Ryan Smith earned a pair of awards Saturday night at the ARDC banquet. Fighting through a long season of American Racing Drivers Club midget races, the first-year competitor ended the year fifth overall in points and easily Rookie of the Year honoree.
“It was awesome,” said the excited teen-age driver. “Our goal was to win races this year but we had a handicap that was killing us Next year, our goal is to win races.” The ARDC season resulted from a casual offer to drive the Burke Trucking car early in the season. Ryan’s cool demeanor and skill behind the wheel led owner Shawn Burke to offer the ride full-time for 2007 with the goal of earning Rookie of the Year title. And win it they did!
Ryan’s year started with an outstanding repeat Slingshot win in the Gambler’s Classic in Atlantic City and never stopped from there. Smith also won the Slingshot race in the 2006 Gambler’s Classic and is now eligible for a three-time winner bonus in 2008.
His 2007 season included a top five in the National Midget Driver of the Year Rookie standings and a very gratifying 38th in national Midget standings, against stars such as Dave Darland, Levi Jones and Bobby East.
Ryan is the first driver to score double USAC Ford Focus Midget championships in the same year, winning both the Northeast and the Florida crowns for the 2006 season. He competed in three different divisions in the 2007 season, capturing the micro sprint nationals with nine feature wins joined by numerous top five finishes for that crown.
Ryan’s last race in the season was the ARDC Midget closer as Susquehanna on October 27, where engine problems relegated him to a 15th-place finish. Since that race, he has been concentrating on school, where he is studying engineering at a community college and plans to transfer to a four-year university to continue his engineering studies. “I love the math and physics aspects of engineering,” he commented.
Tentatively, his next race will be in a 600cc Micro Sprint car at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s indoor track, but the car is still under construction. He also will run the Atlantic City ‘Gambler’s Classic’ staged in conjunction with the Area Auto Racing News annual convention.
Kunkletown, PA. – Ryan Smith earned a pair of awards Saturday night at the ARDC banquet. Fighting through a long season of American Racing Drivers Club midget races, the first-year competitor ended the year fifth overall in points and easily Rookie of the Year honoree.
“It was awesome, ” said the excited teen-age driver. “Our goal was to win races this year but we had a handicap that was killing us Next year, our goal is to win races. ” The ARDC season resulted from a casual offer to drive the Burke Trucking car early in the season. Ryan’s cool demeanor and skill behind the wheel led owner Shawn Burke to offer the ride full-time for 2007 with the goal of earning Rookie of the Year title. And win it they did!
Ryan’s year started with an outstanding repeat Slingshot win in the Gambler’s Classic in Atlantic City and never stopped from there. Smith also won the Slingshot race in the 2006 Gambler’s Classic and is now eligible for a three-time winner bonus in 2008.
His 2007 season included a top five in the National Midget Driver of the Year Rookie standings and a very gratifying 38th in national Midget standings, against stars such as Dave Darland, Levi Jones and Bobby East.
Ryan is the first driver to score double USAC Ford Focus Midget championships in the same year, winning both the Northeast and the Florida crowns for the 2006 season. He competed in three different divisions in the 2007 season, capturing the micro sprint nationals with nine feature wins joined by numerous top five finishes for that crown.
Ryan’s last race in the season was the ARDC Midget closer as Susquehanna on October 27, where engine problems relegated him to a 15th-place finish. Since that race, he has been concentrating on school, where he is studying engineering at a community college and plans to transfer to a four-year university to continue his engineering studies. “I love the math and physics aspects of engineering, ” he commented.
Tentatively, his next race will be in a 600cc Micro Sprint car at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s indoor track, but the car is still under construction. He also will run the Atlantic City ‘Gambler’s Classic’ staged in conjunction with the Area Auto Racing News annual convention
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