A typical race week for the St. Clair family begins when they get together to work on their Late Model Sportsman race cars while some good-natured ribbing ensues as they fine-tune their cars.
A barbecue for friends and family follows before the race at Wiscasset Speedway. That is followed by the drop of the green flag.
Now, at the age of 68, Dave “Boss Hogg” St. Clair jumps into his Chevy and races his grandsons, Josh and Ryan St. Clair, in the LMS class. His son and their father, Puncin, used to join in the fun but hasn’t raced yet this season.
Puncin works on their three race cars at their race shop in Liberty.
“He’s got a race car and I keep getting after him to race. Hopefully, we’ll get him to race before the summer is over,” said Dave St. Clair, who owned Wiscasset Speedway with his wife Sandra from 1991 to 2007.
Puncin said his father will get his wish when the next 35-lap Late Model Sportsman race is held on Aug. 20.
“Everybody has been riding me and there are only a few races left,” explained Puncin, a four-time track points champion in two different classes. “The car is ready. I’ll put some tires on it.
“Everybody else has won. It’s my turn, I guess,” said Puncin who admitted that “I get just as much excitement watching the boys race than I do when I race myself.”
Fun, but stressful
In the last three weeks, Josh St. Clair has won a pair of 35-lap features, Dave won one and Ryan took the checkered flag in the Dave’s World Dash for Cash which is a 25-lap feature for Late Model drivers who hadn’t won a feature in two years.
Dave St. Clair came up with the idea for the dash when he owned the track.
When the family members compete against each other on the track, the one caught in the middle is Kerri St. Clair, Puncin’s wife and the mother of Josh and Ryan.
“It’s really exciting but it’s also stressful trying to keep track of all of them since they all race in the same division,” Kerri St. Clair said. “I want them all to win but only one of them can win and the others are going to be disappointed.
“Coming home can be quite stressful. The two boys are so competitive,” she added. “There have been some tangles between them. Their perceptions about what happened on the track can be a little bit different. It’s really interesting. I have to sort it out. It goes with the territory.”
But she wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“We’re a very close family and I attribute a lot of that to our racing together every weekend,” she said. “Some families don’t necessarily have time together on weekends. They also work on their race cars together during the week. It all makes the bond stronger.”
Kerri also pointed out that their daughter, Cassandra, used to race in the women’s division.
Patriarch sets the pace
Everything revolves around the patriarch: Dave St. Clair.
This is his 51st year of racing. He has won several points championships including titles at Unity Raceway in 1985, ‘86, ‘87 and 1990.
“It’s a lot of fun racing with the kids,” St. Clair said. “I should quit but I guess it’s in my blood. The grandchildren have done pretty well.”
“And I have a real nice race car. The seat in my race car is just as comfortable as my living room couch,” he added.
He also joked that he finds himself “racing against the sons and grandsons of guys I used to race against.”
“We wouldn’t be racing if it wasn’t for him. He taught us everything,” said Josh St. Clair, who is 27. “There aren’t many who can say they do something like this with their grandfather. It’s a good time.”
“Family things like this are always fun. And my grandfather is still fast. I’ve chased him quite a few times. He can still get around the track,” 22-year-old Ryan St. Clair said.
“He’s still on-point, no question about that,” Josh St.Clair said. “He doesn’t let us young fellas’ get too far ahead. You have to race him hard.”
Daughter-in-law Kerri St. Clair added, “For him to go out there in the heat in a 100-lap race that was almost 200 laps with the cautions was amazing. His stamina is incredible.”
She was referring to the annual Boss Hogg 100 named after her father-in-law. It was held last month and Dave St. Clair finished 11th.
“He’s 68 going on 18,” Josh St. Clair joked.
‘They race me hard’
Once the green flag drops, the family bonding takes a back seat and winning becomes the priority.
Bragging rights are at stake.
“We have a scoreboard that shows how everyone has done,” Puncin St. Clair said.
“They race me hard and I race them hard,” said Dave St. Clair.
Dave St. Clair said Ryan is the fiercest competitor among them.
“He won’t give his brother or me anything,” quipped Dave. “If you’re going to pass Ryan, you’re going to earn it. If I’m on the outside line and I need to get to the bottom of the track, Josh will let me in. Ryan won’t. You’re going to have to go around Ryan. He doesn’t want to get beat by his brother or his grandfather.
“That’s the way it should be,” he added.
“[Ryan] is the baby so he’s used to having to fight for everything he has. He has been in his brother’s shadow so he’s trying to make a stand,” Kerri St. Clair said. “They’re all very competitive. They all like to win.”
Their racing styles are similar.
“We’re all aggressive drivers,” said Puncin St. Clair. “You have to be, especially if you start in the back of a 35-lap race. You only have so many laps to get to the front.”
Even though they are competitive with each other, they also help each other out on race day.
Josh St. Clair suffered some damage to his car in a heat race last weekend but the family and friends went to work on the car to repair it and he wound up winning the feature.
It has been a productive season so far for the family.
Josh St. Clair is tied for the points lead with Harrington’s Andrew McLaughlin as he seeks his first Late Model Sportsman points championship. Brother Ryan is sixth but missed one of the seven races to attend a concert. Dave St. Clair is 18th but missed three of the seven races after undergoing a surgical procedure on his knee.
When they return to racing on Aug. 20, Puncin St. Clair said they will be looking to reach a milestone.
“Three generations in the top three,” he said.
That would mean having his father, himself and one of his sons claiming the top three spots in a Late Model Sportsman feature.