| Clyde Poole: Achieving Success is the Goal | By Nadia Drury
 There are at last count, and it's changing all the time, 22 short tracks in Florida. For fans of all ages, there is something to offer everyone. Each of these tracks have different classes of cars and different car counts, but the entertainment and excitement brings local fans back week after week to cheer on their favorite drivers.
Tucked off the main road of Highway 41 in southeastern Hillsborough county, East Bay Raceway has a rich history that goes back 25 years. Every other Saturday, two classes of winged sprints run at this 3-8 mile dirt oval, and they are a definite crowd pleaser. Like the bigger 410 Sprint class, the 360 Limited Sprints have two wings and reach speeds of over 100 mph. But unlike the 410's, the Limited Sprints have a starter and clutch; they do not need a "push."
It is this track, where I was first introduced to dirt racing, winged sprints, and Clyde Poole. When I first saw Clyde race, I was amazed at how fast these little cars could go, and with wings, it wasn't hard to imagine him flying around the track. His paint scheme catches everyone's eye and his hauler as well as the car have been featured in Open Wheel magazine. Meeting Clyde three years later to do a driver profile interview for KARNAC, I got to meet the man behind the wheel. Clyde loves his racing and he loves his family.
The year 2001 marks the start of Clyde's fourth full season of racing, but his love of racing goes back more than 20 years. In his younger years, he used to drag race dune buggies, "mudbogging" at Bull Frog Mudbog and at Lakeland Speedway. In the late 70's, Clyde raced six times at the Florida State Fairgrounds in a Thunder car, which would be the same as today's Street Stock. Back then, he also raced motorcycles and motorcross for Yamaha of Brandon as well as flat track Harley - kind of like the sprint cars of motorcycles. He was into the Extreme Sports before the term was even well known.
Racing to Clyde is as natural for him as a "duck to water." In his words, "You don't know what it's like till you've got in it and put your foot to the floorI've always done crazy and stupid things in my life, so it was like a duck to water; I just fell in natural. I'm real comfortable doing it. I raced 20 years ago in a Thunder car, and I knew I loved it then, but I didn't have the money or the helpand I parked the car and said I wasn't going to go back until I could afford it. Well, I still can't afford it like I'd like to, but a lot better than I could then. I didn't think it was going to take 20 years to get back in it, and here I am."
Clyde's story of success hasn't come easy. "I used to flat track motorcycles and motorcross and stuff like that when I was real young and I loved that too, but I've got 13 ruptured disks in my back and they don't allow me to mess with motorcycles no more." So, Clyde gave up racing to build his body shop business. A native of Gibsonton, Clyde has owned Poole's Paint and Body, Towing and Auto Sales for 27 years. Located on Gibsonton Road, the shop sells cars and provides a towing service as well as doing collision and mechanic work. His back injury came from a work accident and not racing, and although he's not supposed to race, the twinkle in his eye tells you he won't give it up now. Then he built his house, then he started building the trailer before I finished the house and Finally, he said "It's time to go racing and been doing it ever since and loving it."
Who inspired Clyde to go racing again; without a doubt, it was his dad, Robert Poole, Jr. "The reason I started racing again was because the family was kind of drifting apart, and my dad used to race and he loved it. And I told him I didn't have no place to build one, but if he'd let me build it in his garage, I'd do it, and it gave us a lot more time together. Without him, it would be real tough to race. When I'm working till 6 or 7 at night, when I get here, he's usually got the stuff I need."
When I asked Clyde how his wife feels about his racing, he replied, "She ain't happy about it, but she let's me have my way, cause she knows the shop's real stressful and it's the only thing I've found that's like a really good therapy, to take my mind off."
He went on to add, "This is my only love right here other than my wife. My wife's first and this is second, even though you couldn't convince her of that. We built the shop over here, cuz I was going to build it at home, but when I used to race motorcycles20 years ago, it was all my friends over - sandwiches, cooking, this that and the other all the time- she got burnt out on it."
When I asked him why he decided to run the Limited Sprint, he answered, "I own a body shop and I'm tired of beating on sheet metaland there ain't much sheet metal on a sprint car."
But, it wasn't easy to get back in racing after 20 years. "the first car, I was basically by myself - building the frame, modifying it, changing it. And the second year (1998), I realized how terrible the car was that I'd bought; so, I bought another car that was a torsion bar car, and everybody said it wouldn't work and that's the year we went out and won the championship. And the next year, everybody came out with the same carso, I guess it did work."
Clyde's car and trailer are eye-catching because of the intricate detail and awe-inspiring paint scheme. However, Clyde's car is not new. In fact, he's never had a new wing; they've all been hand-me-downs. Similarly, his frames are 15-year old Bobby Allen frames that he just took and made them work. This year, Clyde has teamed with PEP in designing a new experimental chassis, which will give him his first new frame this season. When asked what would somebody like to know about his car, Clyde replied, "It's a sprint car, but it runs on a flat tappet motor, 2-barrel carburetor with torsion bar suspension. It has a two-speed transmission with a starter and clutch."
Normally, his brother, Robert, serves as his crew chief when he's not out of town. He call his dad the coordinator; he gets everything lined up for the weekend so he and his crew have all the parts we need. His pit crew consists of MC and 13-year old, Chris. "Basically, it's just us three, and my dad goes and gets the parts. It's pretty tough; it gets to be long nights some nights, but if you love it that's what you gotta do."
As every driver knows, sponsors help keep the racer racing. This year, a new shop houses his cars instead of his dad's garage. With materials provided by Corrugated Building, the shop still sits next to his dad's house. Classic Sandblasting has been a sponsor right from the beginning. Last year, he added Blue Ribbon Tomatoes and Mobile Connections. This year, Clyde is hoping to add Myers International to his list of sponsors.
Sponsors also help with the cost of tires, which are not cheap. On a Limited Sprint car, the rear tires are twice the size of the front, but actually cost a third less than the smaller front tire that is more expensive at $149 apiece. "My brother pushes me to buy them every week, and I try to buy right rear every week and left rear every other week or every other race I should say. I think it gives a little bit of an edge, but I'm not sure how much."
Even though the Limited Sprints only run twice a month, the drivers are just as dedicated to winning as their weekly counterparts. In last year's point contest, only 7 points separated two cars from the points championship entering the last race of the season. Speaking of last season's point battle between Clyde and Tim George, Clyde had these thoughts.
"I had two DNF's the beginning of the year, and couldn't get back into it. Then, I chased him all year with the points and kept gaining on him and got down to within 7 points at the last raceAnd I finished first, if he had of finished third, I would have won the championshipit was real close. But Tim run a good year, he didn't have no bad luck and the year before I'd had had good luckso you know good luck plays a big role."
Clyde's goal is to regain the Limited Sprints Championship. His long-range goal is to become a member of the 100 Club; he wants to belong to that special group of drivers that have won 100 features. Racing every other week at East Bay will take a few more years of racing, but Clyde plans on speeding that up a bit by racing at Putnam County Speedway in Polatka, whenever he gets the opportunity.
Success has been defined as doing what you love and loving what you do. After 20 years of waiting to race, Clyde Poole has achieved success.
By Nadia Drury
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