Alright, alright -  so you might have just said to yourself, “Tony Who?”

Tony Carreno is a pavement modified driver who made his TBARA (and sprint car racing, period) debut recently at Citrus County Speedway in a Shane Miller Motorsports entry and we thought it would be kind of neat to get his take on how his first race went.

So without further adieu, sprint car virgin Tony Carreno!

For those of our readers not familiar with you, what’s your home track and what class do you typically race? Well, I really don’t have a home track per se, I love racing at them all to be frank. I’ve only raced modifieds for about three and a half years now. Prior to that I ran karts in the early nineties with Joey “The Ace” Aguilar.

Have you been a big fan of sprint cars up to this point? Absolutely! I used to sit in the stands at Golden Gate Speedway back when I was about twelve years old. Damn that was a long time ago…but I used to watch guys like Larry Brazil Sr., Jack Arnold, Mr. Riddle, and the many, many others. It was amazing!!

How did it come to pass that you got called up for TBARA duty at Citrus County Speedway? Well, Shane Miller and I have been friends for quite a few years and he called me up on Thursday before the race and asked if I would like to wheel his sprint car. I told him I would love to, but I thought I should practice first and he said he understood. When I woke up on Saturday I called him and asked if the offer still stood. He said, “hell yeah!” I told him I would be there at two o’clock and so it went.

What went through your head the first time you got strapped in? I kept thinking, “Be cool…be calm…and remember how to start it!”  And, oh yeah, I kept thinking, “Remember…no clutch!”

What was the biggest difference between the sprint car and the modified you normally race? How about everything! But the biggest thing was definitely the power for one. Then there is the tires, which were awesome. We only run an eight inch treaded tire on the modifieds, so those tires were nice.

Tell us about the feature race and your experience from the cockpit. It was unbelievable! You just can’t imagine what kind of power these cars have, it’s unreal. And the closing rate is really quick, way more than I was used to. But other than that, it’s kind of like a kart on steroids!

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not racing? I like to watch racing. Also, my wife and daughter barrel race horses so we are usually at some kind of race. I built a go-cart track at the back of the farm and all my buds come over on Friday nights.

Where is your favorite place to go relax, eat some buffalo wings and talk about racing? Hooters. Is there really any other place else?

Will we see you in a sprint car again sometime soon? Possibly…

Let’s say I need some land cleared to get some paving done. Who should I call? Well, since I’ve owned and operated T. Carreno Fill Haulers and Excavating for nearly 30 years, I’d say call me! We are a small site prep company with bulldozers, loader trucks, tractors, etc. and we’ll take a project from land clearing to paving, start to finish. I also own and operate a horse boarding ranch – Circle C’s Ranch in Lutz.