'I'm Living Through My Son Now' : Father Assembles Son's Race Car Ahead of Competition

Thomas Nunley is no stranger to getting his hands dirty.

“I went to automotive school, technology school for four years then went to work in an automotive shop for a few years,” he said. 

And at the Tulsa Shootout, the cars he put together are on full display. But there’s one hitting the track that's most important to Nunley.

"It's nice not only knowing that I can work on my son’s car, but if somebody else succeeds that I worked on their car, it makes us all feel good,” he said. 

His 12-year-old son has been racing at the Shootout in a vehicle he built all week.

“Two years ago, Jett, my son, and first year with Driven Midwest helping him, we won the Shootout the first year,” he said. 

Driven Performance Midwest is the company Nunley works for, and most cars at the Shootout have its logo plastered somewhere. 

“They’ve become one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of cars, parts and pieces in micro racing,” said Bryan Hulbert with the Tulsa Shootout. 

Hulbert says most racers assemble their cars and get the pieces from Driven Performance.

“When you actually build and put it together, you understand the worth of it and you’re gonna take care of it,” he said.

And Nunley’s taken extra care of this vehicle.

“We can take them from bare frame to completely assembled and make them all race-ready," he said. 

He says by building it himself, he can trust it will allow his son to compete safely. 

“Reassuring that I did it, and I know that it's done and done right,” said Nunley. 

He even stopped racing himself, to focus on his son’s dreams. 

“Guess I’m living through my son now,” he said.