A SWEET SPRINGS PILLAR: THE HINCK FAMILY RACES ON
By: Pat Sullivan – USAC Media
Sweet Springs, Missouri (May 18, 2023)………At every track in the land, there are hidden heroes who work selflessly for the betterment of racing. A decade ago, the leadership at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex took steps to ensure that one of the pillars of their community, John Henry Hinck, would not be forgotten.
This Sunday, May 21, we remember and honor one of those hidden heroes of the sport with the running of the John Hinck Championship featuring the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship at Missouri’s Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex.
John Hinck was a prime player in the Missouri racing scene starting in the 1950s. The Central Missouri Racing Association, a series that featured modified stock cars, was a proving ground for several racing legends like National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Bill Utz and Kansas City great Junior Hower.
Whether Hinck had a desire to race is not known, but he was certainly prepared to provide support for racers in his backyard. He co-owned a flathead Ford powered car with driver/mechanic Glen Arnold. One of his most experienced drivers was Douglas Tilden Crank who, when not racing, was a Sweet Springs mechanic, bus driver and firefighter. There were others. The CMRA was a vibrant organization that raced at Sweet Springs, Sedalia, Moberly, Warrensburg, Marshall and other locales in the Show Me State. Hinck was never far from the action.
John later contributed as an official. He served as the pit steward at the old Parkside Speedway in Sweet Springs from 1982 through 1994. When the current Sweet Springs facility was envisioned, he was hardly a bystander. He participated in the construction of the new plant and then served as a pit steward until 1999.
It comes as no surprise that Hinck passed his love of the sport on to his children. Terry Hinck enjoyed a long racing career that included several stints in micros and sprint cars. As a racer, he stuck with it until 2015. In contrast, Kelly Hinck says his driving career, “lasted about two-thirds of one season.” He liked racing but not as much as he enjoyed working on the cars.
Given the direction he took in the sport, it was not particularly surprising that the co-owner of Dahmer Powertrain moved to the ownership ranks. TKH Motorsports has been active for 36 years in a wide range of disciplines. Yet, it is quite likely that driver Brady Bacon’s recent win with the World of Outlaws at Indiana’s Tri-State Speedway has shined the brightest light on this squad. However, a closer look reveals that this group has enjoyed plenty of success for years.
So how did Hinck and Bacon get together? It turns out that the relationship between the Hinck and the Bacon family has roots decades deep. Terry Hinck had raced micros with Leon Bacon in the late 1980s. Fast forward and Leon’s boy was looking for a ride in the famed Tulsa Shootout. Brady turned to the staff at Sawyer Chassis who were more than willing to try and accommodate one of Oklahoma’s best open wheel racers. When presented with the idea, it all made sense to Kelly Hinck, and in 2016, Bacon was again holding a trophy in victory lane.
From there, the partnership blossomed. Bacon began racing a midget for Hinck, and eventually, they built new cars for the Chili Bowl Nationals. When that went well, they added sprint cars to the stable.
“We really hit it off,” Brady said, “and we just take one step at a time.”
In a testament to Hinck’s trust in Brady, apart from the cars he keeps in Missouri for racer Kameron Key, the rest of his inventory is at Bacon’s shop. It benefits both parties.
“They get to run with our infrastructure,” Brady explained, “so they do not have to have a whole operation. In turn, we get to supplement our schedule with more races. They have nice stuff, and they also give us the reins to do what we do and give us what we need. We have been fortunate to be successful in nearly everything we do.”
One of the hallmarks of Bacon’s career is consistency in everything he does. Thus, longtime crew members like D.J. “Elbow” Lebow is always alongside when he races for TKH with associate Matt Hummel also on hand when available. It also helps that they do not stray from the components that work for them.
“They run a Triple X chassis like I do,” Bacon noted, “and Matt Hummel does the shocks for all the cars. That helps our learning curve when we do something different.”
John Hinck passed on October 15, 2013, and the John Hinck Championship race was quickly established. Micro winners of this lucrative and prestigious event include Jade Avedisian, Joe B. Miller and Brady Bacon, fittingly, in a Hinck owned car. USAC National Midget honors have been captured by the likes of Logan Seavey, Cannon McIntosh and two-time champion Buddy Kofoid, who scored his first national win at Sweet Springs in 2020.
Not surprisingly, this week, the Hinck family will have their eye on Brady Bacon as he continues to build on his reputation as a big event racer. That said, Kelly Hinck is also going to pay plenty of attention to the supporting A-Class Micros where his 14-year-old-son Levi will strive for top honors.
RACE DETAILS:
On Sunday, May 21, the John Hinck Championship features the USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship racing for $6,000-to-win during their 40-lap main event. A-Class Micros are also on the event cars. The pits open at 4pm Central and front gates open at 5pm with the drivers meeting set for 5:30pm and cars on track at 6pm. General admission tickets are $20 while children ages 6-12 are $10. Kids age 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Tickets will be available at the gate on race day.