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History
The history that is motorsports for the Ray family arose from humble beginnings in what today is referred to as the Quad Cities. Ralph Ray, the grandfather of midget racers Robbie and Davey Ray as well as father to former Midget Car drivers Mark and Dave Ray, began the racing tradition upon his return from serving the United States Navy in WWII.
Ralph, whose driving career was short lived, owned B-class stock cars along with his friend Dayle Ahrens. Ralph, with Dayle driving, won stock car feature races at many local fairgrounds tracks such as the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa. They sported a white and red #33 1937 Ford Coupe with the famous Ford Flathead engine. Ralph, while not working hard as a hands-on local roofing and siding contractor, spent his nights meticulously building performance racing engines and cars that were second to none.
Ralph soon began to see that his sons Mark and Dave were taking a keen interest in the sport of auto racing and sold his stock cars to move into the world of go-kart racing. Ralph, as expected, gave the same attention to detail with go-karts that he did with stock cars and the results were very rewarding. Dave, being the eldest of the two sons, started racing and winning early in 1964. Mark, the younger of the two, soon followed and success on both dirt ovals, and paved road courses were numerous. Many event wins and championships followed for the two sons including the 1966 International Karting Federation National Championship in Quincy, MO at the TNT Kartway which still exists today.
In 1972 the family put their resources behind acquiring their first Midget Car for eldest son Dave to drive. Ralph sought out former Davenport, Iowa natives Mel and Don Kenyon and purchased an Edmunds Chassis formerly owned by Howard Linne. Ralph then built his own Chevy II engine to place in the car before the 1973 season opener. Dave entered his rookie season in 1973 with the challenging Badger Midget Auto Racing Association in Wisconsin. The efforts of Ralph and the family paid off with Dave winning his first feature event at the Wausau, WI fairgrounds on a very fast, but slick, 1/2 mile track. This success along with an incredible sixth place finish in the year end championship standings prompted the BMARA to honor Dave with 'Rookie of the Year.' This feat would be repeated 34 years later by Dave's nephew Robbie.
Much like stock cars and go-karts years before, Ralph had succeeded in providing top rate cars and engines through his hands-on ingenuity and attention to detail. Mark would follow with his own success driving midgets in 1976 after waiting longer than anticipated. Dave wrecked, beyond repair, the car Mark was to begin his career in at an event on the half mile dirt track at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, IA.
Dave would move on from the Ray family owned midget car to drive for Wisconsin based car owner John Heisdorf, winning the BMARA driving championship in 1977.
Dave returned to the family effort years later and Ray Racing Enterprises became the banner under which the family raced. Now, with Dave building the Brand X chassis in-house and younger brother Mark building the team's engines as well, Dave would earn his second career driving championship in 1981 with the Mid-West Auto Racing Association. That same year Dave and Mark finished first and second in the United Auto Racing Association/Mid-West Auto Racing Association Challenge Cup, a competition uniting the two series for an eight race mini championship. This would earn Ralph his first and only Midget Car Owner Championship as well. The team continued their success for many years running with the BMARA, World of Outlaw Midgets, MARA, and various other midget racing sanctioning bodies through out the Mid-West.
In 1985, Mark retired from his driving duties in order to provide his brother Dave with a back-up car to go after the United States Auto Club National Midget Car Championship. When not being utilized as a back-up car, Mark entered his #3 Ray Racing VW with drivers such as Indy 500 winner Tom Sneva, sprint car greats Jerry Stone, Jack Hewitt, Sports Car and Indycar driver Davy Jones, and USAC midget great Kevin Olson. Olson would earn Mark his only USAC National Midget Car Owner win in Binghamton, NY. Dave would finish a respectable fifth place in the USAC National Midget Car Championship in 1985 with Mark turning the wrenches. The success was remarkable considering both Mark and Dave held full time jobs. In 1986, they backed up their success with Dave finishing an incredible fourth place in the USAC National Midget Car Standings behind legendary drivers Rich Vogler, Mel Kenyon, and Tom Bigelow.
Ralph would again put his abilities to use helping his grandchildren begin their racing careers in go-karts in 1990. Davey, being the eldest of five grandchildren, started racing go-karts at age 11 driving a Dino Chassis from Denmark with Yamaha engines built by his uncle Mark. Davey went on to find incredible success on paved road courses and paved ovals winning well over a hundred events and numerous championships both on the local and regional circuits. In 1992 Robbie, and Davey's sister Heidi, began their racing careers in go-karts as well. The winning tradition would continue with Robbie and Heidi both winning events in their rookie seasons and multiple local and regional championships the following years. In September of 1994 family patriarch Ralph, passed away after battling a heart condition. The 1994 season saw all three of Ralph's grandchildren make him proud by winning championships in each of their respective classes at the Sprint Kart Speedway in Mt Joy, IA.
Both Davey and Robbie would move on from go-karts to other forms of racing. Not surprisingly, they both moved into the world of Midget Cars and have each had their own success. Davey won the 2003 BMARA Championship, several USAC National Midget feature events and the Australian Speedcar Championship following in his father's footsteps. Robbie became the inaugural USAC Mid-West Ford Focus Midget Champion in 2003 driving his father's(Mark) famous #3 Ray Racing entry, and in 2005 won the inaugural USAC Ford Focus National Championship. Robbie also earned the BMARA 'Rookie of the Year' honors in 2007 as well as the series' 'Hard Charger Award' for passing the most cars of any driver. Both Davey and Robbie currently compete in Midget Cars with the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association while also making appearances with other Midget Car sanctioning bodies in the United States.
Ralph, whose driving career was short lived, owned B-class stock cars along with his friend Dayle Ahrens. Ralph, with Dayle driving, won stock car feature races at many local fairgrounds tracks such as the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa. They sported a white and red #33 1937 Ford Coupe with the famous Ford Flathead engine. Ralph, while not working hard as a hands-on local roofing and siding contractor, spent his nights meticulously building performance racing engines and cars that were second to none.
Ralph soon began to see that his sons Mark and Dave were taking a keen interest in the sport of auto racing and sold his stock cars to move into the world of go-kart racing. Ralph, as expected, gave the same attention to detail with go-karts that he did with stock cars and the results were very rewarding. Dave, being the eldest of the two sons, started racing and winning early in 1964. Mark, the younger of the two, soon followed and success on both dirt ovals, and paved road courses were numerous. Many event wins and championships followed for the two sons including the 1966 International Karting Federation National Championship in Quincy, MO at the TNT Kartway which still exists today.
In 1972 the family put their resources behind acquiring their first Midget Car for eldest son Dave to drive. Ralph sought out former Davenport, Iowa natives Mel and Don Kenyon and purchased an Edmunds Chassis formerly owned by Howard Linne. Ralph then built his own Chevy II engine to place in the car before the 1973 season opener. Dave entered his rookie season in 1973 with the challenging Badger Midget Auto Racing Association in Wisconsin. The efforts of Ralph and the family paid off with Dave winning his first feature event at the Wausau, WI fairgrounds on a very fast, but slick, 1/2 mile track. This success along with an incredible sixth place finish in the year end championship standings prompted the BMARA to honor Dave with 'Rookie of the Year.' This feat would be repeated 34 years later by Dave's nephew Robbie.Much like stock cars and go-karts years before, Ralph had succeeded in providing top rate cars and engines through his hands-on ingenuity and attention to detail. Mark would follow with his own success driving midgets in 1976 after waiting longer than anticipated. Dave wrecked, beyond repair, the car Mark was to begin his career in at an event on the half mile dirt track at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, IA.
Dave would move on from the Ray family owned midget car to drive for Wisconsin based car owner John Heisdorf, winning the BMARA driving championship in 1977.
Dave returned to the family effort years later and Ray Racing Enterprises became the banner under which the family raced. Now, with Dave building the Brand X chassis in-house and younger brother Mark building the team's engines as well, Dave would earn his second career driving championship in 1981 with the Mid-West Auto Racing Association. That same year Dave and Mark finished first and second in the United Auto Racing Association/Mid-West Auto Racing Association Challenge Cup, a competition uniting the two series for an eight race mini championship. This would earn Ralph his first and only Midget Car Owner Championship as well. The team continued their success for many years running with the BMARA, World of Outlaw Midgets, MARA, and various other midget racing sanctioning bodies through out the Mid-West. In 1985, Mark retired from his driving duties in order to provide his brother Dave with a back-up car to go after the United States Auto Club National Midget Car Championship. When not being utilized as a back-up car, Mark entered his #3 Ray Racing VW with drivers such as Indy 500 winner Tom Sneva, sprint car greats Jerry Stone, Jack Hewitt, Sports Car and Indycar driver Davy Jones, and USAC midget great Kevin Olson. Olson would earn Mark his only USAC National Midget Car Owner win in Binghamton, NY. Dave would finish a respectable fifth place in the USAC National Midget Car Championship in 1985 with Mark turning the wrenches. The success was remarkable considering both Mark and Dave held full time jobs. In 1986, they backed up their success with Dave finishing an incredible fourth place in the USAC National Midget Car Standings behind legendary drivers Rich Vogler, Mel Kenyon, and Tom Bigelow.Ralph would again put his abilities to use helping his grandchildren begin their racing careers in go-karts in 1990. Davey, being the eldest of five grandchildren, started racing go-karts at age 11 driving a Dino Chassis from Denmark with Yamaha engines built by his uncle Mark. Davey went on to find incredible success on paved road courses and paved ovals winning well over a hundred events and numerous championships both on the local and regional circuits. In 1992 Robbie, and Davey's sister Heidi, began their racing careers in go-karts as well. The winning tradition would continue with Robbie and Heidi both winning events in their rookie seasons and multiple local and regional championships the following years. In September of 1994 family patriarch Ralph, passed away after battling a heart condition. The 1994 season saw all three of Ralph's grandchildren make him proud by winning championships in each of their respective classes at the Sprint Kart Speedway in Mt Joy, IA.
Both Davey and Robbie would move on from go-karts to other forms of racing. Not surprisingly, they both moved into the world of Midget Cars and have each had their own success. Davey won the 2003 BMARA Championship, several USAC National Midget feature events and the Australian Speedcar Championship following in his father's footsteps. Robbie became the inaugural USAC Mid-West Ford Focus Midget Champion in 2003 driving his father's(Mark) famous #3 Ray Racing entry, and in 2005 won the inaugural USAC Ford Focus National Championship. Robbie also earned the BMARA 'Rookie of the Year' honors in 2007 as well as the series' 'Hard Charger Award' for passing the most cars of any driver. Both Davey and Robbie currently compete in Midget Cars with the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association while also making appearances with other Midget Car sanctioning bodies in the United States.