by Shawn Sell

September, 1999

Greg Watson has always been a fan of auto racing and cars in general. While in high school, Watson loved to work on older cars along with his buddies.  But when he got to college and later into the work force, racing wasn’t accepted and Watson got no respect from his colleagues.  No matter, he just kept on doing what he was doing on the weekends, racing go-karts. But after three years of go-kart racing and with a child on the way, Watson decided it was time to look for an alternative.  While watching a sprint car telecast from Arizona, Watson discovered for the first time a class of cars called Dwarf cars and immediately went about the process of obtaining information on the cars.

“I was looking for something different, something that fit my personal needs,” Watson said in an interview conducted at Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Ohio.  “The dwarf car was small, affordable and was a unique thing.”

Armed with the knowledge he needed and the desire to bring something new to the Midwest, Watson purchased two of the 5/8 scale replica cars and started showing them off around Ohio, with his primary show spot being 35 Raceway Park near Chillicothe, Ohio.  For the remainder of the 1993 season, Watson displayed his cars and developed the class.  Even after selling one of his cars, many Saturday evenings would continue to find Watson as the only driver displaying and running his car.  By the time the 1994 season rolled around, between eight and ten cars were filling the 35 Raceway pits on a weekly basis. Throughout this time, Watson also spent a great deal of time doing radio and television shows along with car shows and displaying the Dwarf cars.  As that summer wore on, Watson kept selling cars until there were almost 20 in the area.  But by the middle of that season, Watson was thinking big thoughts and made some big changes to his growing creation.

As the founder of the OVDCA, Watson assumed the position of president and had many different responsibilities to keep him busy.

“I did everything,” Watson said.  “I did the newsletter, the schedule, worked with promoters, and all the race-day activities like line-up, pay-out and tech.  It was definitely a full-time job.”

Over the next couple of seasons, more cars began popping up in the Ohio and West Virginia areas and the OVDCA grew as well.  In 1995, Watson and company added more tracks to the schedule, including asphalt tracks for the first time, while keeping 35 Raceway as the home track.  Two years later, however, 35 was completely off of the OVDCA schedule and the group had evolved into a full-fledged touring series.  In 1997, a rules committee was also established. 

“It was then I realized I needed more help,” Watson said.  “I was a little egotistical and I thought I could do it all, but I needed help.”

Through his first few years as the man in charge Watson, a consultant at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus and a 1984 Ohio State University graduate, saw great benefits come to and from his job as a result of his work with the OVDCA.

“I was able to bring my business experience to the club,” Watson said. “But it went both ways.  Doing the newsletter, public speaking and working with different kinds of people helped on both ends.”

May of 1999 brought about big changes for the OVDCA and Watson. After five years at the reins of the OVDCA, Watson made a startling announcement in a news release issued to fellow drivers and fans.

“Effective May 8, Greg Watson has resigned as leader of the OVDCA to spend more time on family and job priorities, but will continue to prepare the club’s newsletter,” Watson wrote. “Max Evans has agreed to assume leadership responsibilities of the club immediately.”

With his first season of leadership nearly under his belt, Evans still recognizes the significant impact Watson has made to dwarf car racing in the state of Ohio.        

“Well, I guess you could call Greg ‘Mr. Dwarf Car of Ohio’,” Evans said. “Greg went out on a limb and started the club and has continued to support it.  He has been super to everyone in the association.”

Mark Bernard, Watson’s cousin and a man who traveled around with him in the beginning, agrees.  “Most people don’t realize how much Greg has done,” Bernard said.  “Greg took a big leap of faith.  It’s amazing to think he started with two cars and now, five years later, there are over 60 in this area.”

As the class continues to grow, Watson has been able to spend more time focusing on his on-track performance.

“In the beginning, it was not about how I finished,” Watson said, “it was the opportunity to create and be involved.  But now I am more relaxed and I can focus on my performance.  I can think about changes to make to the car and my driving more than before.”

With that newfound focus and a partnership with Powell, Ohio based car owner Marvin Sweazy that is wrapping up its second season in 1999, Watson’s on-track performance has continued to rise.  Watson has compiled ten top-5 finishes in 16 1999 races, good enough for third place in the OVDCA point standings.  This year’s performance comes on the heels of last season’s three top 5’s and an identical third place finish in the point standings.

“The partnership with Marvin has been great,” Watson said.  “We definitely have two unique personalities.  At first I had my reservations, but it was too hard to keep up my own car and administer a club.”

Back when Watson was looking for a new kind of car to run, one of his considerations was the child that he and his wife had on the way.  Now, seven years later, Alex Watson is in his second season racing quarter midgets in a car owned by his dad, Greg.

“It’s really a neat deal,” the elder Watson said.  “As the car owner/mechanic, I get a nice change of pace from my job during the week in the office”. 

The past few years have been a roller coaster ride for Watson.  Even with all of the success for himself and the club he created, Watson has faced some difficult times.

“I always felt personally responsible to keep the promoters happy,” Watson said.  “I often wished it didn’t have to be so hard.  However, I got the opportunity to be in the middle of the business aspect of racing and still enjoy the fun.”

As Watson looks to the future, he can’t help but stop and take a look back at where he has come from.

“I started this club when I was 30 years old, too old to make my mark as a driver,” he said.  “I wanted to have an impact in the racing community by organizing the club.  But now, I have already been involved more than I ever thought I would.”

In the future, Watson wants to continue supporting the career of his sons and he would like to try driving a sprint car, much like those piloted by his hero, Jack Hewitt, a man he had an unlikely encounter with in the early days of Dwarf cars. 

“In our first year, we were at 35 and a guy came up and was checking out the car very closely,” Watson recalled.  “He got in it, looked under it and the whole time I was giving him the spiel I gave to everyone that year.  It wasn’t until later when someone told me that I realized who it was.”

The 1999 Ohio Valley Dwarf Car Association has just recently wrapped up its sixth season.  Success has followed the group this year, as almost 70 drivers from Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Michigan have entered at least one race this season.  The impact Greg Watson has made has been tremendous. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t earn respect and started as just a racing fan