) for the upcoming season. He has tried to stay sharp at work by hopping in the school’s simulator, which can replicate almost any race track and car in the world, but it’s not quite the same.
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