Chris Petryshen will be spending time back at the Thunder Mountain Speedway this racing season, taking on a range of diverse tasks as a key volunteer.
Petryshen had spent time at the track as a teen, when his father Rob Petryshen raced for a couple seasons, but Chris himself hasn't been a racer, more of a support crew — yet.
He helped out many years back as a cook when they had a bus in the pit area, and then he helped at the track truck, dealing with spills and cleanup on race days.
"I took a long hiatus away from the track and just the last few seasons I've come back and I've come back pretty hard because my kids want to race," he said.
While his two sons and one daughter aren't quite old enough to race just yet, he is already working on making their dreams happen.
"I"m here to help make sure it's here when they're old enough to get into a car," he said.
He cuts the grass, does the timing, operates the websites, and generally tries to make himself useful.
"I'm kind of the track Swiss Army knife right now," he said.
While he hopes to race himself, the car he had wanted to race didn't get done over the winter as planned.
"All my kids play hockey," Petryshen explained of how his winter got away on him, as he and his wife ferried their three children to and from the rink and tournaments.
So while he isn't going to be out on the track just yet, he did purchase a Honda Accord from a fellow racer at the end of last season, planning to get it ready to race in the Hornet class.
Petryshen is also in search of an older Monte Carlo to enter the Thunder class.
"I'm hoping to move up."
He also said the group hopes to help grow the track's support and find more younger volunteers to ensure the sport continues to have a future in the lakecity and Petryshen said existing racing community here is "dedicated."
"With the rising prices of everything these days they still continue to bring their cars out here to wreck them, dedication is a big thing with these guys."
Thunder Mountain Speedway is hosting their annual Hit to Pass event on June 27, with races starting at 5 p.m.
