| Brads' History |
He was born on August 29, 1960 in Los Angeles, California, the oldest of three boys and brought up
as a typical average boy who grew up to love speed, had no fears and enjoyed playing with toy cars.
At the age of 10 he was involved with motor-cross. This was an exciting adventure. It possessed
the love for speed and had the opportunity to put fear into its place. But this was not enough for the
aggressive young motorcyclist. He needed something else in his life that would be more exciting.
His dad and mom, Ace and Patti, were involved with auto racing. They owned their own midget race
car which they campaigned for many years before adding a sprint car to their collection.
At age 16, now old enough to compete with an open wheel racing series in California, he began his
auto racing career. He started out driving the family midget. His first year of running with the Ascot
Super Midgets got him the "Rookie of the Year" award. The next year he joined the United States
Racing Club (USRC) and also received the "Rookie of the Year" award with them. The following
year, 1979, he again ran with the midgets on occasion, but also decided to try to campaign a sprint
car. He drove the family sprint car his first year in competition with the California Racing Association
(CRA) and again received the "Rookie of the Year" award with them. As the years passed by, he
progressed even more.
By 1983 he was one of the drivers to watch out for. He set many fast times, won lots of races and
broke 5 track records. Two of the track records were most memorable. Brad was the first one to
break into the 16 second bracket at Baylands Raceway Park in Fremont, CA. But truly the most
exciting night of his life was when he became the first one to break into the 18 second bracket at
Ascot Park in Gardena, CA. The stands and the pits both were just ecstatic. The crowd rose to their
feet and applauded Brad and his accomplishment for a good 10 minutes before continuing on with
the racing program. He was so over-joyed with this new goal that he had achieved.
These were exciting times, but also tough times in 1983. Brads' youngest brother, Todd, lost his life
at Ascot Park during a main event at the young age of 19.
In the next 3 years, Brads' success continued to increase. He had accumulated 8 more track
records, numerous fast times and a great deal more victories. He not only campaigned in a sprint
car, but still showed up at a few midget events each year to compete when time permitted.
In 1986 & 1987 winning and setting track records in sprint cars became second nature. Brad and
the Gardner Racing family team were in their element and unstoppable. At the age of 26, Brad had
accomplished a major feat that all drivers dream of, he won a championship. He backed it up with
another championship the very next year. These were wonderful times that you hope everyone can
experience.
In 1988 the opportunity of a lifetime came. Mike Curb, sponsor of his Gardner Racing team, and
Cary Agajanian, Mike's partner, offered him a 1 year contract to drive his Sunoco sponsored
NASCAR Winston Cup car. It wasn't a hard decision to make, just a quick one. Brad moved his
family to North Carolina. It was a huge learning process as the team was a "rookie" team all
around. Rookie driver, rookie crew chief, rookie engine builder and rookie crew. Brad finished 3rd in
Rookie points behind winner Ken Bouchard and 2nd place Ernie Irvan. Sunoco pulled their
sponsorship for 1989 and went with a veteran team & driver which folded our team. Brad and family
drove back across the United States and moved back home to California. He did what he knew
best, drove sprint cars again full time. Brad has a tremendous need for achievement, dominance
and aggression. His needs give him a behavior to win races and become a champion. He has an
inner ambition that drives him to be number one. Giving up is not an option.
In 1990 our home track, the famed Ascot Park, ran its last race. This was a very sad day in dirt track
auto racing. Four more years of driving sprint cars in and around California before making the
journey back to North Carolina once again and taking another shot at NASCAR. So in 1993, Brad
moved back for the first 6 months to get established and the rest of the family moved back in the
summer when school was out. He established part time jobs with Fast Track Driving School and
Nastrak Driving School (now known as Richard Petty Driving Experience). After a few months of
establishing old contacts, a full time position with Darrell Waltrip at DARWAL came available
working as a fabricator during the week and spotter for Darrell during the races, which he did for
almost 3 years.
In 1994 a couple of opportunities came up to qualify and race NASCAR Winston Cup cars. Brad was
honored and privileged to drive for the legendary Harry Hyde for 3 races in the #9 Melling Racing
entry. In 1995, Felix Sabates approached Brad to be a crew chief and team manager for a new
NASCAR Craftsman Truck team of his with Jay Sauter and Robby Gordon sharing the driving roles.
The very next year, Felix promoted Brad to a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief with Wally Dallenbach
and Robby Gordon sharing the driving roles. This team was part of a 3 car team and didn't achieve
the success in its short time frame and therefore folded.
In 1997 and 1998, Brad teamed back up with Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian as a team manager for
their NASCAR Busch car driven by Stevie Reeves. During this period, Brad was also given the
opportunity to drive in 8 races. 1998 also saw Brad spotting for Wally Dallenbach in the #25
Hendrick NASCAR Winston Cup car as well as Kenny Wallace in selected Busch races. After many
years of trying and now understanding how tough it is to get into NASCAR as a driver, Brad realized
that his chances are over. He was too young in 1988 and this new era has teams/sponsors looking
for drivers in their teens. He has been very fortunate to have raced with many veterans in NASCAR
and wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
In 1999, Brad formed his own race team. He started a USAC Silver Crown team with Mike Curb
Records as his sponsor. We ran the team for 5 years before shutting it down due to lack of sufficient
funds to keep it competitive. In 2000, Wally Dallenbach asked Brad to be his team manager on a
new NASCAR Winston Cup team for Galaxy Motorsports. No sponsor was found and the team
folded quickly.
In 2002, after working part time on and off for 9 years for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, Brad
finally decided to go full time. With all his years as a professional driver, his role at the school is
Driver Training which oversees 100 plus drivers across the United States. He sets up training
programs for new hires as well as refresher courses for the current drivers employed already.
In 2004, Brad got involved with the USAC Ford Focus Carolina series. He has helped many of the
new upcoming drivers in the series, offered his knowledge to many team members and consulted
with USAC on the new series. He has been an elected board member with USAC since 2000/2001.
In 2005, Brad started a one-on-one training program to teach young kids to drive midgets. During
this year Brad also found a new love. He raced in two ISMA Super Modified events. A new challenge
for him that he will keep pursuing for years to come.
Over the last several years, Brad had managed to find time to pursue a new hobby. He has taken a
lot of pride in restoring a 1950's vintage midget and 1982 championship sprint car for Ken Schrader.
Another challenge he loves to do, but time is always an issue. In Jan 2006, Brad was privileged to
be a participant in the inaugural Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge event in Lake Placid. What an
experience that was.
Currently in 2007, Brad is still working full time for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, competing in
the USAC Ford Focus Carolina series as a owner and occasional driver, competing in the
USAC/CRA Sprint car series as a driver, competing in the ISMA Super Modified series as a driver.
He built his own midget with the help of Barry and Steven Graham for entries into the Copper World
midget division in Phoenix as well as the Turkey Night event in California.
as a typical average boy who grew up to love speed, had no fears and enjoyed playing with toy cars.
At the age of 10 he was involved with motor-cross. This was an exciting adventure. It possessed
the love for speed and had the opportunity to put fear into its place. But this was not enough for the
aggressive young motorcyclist. He needed something else in his life that would be more exciting.
His dad and mom, Ace and Patti, were involved with auto racing. They owned their own midget race
car which they campaigned for many years before adding a sprint car to their collection.
At age 16, now old enough to compete with an open wheel racing series in California, he began his
auto racing career. He started out driving the family midget. His first year of running with the Ascot
Super Midgets got him the "Rookie of the Year" award. The next year he joined the United States
Racing Club (USRC) and also received the "Rookie of the Year" award with them. The following
year, 1979, he again ran with the midgets on occasion, but also decided to try to campaign a sprint
car. He drove the family sprint car his first year in competition with the California Racing Association
(CRA) and again received the "Rookie of the Year" award with them. As the years passed by, he
progressed even more.
By 1983 he was one of the drivers to watch out for. He set many fast times, won lots of races and
broke 5 track records. Two of the track records were most memorable. Brad was the first one to
break into the 16 second bracket at Baylands Raceway Park in Fremont, CA. But truly the most
exciting night of his life was when he became the first one to break into the 18 second bracket at
Ascot Park in Gardena, CA. The stands and the pits both were just ecstatic. The crowd rose to their
feet and applauded Brad and his accomplishment for a good 10 minutes before continuing on with
the racing program. He was so over-joyed with this new goal that he had achieved.
These were exciting times, but also tough times in 1983. Brads' youngest brother, Todd, lost his life
at Ascot Park during a main event at the young age of 19.
In the next 3 years, Brads' success continued to increase. He had accumulated 8 more track
records, numerous fast times and a great deal more victories. He not only campaigned in a sprint
car, but still showed up at a few midget events each year to compete when time permitted.
In 1986 & 1987 winning and setting track records in sprint cars became second nature. Brad and
the Gardner Racing family team were in their element and unstoppable. At the age of 26, Brad had
accomplished a major feat that all drivers dream of, he won a championship. He backed it up with
another championship the very next year. These were wonderful times that you hope everyone can
experience.
In 1988 the opportunity of a lifetime came. Mike Curb, sponsor of his Gardner Racing team, and
Cary Agajanian, Mike's partner, offered him a 1 year contract to drive his Sunoco sponsored
NASCAR Winston Cup car. It wasn't a hard decision to make, just a quick one. Brad moved his
family to North Carolina. It was a huge learning process as the team was a "rookie" team all
around. Rookie driver, rookie crew chief, rookie engine builder and rookie crew. Brad finished 3rd in
Rookie points behind winner Ken Bouchard and 2nd place Ernie Irvan. Sunoco pulled their
sponsorship for 1989 and went with a veteran team & driver which folded our team. Brad and family
drove back across the United States and moved back home to California. He did what he knew
best, drove sprint cars again full time. Brad has a tremendous need for achievement, dominance
and aggression. His needs give him a behavior to win races and become a champion. He has an
inner ambition that drives him to be number one. Giving up is not an option.
In 1990 our home track, the famed Ascot Park, ran its last race. This was a very sad day in dirt track
auto racing. Four more years of driving sprint cars in and around California before making the
journey back to North Carolina once again and taking another shot at NASCAR. So in 1993, Brad
moved back for the first 6 months to get established and the rest of the family moved back in the
summer when school was out. He established part time jobs with Fast Track Driving School and
Nastrak Driving School (now known as Richard Petty Driving Experience). After a few months of
establishing old contacts, a full time position with Darrell Waltrip at DARWAL came available
working as a fabricator during the week and spotter for Darrell during the races, which he did for
almost 3 years.
In 1994 a couple of opportunities came up to qualify and race NASCAR Winston Cup cars. Brad was
honored and privileged to drive for the legendary Harry Hyde for 3 races in the #9 Melling Racing
entry. In 1995, Felix Sabates approached Brad to be a crew chief and team manager for a new
NASCAR Craftsman Truck team of his with Jay Sauter and Robby Gordon sharing the driving roles.
The very next year, Felix promoted Brad to a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief with Wally Dallenbach
and Robby Gordon sharing the driving roles. This team was part of a 3 car team and didn't achieve
the success in its short time frame and therefore folded.
In 1997 and 1998, Brad teamed back up with Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian as a team manager for
their NASCAR Busch car driven by Stevie Reeves. During this period, Brad was also given the
opportunity to drive in 8 races. 1998 also saw Brad spotting for Wally Dallenbach in the #25
Hendrick NASCAR Winston Cup car as well as Kenny Wallace in selected Busch races. After many
years of trying and now understanding how tough it is to get into NASCAR as a driver, Brad realized
that his chances are over. He was too young in 1988 and this new era has teams/sponsors looking
for drivers in their teens. He has been very fortunate to have raced with many veterans in NASCAR
and wouldn't trade that experience for anything.
In 1999, Brad formed his own race team. He started a USAC Silver Crown team with Mike Curb
Records as his sponsor. We ran the team for 5 years before shutting it down due to lack of sufficient
funds to keep it competitive. In 2000, Wally Dallenbach asked Brad to be his team manager on a
new NASCAR Winston Cup team for Galaxy Motorsports. No sponsor was found and the team
folded quickly.
In 2002, after working part time on and off for 9 years for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, Brad
finally decided to go full time. With all his years as a professional driver, his role at the school is
Driver Training which oversees 100 plus drivers across the United States. He sets up training
programs for new hires as well as refresher courses for the current drivers employed already.
In 2004, Brad got involved with the USAC Ford Focus Carolina series. He has helped many of the
new upcoming drivers in the series, offered his knowledge to many team members and consulted
with USAC on the new series. He has been an elected board member with USAC since 2000/2001.
In 2005, Brad started a one-on-one training program to teach young kids to drive midgets. During
this year Brad also found a new love. He raced in two ISMA Super Modified events. A new challenge
for him that he will keep pursuing for years to come.
Over the last several years, Brad had managed to find time to pursue a new hobby. He has taken a
lot of pride in restoring a 1950's vintage midget and 1982 championship sprint car for Ken Schrader.
Another challenge he loves to do, but time is always an issue. In Jan 2006, Brad was privileged to
be a participant in the inaugural Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge event in Lake Placid. What an
experience that was.
Currently in 2007, Brad is still working full time for the Richard Petty Driving Experience, competing in
the USAC Ford Focus Carolina series as a owner and occasional driver, competing in the
USAC/CRA Sprint car series as a driver, competing in the ISMA Super Modified series as a driver.
He built his own midget with the help of Barry and Steven Graham for entries into the Copper World
midget division in Phoenix as well as the Turkey Night event in California.
Brad Noffsinger.com
