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11-year-old racing champ preps for first race on asphalt at Pocono Raceway

Look out NASCAR and beware Dale Earnhardt Jr., a young gun has taken over the track — and the hearts of fans everywhere — and he’s revving up for a weekend on asphalt at Pocono Raceway.

Joey Amantea, an 11-year-old Coolbaugh Township resident and USAC Quarter Midget National Champion, will headline a weekend at Pocono Raceway as the Tricky Triangle hosts its first USAC Quarter Midget national division races during the Verizon Indy Car Series ABC Supply 500.

The event, which kicks off on Saturday, will be run at a temporary course constructed at Pocono Raceway near Fan Fair. It will mark the fourth round of six of the national tour of the USAC .25 division.

Called Quarter Midgets because they are one-fourth of the size of a true midget racecar, the vehicles like the one Joey drives are powered by power plants.

The drivers range in age from five to 15 and the series has acted as a springboard for drivers like Ed Carpenter, who recently participated in the 100th running of the Indy 500.

“I’m pretty pumped up and ready to go rock and roll,” said Joey, who races in car 88J, a tribute to Earnhardt his favorite NASCAR driver. “Earnhardt is 88, I have 88J just so I wouldn’t exactly copy him,” the spunky and confident Joey said.

Joey gained a measure of fame and, in the process, stole the hearts of many race fans with his post-championship race interview that streamed live on Facebook.

In the video that has since gone viral, Joey is interviewed after his impressive green to checkered flag — beginning to end — victory.

“The track was a little rough when the three cars spun me out, I was a little worried… I held them off the last seven laps and won the race,” he said in the post-race interview that’s been viewed nearly 1,700 times since the Quarter Midgets of America posted in on July 30.

In the interview, Joey thanked his mother, sister, father, grandfather and extolled the virtues of his sponsors before ultimately giving one more thanks. “The most important sponsor and the lord and savior God. He’s the one who kept me safe in that race car when I flipped in that car,” Joey said.

His mother, Jennifer Amantea, said her son’s interview was totally unscripted.

“Everyone was inspired by his interview and he’s gotten so many hits and the tire companies are just loving how he thanks everyone and how he thanks God,” Amantea said.

“He did it right after he got off the track, so there was no prepping,” she said.

Always quick on his feet, Joey jumped in and said he wasn’t as impressed as others with his off-the-cuff interview.

“Maybe I should have had a script because I forgot to mention my dad’s company,” he said, before realizing that his father’s company, JPA Masonry, was prominently displayed on the front of his jacket during the interview.

Joey began racing at 5. His interest piqued at age 3 when he’d awake each morning to find his dad, Joe Amantea, watching NASCAR races, he said.

Amantea said her family spends many a weekend at the track and each race is heart-rending for her. “But, it’s definitely a great family event,” she said.

A student at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, Joey is also an accomplished cello and saxophone player. Amantea said her son is very much into the “oldies and legends” and was invited to perform with his school at Carnegie Hall this summer.

To some, it may have been a surprised that Joey declined the exciting offer.

To his mother and others who know him, they easily understood Joey’s reason. “He had a race at that time so he declined the offer like it was extra breakfast being offered,” Amantea said.

While he loves playing his instruments and would have enjoyed the privilege of a Carnegie Hall trip, Joey said he simply had to prioritize.

“It wasn’t easy turning it down but I had to think about what’s more important,” he said.

“Racing and becoming a national champion or [going to Carnegie Hall] and not becoming a national champion and ruining my career. As a driver, you need tons of focus to race cars. You have to make split second decisions every second. When I flipped my race car, I had to get myself protected. It was a split second decision.”

On Saturday, Joey and other drivers will pill draw, a racing term for choosing a number to determine their starting position, according to a Pocono Raceway news release.

All classes will race beginning at 8 a.m. before they line up in Pocono Raceway’s grid to take a lap on the track.

This will give them an opportunity to be on the same track as INDYCAR will be on Sunday for the ABC Supply 500. “Our drivers are so excited to take their racecars to the Pocono Raceway grid,” Director Jerry Coons, Jr, said in a statement.

“It’s something parents watch and wish they were in those seats, but the young drivers are loving the opportunities,” Coons said.

For Joey, when opportunity knocks, he’s proven to be at the ready.

“This weekend, I think people can come out and expect to see me have a good time,” he said. “If I do win, that would be extraordinary since I have never raced on asphalt.”

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