Davey Ray.com | Biography

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Biography

Davey Ray
Hometown: Davenport, Iowa
Residence: Loves Park, IL
Height/Weight: 5'5" 145 lbs.
Marital Status: Single
Hobbies: Driving racecars, building racecars, fishing, dining, traveling, and being active.
Heroes: All my heroes have 4 columns under their names in the USAC yearbook.

Davey Ray is a third generation driver. He was behind the wheel of go-karts at the age of 11, winning 8 championships and over 200 feature wins. He proved he was ready to take his racing career to the next level.

One of the highlights of Davey’s career was winning the first midget race with the first ever Mopar midget engine on May 27, 2001 at Angell Park Speedway’s “Memorial 50” event driving Harlin Kittleson’s “Red Deuce.”

In 2003, Ray teamed up with legendary Indy car owner, Ralph Wilke, to compete in the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA) series. The new team had great success together, winning 6 feature events at 4 different tracks. They then went on to take the 2003 BMARA Championship at the end of the year winning the “Firemen Nationals” finale.

Ray was hired in 2004 by Greg Wilke of Wilke/PAK Motorsports as their USAC dirt midget driver. They scored 3 features together at Eagle Raceway, McCool Junction Speedway, and Limaland Motorsports Park. Ray also ran his first ever "Copper World Classic" at the popular Phoenix International Raceway in the Wilke/PAK entry taking home a top 10 finish on the mile track.

In 2005, Ray found himself in the cockpit of some of the most respected car owners in the racing industry. He won a midget feature at I-69 Speedway in Gas City, IN with car owner, Keith Kunz. Terry Klatt put Ray in the seat for the “Belleville Midget Nationals” and scored a 2^nd place finish. Steve Lewis of Nine Racing selected 3 popular race events for Ray to pilot his machine. They scored a 2^nd place finish at the “Hut 100,” suffered problems at Angell Park Speedway, and then scored a 3^rd place finish at Eldora’s “Four Crown Nationals.”

After the impressive performances in the midget series, Davey found himself in the seat of dirt sprint and silver crown cars. The seat fit as Davey continued to show his talent in true Davey fashion. He has set fast time in the sprint car at USAC events, and scored solid runs in the USAC silver crown series as well.

When the racing season slows during the winter months in the States, Ray finds himself competing in Australia and New Zealand during their summer months. Ray is a fan favorite over seas, and will again make his trip down under as the defending Australian Speedcar Champion.

With this early success, Davey’s future seems bright. The 5’4” 145 pound bantamweight driver comes from the short track old school much like his heroes before him. He is a mature, accomplished speaker, polite, and outgoing. All attributes of a contemporary professional race car driver. In the near future, Davey wishes to race in the Indy Car series to earn a spot in the Indianapolis 500.

Highlights:
>Australian Speedcar Champion
>USAC National Midget "Most Improved Driver"
>USAC National Midget "Buckeye Nationals" Champion
>Valvoline Cup Midget Champion
>National Sprint Car Hall of Fame "Rookie of the Year"
>Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA) Champion
>Firemen Nationals Champion -Angell Park Speedway
>Chili Bowl Midget Nationals "Rookie of the Race"
>Angell Park Speedway's "Most Popular Driver" award winner
>First Driver to win with the MOPAR midget engine
>Midwest Auto Racing Association (MARA) "Rookie of the Year"
>8-time go-kart Champion
>24 Career Feature Wins
>14 Career "Fastest Qualifier"
>Son of 1977 Badger driving Champion, Dave Ray
>Grandfather, John Heisdorf is a four-time Badger Car Owner Champion
>Grandfather, Ralph Ray drove and owned stock cars in the 1950's and won the
1981 Midwest Auto Racing Association Car owner Championship