From Marietta Daily Journal, by Anthony Rhoads
HAMPTON — Some young race car drivers were able to take part in pre-race ceremonies for Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Legends and Bandolero race car drivers helped unfurl and hold the giant American flag before the singing of the national anthem by Blanco Brown.
One of the young drivers was Javier “Javi” Soto, a 13-year old seventh-grader at Dodgen Middle School in Cobb County.
After the pre-race ceremonies, Soto headed to the grandstands to watch the race.
“It all worked out really well because I was able to get to the grandstands right after the opening ceremony and I was afraid I would miss the beginning of the race,” he said. “I made it to the grandstands just before the command ‘Drivers start your engines.’”
Soto was inspired to get into racing when he saw the movie “Cars” and when he was 11, he got his chance to race go-karts at Lamar County Speedway.
With the help of Legends of Georgia director Ken Ragan (a former NASCAR Cup driver and father of former Cup driver David Ragan), Soto started racing Bandolero cars, which are small cars similar to go-karts but have a sports-car type body.
Last year, Soto raced in the Rookie Bandolero Division and this year is in the Outlaws Division.
“It’s just fun,” Soto said of what he enjoys about racing. “It’s challenging and hard, but you can be greatly rewarded for it.”
His favorite driver? Kevin Harvick.
“I’m a die-hard fan,” he said. “I’ve liked him for a long time. I actually met him at Go-Pro Motorplex in 2021 when he was there with his son who was also racing go-karts at the time. He was a really nice guy in general.”
Several current and former NASCAR drivers started out on Bandoleros such as Austin Hill, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano and David Ragan.
On Saturday, Hill won the Xfinity race and on Sunday, Logano won the Cup race.
“I really liked seeing Austin Hill’s win, who grew up an hour away from Atlanta Motor Speedway,” Soto said. “He was a fan favorite. Joey Logano had downright the fastest car all day long. He made all the right moves and made no mistakes at end when it mattered the most.”
Soto’s long-term goal is to follow in the footsteps of those drivers, make it to NASCAR, and win championships.
His short-term goal?
“Win, win, win,” he said. “I want to win races as much as I can.”