 The father and son duo of Damon, left, and Dallon Murty of rural Brooklyn enjoy racing against each other in the IMCA stock car class. The racing duo just returned from the 2022 Bristol Dirt Nationals where Dallon, a high school junior, finished third due to a race car technicality and Damon finished sixth. The Murty family races at circle tracs all across Iowa and in addition to Bristol has also raced in Texas, Las Vegas, Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota. By J.O. Parker A little friendly competition among family members is a good thing. Just ask stock car racers Damon and Dallon Murty of rural Brooklyn. The father and son duo has been racing IMCA (International Motor Contest Association) stock cars and each other for years and have brought home lots of hardware along the way. Step into their racing garage and among the race car tires, cases of oil, tool boxes and car parts are hundreds of awards and trophies covering two shelves and the walls on one end of the garage. “It’s a lot of fun,” said Damon of racing. “It’s every racing dad’s dream to race with their son.” The IMCA is currently headquartered in Vinton and features several classes and divisions of weekly racing in six geographical regions of the United States. Damon and Dallon, a junior at BGM High School, recently traveled to Tennessee where they completed in the Bristol Dirt Nationals for a second year. In 2021, Dallon, who drives number 99X, finished first in the A Main (championship race) and Damon, who drives number 99D, finished second. At the 2022 championship race, Dallon finished first again, but ended up in third due to a post-race technical issue with his race car. Damon finished in sixth place. “That is sometimes the way it is in racing,” Damon said of his son’s finish at Bristol. He added, “Dallon was by far the fastest car there all week.” Damon and Dallon compete in qualifying races all week where they earn points for how they finish, which sets up where they will start the A Main championship race. Damon started the championship race on the outside pole and Dallon started on the fourth row inside for the 30 lap feature. Stock cars are built on standard vehicle frames such as a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The top of the car is original as is the frame, but the body is made from flat sheet metal. The car is powered by a custom built 350 cubic inch 8-cyclinder Chevrolet engine. The race car can reach speeds of 110 – 115 mph. Damon started racing in 1994, following in the footsteps of an uncle and cousin who raced. “I went to the races with my uncle and it grew from there,” said Damon. He raced hobby stocks until 2002, when he switched to racing stock cars. Dallon started racing go-carts at age 3.5. By age 10, Dallon was racing micro mods, a pint-size version of a stock car. At age 11, Dallon won his first A Main in a non-sanctioned stock car race. In addition to traveling to Bristol, Tenn., in February the racing duo traveled to Texas where they raced at tracks in Abilene, Mesquite and Waco. Dallon finished first in Abilene and second in Waco. The family has also raced in Las Vegas, Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota through the years. Last year, Dallon competed in 78 races, winning 47 times. Damon competed in 58 races, winning 11 features. The 2022 Iowa racing season got underway on Sunday, April 10. The duo races all across Iowa at circle dirt tracks in Boone, Marshalltown, Stuart, Oskaloosa, Donaldson, Memphis and Alta. Tagging along at the races are Dallon’s sister, Dayna, a fourth-grader at BGM and mom and wife, Dawna, who said everyone calls her, “Mama Dawna.” “I will do whatever it takes to make both my kids humble, kind and successful where ever that leads,” Dawna said of supporting her family. “It’s great to see Dallon have so much success,” added Damon of his son. “It’s fun and we get to race together,” added Dallon. “I like it when we both finish one and two.”  Dallon Murty in the winner's circle.  Damon Murty in the winner's circle.
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