Houston's own Jonathan Womack
The Chronicle has a great story on a local man who is a champion hot rod racer:
Twenty years of family grit and determination comes down to just 9.9 seconds when Jonathan Womack races his Chevrolet Corvette.
Jonathan, 24, is the driver of the Womack Family Racing team of Acres Homes, and the 2004 National Hot Rod Association's Super Gas national championship and second-place winner in the South Central Division 4.
"Racing is the greatest thing in the world. As far back as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was get into a race car — and go," said Jonathan, 24.
The 1999 graduate of Klein Forest High School grew up hearing the roar of engines and the smell of fuel while watching his father, Warren Womack, work on cars.
And Womack's parents sound terrific:
Jonathan learned the word "wrench" about the same time he'd begun to walk, so it didn't come as a surprise to Warren when he wanted to forego college in favor of becoming a professional race-car driver.
But there was a catch.
"There was a rule in the Womack house," Warren said. "You have to go to college or into a trade."
Warren and Madelyn agreed to help their youngest son achieve his racing goal, each taking a part of the family business, while Jonathan went to Modern Barber College for 18 months to learn a skill that could provide an income unrelated to racing.
Jonathan now is a barber in a shop near the Astrodome in southwest Houston, and his regular customers have learned to schedule appointments between Jonathan's major races.
[snip]
In addition to Jonathan's national win at Pomona, Calif., in November — which earned him the title of champion in the Super Gas class until next year — he nailed a "driver of the year" title in 2004 and was a semifinalist in the Sportsnationals in Belle Rose, La.
What a great story.
I have two quibbles, though. First is the story was stuck in the "This Week" section -- it would have made a great "star" section article and could have easily replaced today's Martha Stewart-as-folk hero snoozer; and second, the family's website is in the story (www.womackfamilyracing.com), but it's not a hotlink.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/04/05 10:06 AM | Houston People | Print | Comments (0)
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