Mike Bracy is the Vice President and General Manager of Fortner Aerospace in Prescott. He is also a racecar driver.  He races with the Northern Arizona Dwarf Car Association on a dirt track.

His car is called Wild Mike, and it is green, and can go about 115 miles an hour. The engine has about 160-horse power. In each race the car uses about 6 gallons of “racing fuel”, which costs between $8 and $9 a gallon. This is his first year of this kind of racing. He started racing little cars when he was 4 years old. He says, “I love the smell of fresh tires.”

Mr. Bracy’s car is not painted. It has a “powder coat” on it that is baked on. Every year they re-sticker the car. The stickers come from sponsors who help him and the other racers. Mammoth Graphics from the mall designed his stickers, made them and put them on. Hugo’s Mexican Cantina is also a sponsor. So is RTR Paving, JBJ Trucking and NAPA.

Mr. Bracy really likes racing. He said, “I laugh all the way around the track. I enjoy racing very much.” But he did have one crash and said, “It hurt.” It was in Tucson and the dirt blocked his vision and he ran into a wall. It smashed a tiny bit of the bumper and the steering column got bent.

Mr. Bracy says, “Safety first.” He wears a big helmet that can barely even squeeze on my head because it’s stuffed with stuff. He wears a jacket, pants, shoes and gloves that would slow the fire down from getting him. It gives you time to stop and get out of the car if it catches fire. He also has a fire kit that if you push a lever, it will automatically spray all the parts of the car to stop the fire.

Mr. Bracy won first place last weekend in Show Low.  The week before that he came in second. He has raced this kind of race 6 times. Twenty-four cars can race at a time. The NADCAR News calls him the “Rookie Sensation.”  Mr. Bracy said he would love to race full time. There are 18 races per year and they have a point system. At the end of the year the person with the most points get a trophy and some money. Right now Mr. Bracy is second in points.

Mr. Bracy’s pit crew is his wife and 2 kids. His son Alec is 15 years old and the Crew Chief. Alec does a lot of the work on the car himself. After each race the car is covered with mud. So after each race they have to scrape the mud off then wash the car for the next race so that it looks like the pictures.

The set up for every race is different. A dirt track changes. It can be drier, stickier or muddier. You have to change the settings on the car for each race and each track.

Also the driver has to be prepared. Mr. Bracy said he drinks 24 bottles of water every race night. I wonder if he drinks more than that some nights.

On July 12th he will be racing in Prescott Valley at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $12 for adults, 12 and under is $7 and 7 and under is free.

Photo Gallery

View the photos of Danielle as she interviews Mr. Bracy.