If you’ve been to sprint car races along the western coast of Florida the past few years, chances are you’ve heard the name Geoff Styner. But what you may not know is just how much Geoff contributes to sprint car racing here in Florida. Geoff has a lot of enthusiasm for the sport and a do-it-yourself mentality that is very infectious.

We’ve often marveled at all of the things Geoff does, so much so we even threw our hat in the ring to help with lap sponsorship with his Winter Nationals TQ event he promoted earlier this year.

Ladies and gentleman it is an honor to profile the hardest working man in the business, Geoff Styner.

James Brown has often been cited as “the hardest working man in show business,” but we would dare say that you are the hardest working man in the show business of sprint cars here in Florida. Please enlighten us as to how many series you’ve run in and promoted so far this year. Basically, I have run in the FMARA all year and have just got my sprint car back running. I have run and will continue to run with the Checkered Flag Sprints. I am hoping to run a few dirt races also this year. I have been promoting the TQ Midgets for the last three years and am also looking to help promote any sprint car racing in Florida. My first major promotion was the 2010 TQ Midget Winter Nationals. I am now working on the 2011 TQ Midget Winter Nationals.

You and I both spent some time hanging around Flemington Speedway growing up. What are some of your memories of seeing races there? You are making me cry! This was my home. I grew up watching my father race midgets there and I worked on a couple big block modifieds. This was the first track that I saw Winged Dirt sprint cars, and fell in LOVE. Not a highlight, but I remember watching my father destroy two midgets at this big, fast 5/8th track. My biggest memory would be the night that Doug Wolfgang destroyed the Gambler House car. After the races, I was carrying beers into the pits and saw Wolfie on the phone (no cell phones then) and I gave him a beer. My dad was mad because he had to go out and get another one. HA HA. I miss that track, and have a bag of Flemington dirt in my race room.

This will be your fifth year of racing sprint cars. How did you get your start? In 2004, I bought a Schnee chassis out of South Dakota and started building it with my father. I practiced one night, and headed out to Citrus County to compete. This was when the USA Sprints were strong. Tim George, RC Roper, Greg Leonard and of course…Scott Adema (the ringer with a 305). My lifelong dream had come true.

When you’re pulling double duty at a CFSS/FMARA double header, how hard is it to jump from a TQ into a full blown sprinter? Very hard! The TQ is a very demanding car to drive. With the short wheel base, no power steering and the speeds very close to a sprinter, they are a bear to drive. The sprint car is a lot easier on the driver. It really takes a toll on you, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. The TQ’s go in a lot deeper and going to the sprinter, you have to remember that. Plus the power difference, WOW!

We’ve talked before about ideas on how to raise the TQ car counts. What do you think is the number one issue holding back the car counts? Number one……not enough cars for sale. No one is building these chassis anymore. Also, a lot of the cars have Honda motors, and guys that I have spoken to want Suzuki motors. We do have about 4 new cars coming out shortly. Interest is getting better. We now have third-generation driver Chris Gimmler running with us and word is that another third-generation driver might be getting into a TQ in the near future.

Which do you enjoy driving on more, dirt or pavement? I really enjoy the dirt, that’s what I grew up on and prefer. It’s just so much fun and fast. “Dirt’s for racing, asphalts for getting to the track” LOL. I like the asphalt also. I am getting better and getting a better understanding of it. If the dirt paid more, I would run more dirt. Plus I have a dirt 4-bar car. Really, I will run whatever meets my budget at the time, and schedule. Most dirt races are on the same nights as the TQ races unfortunately.

It would seem you rarely have a moment of free time, but what do you like to do for fun? Watch sprint cars, work on race cars, and read about sprint cars!

Who are some of the toughest drivers you have raced against? Wow…The Gimmler Brothers, Scott Adema, Jack Duffy, Ted Durfee, Gene Lasker, and Tim George. There are many great drivers in the sprint car and TQ world here in Florida. If I had the chance to put a race together, I would put ANY of the Florida drivers up against the rest of the country. We have some really talented drivers right here. Dirt, asphalt, big cars, little cars…we have it all!

Have you ever thought of switching to Geoffrey Styner like Geoff(rey) Bodine did halfway through his life? Strange that you would me ask that because I started out using Geoffrey. I was named after Geoffrey Bodine. Everyone asked me why my name is spelled with “G” and that is the truth. When I was born, Bodine was running NASCAR Featherlite Modifieds. I was about four years old and my dad took me to Trenton Speedway so I could meet Bodine.

Let’s say I’m looking for a machine shop to do some work on a race engine I’ve got laying around, who should I call? Styner Motorsports & Machine in Cape Coral, Fl. We are about 20 minutes south of Punta Gorda Speedway. If you have seen the Styner Motorsports # 15jr race, then you have an idea of the work we put out. We run a Limited (East Bay legal) motor!