Bo Hartley

Born Neal Bret Hartley on August 11, 1964, my parents (Dad) recognized early on that racing was going to play a big part in my life.  Apparently, the only way they could make me behave was to do something associated with racing, or threaten to take something racing related away.  I grew up a big Richard Petty fan.  He was not only a great driver, who raced clean, but his actions and demeanor outside the race car showed he has a lot of class. 

When I was four years old, Santa Clause left a quarter midget under the Christmas tree.   March of the following year, 1969, having completed the Mid Florida Quarter Midget Racing Association Novice Program, was my first chance to compete, at Lake Fairview Park in Orlando.  (As a side note, my dad had been preparing me for quite awhile before this, as he literally gave his blood, sweat, and probably some tears, to the effort.  Long story short, he lost part of his left middle finger working with me at a go kart track when I was only three).  As Dad was teaching me the ins and outs of racing, one thing he always emphasized was the sportsmanship aspect and clean driving.  While I do not remember much from my early years of racing quarter midgets, one thing that has always stuck with me is the great people we met along the way and the family atmosphere at the races.  One highlight from my quarter midget days was being prominently displayed in a Stock Car Racing magazine profile on quarter midget racing.  I still have a copy of that issue.  For career highlights in quarter midgets, I won the first ever Dirt Grand Nationals in Casey, IL in the Heavy B class.  Having not raced any dirt prior to this made it a big deal to me.

Upon reaching the age limit for quarter midgets, Mom and Dad said no more racing.  They wanted me to concentrate on school and earn the opportunity to attend college.  Upon graduating from Stetson University in May 1987, Dad let me take a go kart he had acquired so I could start racing again.  Over the course of three years, 1988 to 1990, I raced in the Yamaha class at Fruitland Park Speedway located just north of Leesburg.  Over those three years, I had a lot of fun and won several races, but was concerned about the lack of protection an open kart provides.  So, Dad purchased a Gambler dirt car from friend and Mulleteer Ray Bolin for me to drive.

We worked on that car to make it suitable for pavement racing and off we went.  My first race in a sprint car took place in March 1991 at the old ¼ mile track at Lakeland Speedway.  Greg “The Rear Penguin” Pipkin served as my crew chief, a dubious title he still holds today.  That night also happened to be the first official sprint car race for Dave Steele, who went on to racing greatness, and still races with the TBARA today.  That night was my first time ever to drive a full blown sprint car and man was it an eye-opener.  It took some time for me to get used to how quickly a sprint car accelerates.  My fourth race, back at Lakeland, I learned how hard they crash too.  The throttle stuck wide open, carrying the car full speed into a steel barrier, earning me a destroyed race car and a trip to the hospital.  My sprint car career had few highlights after this until 1997, when Dad acquired a Shores chassis from a fellow competitor and a Progressive engine from Don Heckman.  With this combination, I qualified for the prestigious Little 500 in Anderson, IN that year and claimed Rookie of the Year honors with a 9th place finish.  In 1999, I destroyed that chassis against the Hialeah Speedway concrete, so Dad obtained the Performance Fabrication house car from Jerry Stuckey for my use.   1999 was also the year of my biggest racing related highlight, as my fellow competitors voted me their first ever TBARA Sportsman of the Year. 
 
After destroying the new car in the Little 500 the following year, Jerry rebuilt it and we were very competitive in TBARA competition, but I was unable to put the car into Victory Lane until March 2004.  Friend Robert Stephenson acquired a Klein engine from Reutimann Racing for my use, and we won my first race at DeSoto Speedway shortly thereafter.  Earlier, I spoke about the sportsmanship aspect of racing.  I was truly humbled and amazed by the congratulations I received from all the racers, owners, crewmen, officials, etc. on my first win.  I even received phone calls from people who were not at the track that night to congratulate me.  There is not a better group of people on the planet than racing people. 

Prior to that first win, Dad and I tabulated that I had 22 second-place finishes.  Talk about being a bridesmaid.  Anyway, 2004 turned out to be a watershed year in my life.  Not only was that the year of my first win, I also married my lovely wife, Dana, and discovered that I was going to be a daddy.

The following year, Robert decided he wanted to step it up and become a car owner.  He had Jerry Stuckey build a new car, into which he installed the best of everything.  We won our second night out with the new car at Ocala Speedway in March 2005.  2005 turned out to be a great year as my son, Stephen Nash Hartley, was born on June 10.

With the success and promise we were showing with the new car, Robert made the decision and the commitment to run for the TBARA championship in 2006.  He ordered a new engine from Tom Klein and we went into 2006 loaded for bear.  While we only garnered one win that season, we consistently ran well enough to achieve our goal and win the championship.   Again, I was amazed at the volume and sincerity of the congratulations I received from so many corners of the racing world.  That championship also meant so much to me because of all the help we received from so many people to help us win it.  Dad sacrificed his whole year to have a backup car (the “Hartley Family Car”) available to me at every race.  Other teams contributed technical help, parts, crew support, advice and myriad other assistance to help us achieve our goal.  You just can’t beat racing people.

Robert and I are still racing the 3X car in the TBARA with Klein horsepower.  If you read the Mullet Wrapper, you know we are most always competitive.  We hope to keep adding to our win total which stands at seven now.   Stay tuned to the Monthly Mullet Wrapper to see how Dad and I do.