Trevor Egbert on cruise control in 2019
By Publisher
RaceON.com Staff Writer
Photo by: Rachel Plant
SALADO, Texas — That multi-generational theme so prevalent in short track stock car racing sure can deliver some interesting story lines.
One look at the stellar season being enjoyed by 34-year-old Trevor Egbert is an ideal example. His 18 years of experience and hard work this year have produced an impressive nine Sport Mod division wins in 17 starts. He’s leading the points at Cotton Bowl in Paige, TX, and says he’s enjoying the success.
“We work on the car a lot during the week,” Egbert said. “We pay close attention to things like weekly maintenance. We made an update to the front end of our car for this season, and I feel like that has helped. The chassis was built in 2012, yet we went to work last winter and brought it up-to-date.”
A little road this past Spring forced Egbert and his race team to dig deep against some stiff competition.
“After we ran the first two races at Cotton Bowl this year, we went out and ran the IMCA Red River Tour. I knew we’d have to have our program right to win races. We came away with two wins and the points title. That chance to race four nights in a row allowed us to fine-tune our setup to where it is.”
The seasoned veteran makes a good point about frequent seat time, and how it benefits a race team.
“When you only race twice a month, it’s pretty hard to make the adjustments you need to get dialed in,” Egbert said. “That stint out on the road with five races in seven nights gave us a chance to enhance what we had. Now we feel like we can say we have a pretty strong piece.”
Egbert runs an Express chassis powered by a custom-built engine. That combination has done the trick for him this year, and he went on a tear last Saturday night at Cotton Bowl. After starting 22nd, Egbert powered his way to second in a shorter-than-normal main event.
“That was supposed to be a 20-lap feature, but they cut it back to 15,” Egbert explained. “So I don’t really know how I passed all those cars in that short of a time frame. I’m not going to come out and say I would have won it, but I sure would have liked to see how it played out with five more laps.”
It should also be noted this kind soul donated $50 of his winnings last week to Backpacks for Kids.
Trevor is part of an amazing family of dedicated racers. His brother, G.W., is perhaps the most high-profile of the clan, yet wait — there’s more. There are actually five members active in our great sport.
“There are a lot of us, to be sure,” Egbert proudly explained. “You have my Dad who races, George Egbert III; you have my brother, George Egbert IV, who everybody knows; you have my cousin, TJ Egbert out there; and you have my other cousin JP Dow, and while he isn’t an Egbert, he’s still family.”
When he first started out at age 16, Trevor competed in a Stock car for half a season to test the waters.
“In my senior year of high school I raced a full season. Soon after I graduated at the age of 19 I won the National Rookie-of-the-Year Award in the Modified. I’ve been switching back and forth between the IMCA Mods and the USMTS cars now for the last several seasons. I’m happy with where we are now.”
With a family life to balance with work and his passion for racing, Egbert always has a full plate.
“We have two boys that are nine now and a little four-year-old girl, so between them and trying to run a business, the traveling deal just wasn’t working out. So we’ve settled down to racing locally again, and we’re just trying to go out there and have fun with it. It’s been a great year so far for us all around.”
Like his weekly rivals in the highly-competitive Sport Mod division, Egbert faces challenges as he goes about the business of winning races and racking up valuable points.
“Changing track conditions really keeps us on our toes,” he said. “We raced at Waco on a Friday night and won on a dry, smooth, and what I call a perfect track, then we went to Cotton Bowl and it was very tacky and rough. I’m personally a big fan of dry tracks. I feel that is where a driver’s talents can shine.”
Like the other members of this highly-successful and widely-respected racing family, Egbert has a few key people that work hard behind the scenes and track-side to ensure his programs keeps rolling.
“I have to thank my wife, Heather, for things like getting us to the race track on time and keeping our Facebook page updated after every race,” he said. “We do this as a family, and it wouldn’t work any other way. My sons are now really getting interested in racing, as well, which makes it a lot of fun.
“I also need to the Ryan Ellis, he is the guy who has been wrenching on the car a lot this year and is helping us a ton. Without his help, we wouldn’t be where we are. He sacrifices a lot of his time to be at the shop and work on weekly chores. My Dad has helped out with the engine, I appreciate him, too.”
There a couple of other skilled, key individuals who are partially responsible for this notable success.
“We have Juston McCullough, he’s a shock specialist and helps keep us tuned to where we need to be. As we all get older, it gets harder for folks to take the time this sport requires. I’m blessed to have a full compliment of guys and family behind me that make this easier, and a whole lot more rewarding.”
Along with those dedicated folks who toil away in the trenches to help him compete, Egbert also has a fine group of marketing partners supporting his efforts in 2019.
“We have some great support from our partners, including Ellis Air Systems, in Killeen, Texas; Phil’s Motorsports, from Copperas Cove, TX; CRS Suspensions, Express Race Cars; Day Motorsports; 121 Towing and Dirt Defender Racing Products. We couldn’t do all this without each of them.”
As the summer months wane and our 2019 season starts to draw to a close, Egbert and his team can focus on a clear goal for the remaining races.
“We just want to go out there and keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Egbert said. “It has been so much fun with family by my side and us running so good. This is when racing is a blast. I really enjoy the big races at the end of the year.
“If we can win a few more races this summer and carry that over into the big-money shows this fall, I’ll be a very happy man.”