John Fitzgerald is flying high these days, although not necessarily by choice.
Fitzgerald, who this year moved up to the Pro Buggy division of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series after winning the 2012 Limited Buggy championship, used to drive from his home in Omaha, Nebraska, to the series' West Coast venues. But last year, because of the continuing high price of gasoline, he started commuting by air.
He said he could do that because good friend Chris Brandt keeps Fitzgerald's National Concrete Cutting/BFGoodrich AlumiCraft Chevrolet at his shop in Anaheim Hills, California, and makes sure it gets to the race track.
That's the good news for Fitzgerald, a 29-year-old construction worker who said that "99 percent of everything I do is out of my own pocket." The bad news is that he seldom sees his car between races.
"That's what's hard," Fitzgerald said. "The last time I see it is when I leave the track and the next time I see it is when I get to the track for the next race. That's what makes it tough, but it's the only way I can do it right now.
"The (cost of racing a) Pro Buggy is more than I can afford, but I want to do it. I build all my own cars. This one, I bought the chassis from AlumiCraft, but it was just the bare frame. I do all the fabrication work and I prep it when I get to the track because I can't afford to pay anybody to work on it."
Don't misunderstand. Fitzgerald is simply stating the facts of life as an independent racer, not looking for sympathy. He wouldn't get that from his rivals anyway, because after back-to-back third-place finishes at Glen Helen Raceway Park July 27-28 Fitzgerald unofficially is third in the Pro Buggy point standings behind reigning champion Steven Greinke and Dave Mason with five rounds left in the season.
Fitzgerald grew up working on his dad's buggy, then built his own car and began racing at 15. He competed on a small off road circuit around his hometown for awhile, then on a larger scale in the Midwest, and for a few years after he and Council Bluffs, Iowa, resident Brandt began traveling to the West there was a race somewhere almost every weekend.
Fitzgerald still races in the Midwest occasionally, but his focus is on the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.
"It's going good," he said of his rookie season in Pro Buggy. "I wanted definitely to be winning races (he has finished third five times), but I'm third in the points in my rookie years, so I can't complain."
JOHN FITZGERALD AT A GLANCE
Age: 29 (12 October 1983)
Lives in: Omaha, Nebraska
Marital status: Engaged; fiancée's name is Leslie. He has one child, Haylie
Occupation: Construction
Car number: 14 Pro Buggy
Type of chassis: AlumiCraft
Engine: Wiks Racing Chevrolet
Crew Chief: self
Sponsors: National Concrete Cutting, BFGoodrich, Wiks Racing, NAPA Auto Parts, K&N Filters, Fox Shocks
Years in racing: 15
Divisions raced: Limited Buggy, Pro Lite, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Limited Buggy, Pro Buggy
Series points standings: Champion Limited Buggy (2012); 4 Limited Buggy (2011); 2 Limited Buggy (2010)
