Firebird Raceway director Scott New has noticed that once someone gets hooked on drag racing, it becomes a generational thing.
This holds true for the Kidd family, which has three people — father Mark, son Rayce (16) and daughter Marissa (17) — competing at the 41st annual Pepsi Nightfire Nationals this weekend.
But the Kidd family is different from all the rest. According to New, no one else is as dominant.
“Drag racing is very family involved, you see it everywhere,” New said. “But I can’t ever remember a father-son both ranked No. 1 at our track. It is a pretty significant milestone.”
Mark, ranked No. 1 in the Pro classification, has been racing for 30 years, including every Nightfire since 1983. Naturally, his kids grew up in the sport.
“(Racing) is something I have always wanted to do,” Marissa said. “I grew up around it and ever since I was little I knew I wanted to do it for the rest of my life.”
Marissa and Rayce compete in Super Pro, which is the division below their father. The siblings started out in junior dragster competitions, but made the jump to Super Pro in the last year. Of the 40 to 50 racers in their division, Rayce is ranked No. 1 and Marissa is No. 8.
At Nightfire, the three Kidds will be in the Bracketeer Series, which provides a staggered trigger. The slower of the two racers begins first and has a head start based on time differential. It gives the competition an equalizer, which can create intriguing matchups. Through the Bracketeer, the rookie daughter could face her father.
“What’s neat is that once you have a driver’s license, you are all in the same class,” Mark said.
Mark and Rayce have competed against each other once at Firebird this season, with the father pulling out the victory. Rayce and Marissa have only raced in time trials, but never in an actual race. None of the Kidds are scheduled to race in the qualifying rounds at Nightfire, but it could happen in the Final 16. Marissa hopes to finally race her brother this weekend.
“I think it’s a very big possibility. I wouldn’t be disappointed if it’s in a later round, because that means we both did really well,” Marissa said.
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Mark Kidd won his sixth title of the season in the Pro eliminator division on the opening night of the Nightfire Nationals. He was joined by Paul Nero from Eugene, Ore., who collected top honors in Bracketeer. RESULTS, S5
