Racing runs in the family

By DAVID ERICKSON / Whitefish Pilot

"It's an adrenaline rush."

That is the most succinct explanation Tyfini West, 19, can give as to why she drives race cars all summer.

For West and her younger brother Wrango, 17, racing has become a summer lifestyle. They travel across the country with their beautiful Legends roadsters, racing and learning as they go.

Wrango actually started racing first, when his dad bought him a Bandolero car for his 14th birthday. A Bandolero is a smaller version of a Legend, and Wrango slowly moved up the racing food chain. Tyfini started racing as soon as she realized how much fun her brother was having on the tracks.

"It's a lot of fun," she said. "It's something different, and there's always something to learn. We meet a lot of cool people on the road too."

Their Legends have a 1,250 cubic inch Yamaha "crotch-rocket" motor, giving them enough speed to make things exciting but to keep the races relatively safe.

"There are very few crashes in the Legends," Wrango said. "I hit the wall one time my first year racing. It wasn't good — I had to replace the tires. But the Legends are built for things to break off if you get in a wreck. They're pretty safe."

Tyfini said crashing isn't really something that worries her.

"It's a part of racing," she said. "You would really have to hit something to do serious damage."

Because the cars are so small, there's a lot of differences in how they handle on the track.

"You have a lot more room out there," Tyfini said. "You can get a lot closer to the wall and still feel comfortable."

Wrango said some Legend drivers will make dangerous moves out on the track, such as cutting other drivers off or driving out of control.

"You have to watch out for certain drivers," he said.

The Kalispell teens regularly compete at races at Montana Raceway Park between Whitefish and Kalispell.

Wrango placed second overall in the Pro Legends main event race with a time of 51:44.324, only 0.349 seconds behind the winner Kory Abbott from Florida.

The main event race consists of 50 laps, with a field of 17 drivers competing.

Last year, Wrango won the track championship at Raceway Park when he accumulated the most points through the racing season. He also won the Most Improved Driver award.

Wrango timed in at ninth place in the qualifier heat at the national Legends competition in Las Vegas last September, but ended up placing 25th overall in the actual race.

Tyfini placed 12th overall in the semi-pro Legends main event at the annual Legends Thunder race on June 28.

Both the teens said they hope to continue their racing, whether it's just for fun or for the prize money.

"We are both learning as we go and getting better every year," Tyfini said.