Tupling proves to be a natural on the track
Reigning Inland Northwest Sprint Car Association (INSCA) Rookie of the Year Cole Tupling is a rare breed in motorsports. Having never raced competitively until last year, the Okanogan native promptly went out and showed his skills in a tough class en route to the top honor for first-time drivers.
This year Tupling has two wins, including last Saturday at Stateline Speedway, and trails Kevin Burck by a handful of points in the chase for the 2008 INSCA championship – not bad for a high school junior from a small Inland Northwest town. While Burck has plenty of trophies for his efforts over a stellar career, Tupling’s two wins this season were his first in just 18 months of racing.
“I’ve been around this (sprint car racing) since I was 5 years old watching my dad race,” Tupling said. “I had never driven anything until I decided to jump into the car. After winning the rookie deal, my goal this year was to win two or three races and try to get the championship.”
With two checkered flags thus far, Tupling is well on his way to achieving his goal in the victory column.
Burck, Ron Turner and Tony Berry are just a few of the elite drivers that run INSCA, with Berry holding the 2007 championship. All of the series drivers can be tough to beat, Tupling said, but it’s the race within one’s self that is the biggest test.
“The biggest challenge in racing I face each week is inside me,” Tupling said. “I want to meet my own expectations and go out to run a clean race all while trying to stay out of trouble.”
The 17-year old has no plans to let up, he added.
“I am out there to finish the schedule (as the champion).”
With Mike Tupling, Cole’s father and crew chief, along with mother, Linda, younger brother, Connor, and cousin Henry behind him, the Okanogan sensation knows his future is in racing: He’s just not sure which direction that will take.
“I can’t say where I’ll be in the next three to five years,” he said. “It’d be nice to get as far as I can in this, but I’m happy so far with what we’re doing. We can probably put another car together to run some dirt races (in Western Washington) because we know we can’t do them with this car. We’ll just have to see where things go.”
One thing is certain in the Tupling house: Cole may have followed in his dad’s footsteps to the sprinter but Connor will have to find another way to get onto the track.
“If he’s going to get into this sport he’ll have to build his own car to go race,” Cole said.
Henry Tupling has a sprint car of his own and at times can be found on the same track as his younger cousin.
Burck was the 2006 series champion and just missed a chance at repeating when Berry picked up last year’s hardware. The series is strong in part due to a strong mix of veterans and young guns like Tupling, according to the 2007 Rookie of the Year. For a series that enters its fifth year of competition, car count is consistent and gaining each week.
To have a chance to win the 2008 championship, the Tupling family gets tremendous support from their hometown including sponsorship from Lloyd’s Logging of Twisp, Wash. Not being close to major motor builders hasn’t slowed the team down as Mike and Cole have built all of the engines for the team over the last two seasons.
Even Cole’s classmates have gotten behind his racing endeavors.
“They’ve always supported me and word gets around (on Tupling’s accomplishments) pretty quick,” he said.
Suffering through several early season rainouts, the INSCA series headlines the Fourth of July celebration at Mission Valley Speedway in Polson, Mont. Tupling will be out for a third consecutive victory on July 5 at the tight 3/8th-mile.
The series returns to Stateline on July 19 as part of a doubleheader with the Northwest Modified Series.
To learn more about INSCA and Tupling’s chase for the championship log onto the series’ Web site at www.insca.us