I met my husband Jim when I was 16 years old and a sophmore in high school. Jim was a senior basketball player and I was a cheerleader. Cheerleading was my passion. Jim loved basketball but his passion was racing. That summer I was able to watch him race a time or two. He was racing karts out at East Lansing Kart Track, in East Lansing, MI. He also raced a street race in Indiana that I went along to with his family. Of course I cheered him on but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Jim had a life long dream of racing midgets. He finally had an opportunity to buy and race a midget. We all traveled to Grundy Speedway just outside of Chicago every weekend. Jim's racing was self-funded so it was extremely stressful and expensive. He was doing well but he was over his head mechanically with the car, and a few costly crashes made it difficult for him to be able to continue financing his racing career. Racing would have to be on hold in our lives.
We got married in 2002. Jim raced a couple of kart street races after that but mostly we just went about normal life without racing. We had our first child Ashlee in 2005. I was so excited to have a girl! I would have my little cheerleader. In 2008 we welcomed our 2nd daughter Aubree. Jim had hope that one of his girls would like racing. To my dismay both of my girls have interst in racing, not cheerleading. In 2012 we began our racing journey again. My oldest daughter Ashlee and my nephew Kyle both started their racing careers in kid karts and Aubree is looking forward to starting in 2013. I have whole heartedly embraced this journey. I am after all a cheerleader at heart right??? Who better to cheer for than my girls (my nephew) and other girls out there racing? I have poured my heart and soul into this blog hoping that it can be a resource for other parents and girl drivers out there. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.
Sincerely,
Liz Opatic
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