A taste of the pro’s life in the fast lane
(Reprinted with permission of The Rockdale Reporter.)
Racing program makes a pit stop at RHS; helps efforts of local junior sibling racers
By KEN ESTEN COOKE
Reporter Staff Writer
Alesi Gerthe and brother Ayrton are excited. They’re getting a visit today from a professional race car driver and his team and they get to show off their hobby to every student at Rockdale High School.
The Gerthes, part of the successful brother-and-sister tandem of junior drag racers, were chosen to participate in a new “adoption” program that lets them rub elbows with the big boys of the International Hot Rod Association—in this case, Terry McMillen of Elkhart, Indiana, who stopped in Rockdale on Tuesday to show off his wheels.
McMillen and his Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team were on the way to San Antonio for the eMax Drag Racing season the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals. His team was chosen to help the Gerthes learn about the racing industry and help them get a leg up on learning the ins and outs of the sport.
The team rolled out the Amalie Oil “InstiGator” Funny Car and also displayed the drag racers of the Gerthes in the RHS parking lot.
“This program is a way we can help the sport continue to grow and see that these young racers learn things to continue their careers,” McMillen said of the program.
McMillen, who has spent the past 30 years in racing, admits that the few seconds from starting gate to finish line are only a tiny part of the sport and the “unseen” parts of the business—the marketing and endorsements—end up taking up far more time.
That’s a big part of the push for the “adoption” program—showing them the ropes of racing.
Marketing
“We don’t want these young racers to wait until they are 30 or 40 to learn how to get some of the corporate money,” McMillen said.
McMillen admitted that learning to get sponsorships is a big part of this sport. Racing is not like buying a bat and baseball glove and being in business. These performance machines demand a lot of upkeep and the costs are prohibitive to many. He said even at all levels of the sport, marketing plays a huge part of keeping a team on the road.
“In this sport, it’s about selling product—not so much about winning or losing on the weekend, but on how much product gets sold on Monday,” he said.
The Gerthe family watched as the racing team put sponsor stickers on Alesi’s new maroon dragster. Since she recently turned 16, she was allowed to move up to a 750-horsepower dragster from her junior model in which she dominated her age divisions.
“It helps a lot,” Alesi said. “He’s shown us a lot of things about marketing that we didn’t know. It’s been great.”
Parents Duane and Lisa Gerthe are trying to raise their children right in a sport that gets a lot of attention. The siblings’ racing team is called “New Breed.”
“The Gerthes really exemplify what drag racing is all about,” McMillen said. “It’s a true family sport. They live it and it shows in how tight-knit they are as a family.”
But the program looks for youth who look beyond their sport. McMillen was impressed that the Gerthes get their kids to help with the Christmas Round-Up, which provides needy local families with food and toys.
Alesi also donated 10 inches of her hair to “Locks of Love,” which provides hair pieces to medical patients. She also recently joined RHS’ Peer Assisted Leadership (PAL) program.
Motivation
But the visit wasn’t only for the Gerthes. McMillen, also named IHRA Sportsman of the Year, gave an assembly to RHS students about setting goals—both short-term and long-term ones and using education to reach those goals. A short feature film was also shown at the assembly. The Gerthes were pleased to be able to glean some knowledge from a big-time racing team.
“It’s not every day you get to talk to a pro driver,” Alesi said.
