By Craig Murphy

Springfield Times Editor

When he's 16, Zack Spaulding looks forward to getting to drive.

A more powerful car, that is.

The 13-year-old Briggs Middle School student is already quite familiar with driving. After all, he's been racing since the age of 6.

The eighth-grade student is moving up to the Limited Sprint class this year at Cottage Grove Speedway. Weather permitting, practice is this Saturday with the season opener scheduled for next Saturday, April 4.

While many classmates are likely dreaming of driving for the first time, this year Zack jumps behind the wheel of a 550-horsepower Sprint car. Father Ron Spaulding is the crew chief, while nervous mom Nicky and younger brother Josh, 8, will watch.

Over the years Zack has accrued 42 main event wins and nine season championships. He started in go-carts, and has raced various levels of carts and mini-Sprints over the years. Last year he drove a 1991 Camaro in the Street Stock division at Cottage Grove, winning a trophy dash and a heat race while taking eighth in the season standings.

Moving up to a Sprint car fulfills a dream for Zack.

"I saw Sprint cars when I first raced, and I wanted to race one," he said. "Last year when I was in the Camaro, when these (Sprint cars) would go out, I'd rush over to watch them."

Zack knows he has a big jump ahead of him, and Mother Nature may not cooperate. A practice session at the ¼-mile Cottage Grove Speedway is slated for Saturday, but the dirt track was still under water in places earlier this week.

If practice is canceled, that means Zack's first time behind the wheel of a Sprint car will be on season-opening night April 4.

"If that happens, hot laps on opening night will be my only practice," Zack said with a shrug.

"Just keep it on all fours," mother Nicky reminded him.

Zack admits to being a little nervous.

"It seems a lot of people have things go wrong, flipping or having a brake line pinched off," Zack said.

That doesn't exactly calm mom's nerves.

"He's caught on to everything he's driven quickly," Nicky said. "I know he'll be OK, but it scares me to death. I was nervous each time he moved up in carts. But this is a whole new ball game."

Nor does what Zack tells his mom help ease fears.

"He keeps whispering in her ear, ‘Mom, I'm going to be going 100 mph,'" Ron said with a laugh.

Track rules mean drivers typically can't run a Sprint car at Cottage Grove until the age of 16. The track's new manager Brian Crockett, father of top Sprint car driver Roger, saw Zack compete last year. Former track owners Bob and Russell Leach let Zack test a Sprint car last year.

Ron gave Brian Crockett a copy of Zack's racing resume, and the track's insurance company gave the go-ahead for Zack to move up. However, he won't be able to race in the track's top class, the 360 Sprints, until reaching 16.

"I'm kind of surprised they let me," Zack said of being able to race this year.

Even with permission to race, will Zack being able to compete with the older drivers in his class?

"Zack was in the Street Stock at 12, and he proved he could hang with the top drivers," Ron pointed out.

It seems Zack isn't afraid to point out when he's been wronged on the track, either.

"One race last year some guy got into me on the track," said Zack, who stands 5-foot-8. "As we're returning to the pits, I'm yelling at him. He was like 6-foot-5."

Among the changes for Zack this year is having a competitive powerplant.

"When I saw him in the Street Stock for the first time, I said, ‘He needs more power!'" Nicky said.

Added Zack with a grin, "I can't say I'm going to need more power this year."

Zack, who said just a couple of classmates know of his weekend need for speed, realizes he has plenty to learn in his new car.

"It's about learning this year," he said. "But I want to win."

Ron, who acknowledges the transition he'll have to make turning the wrenches on a new type of vehicle, feels his son will simply get what he can on any given night.

"I'm confident in his ability, but I also know he's smart," said Ron, who for now is financing the venture out of pocket. "He won't overdrive his ability. If he's competing for second or third at the end of the year, I'd be thrilled."

Zack hopes to win a Limited Sprint title before moving up to a 360 cubic-inch Sprint. His ultimate goal is not to follow the path of those like his favorite driver Jeff Gordon, who went on from Sprints to earn four NASCAR Cup titles. Instead, he wants to compete in a 410 cubic-inch Sprint car in the World of Outlaws, the premier level of Sprint car racing.

"He's never dreamt of NASCAR," Ron said of his son. "It's always been the World of Outlaws."

Nicky wouldn't mind her son staying a little more grounded.

"I'd be more comfortable with NASCAR," she said. "They don't flip over much."

Younger brother Josh, 8, races a cart, but doesn't expect to follow his brother's footsteps for a career.

"I'm nervous about him flipping," Josh said. "I've flipped mine several times. Everyone keeps running into me."

Before advancing to the Outlaws, Zack will be getting his driver's license following 10 years of racing.

"Getting a license will be easy," he said with a laugh.