Dayton teen to represent Nevada in Tulsa Shootout, largest micro sprint racing event in the world
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Tue, 11/07/2023 - 2:14pm
Dustin Phillips, an 18-year-old Dayton resident, first got behind the wheel at only five-years-old, and since then, he’s dedicated his life to racing.
Now, next month he’ll be representing the Silver State in the Tulsa Shootout, the largest event for micro spring racing across the globe.
Micro springs are scaled down versions of full sprint cars that are equipped with 600cc motorcycle engines that produce up to 160 horsepower. The cars race on dirt tracks. There are different class divisions including winged and non-winged, both of which Phillips will be throwing his hat (helmet?) into the ring for hopes of winning the highly coveted prize of the Golden Driller.
While skill and speed may be important, what Phillips loves is “nit picking” the aerodynamics and designs of his builds.
“The littlest things can make you faster, and with my years of racing I can nit pick all the little ways to find that additional speed,” Phillips said.
He has dedicated his life to the pursuit of racing, including working full-time and moving his studies to the nighttime hours so he can afford the sport that can definitely run up in price.
“I’ve had to accept that you can’t do it as a career unless you have a ton of financial backing,” Phillips said. “I’ve gotten to the age where I’ve realized it probably won’t be a career, but it will still be a life long hobby for me.”
And his hobby has paid off, as he’ll be representing the entire state of Nevada in the Tulsa Shootout this year.
“The event is for the best of the best; people come from all over the world to compete,” Phillips said. “There’s over 400 cars in each class that compete.”
When Phillips isn’t spending his time working full time or fixing up his cars, he’s giving back to his community.
His mother, Sunny Phillips, started the Little Champions Racing Program, which is dedicated to teaching racing to special needs children.
“Dustin does all the training for the special needs racers,” Sunny said. “He’s a great kid and a great teacher.”
“I just like being able to help anyone out,” Phillips said. “(Through the program) I’m able to take my years of racing experience and put it to work by spreading my talents across these young prodigies.”
The program is also working to create a special needs raceway in Silver Springs as the next phase in the program.
Phillips said that he is always looking for sponsorship and financial backing to help alleviate some of the costs that he incurs with racing throughout the country.
“The car is basically a billboard that goes all around the country,” Phillips said. “It makes a great sponsorship opportunity.”
This year's Tulsa Shootout takes place Dec. 26-30, 2023.
If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor for either Phillips or the Little Champions Racing Program, you can contact them via Facebook here.
