The Pennsylvanian was one of the most dedicated competitors the sport has ever seen
There’s a reason the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year Award carries Kevin Gobrecht’s name.
Actually, there are many reasons. The person he was. The racer he was. Kindness. Determination. Talent. But these many attributes combine to create one ultimate reason – Kevin Gobrecht was the perfect embodiment of what a World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year should be.
The New Oxford, PA native wouldn’t be stopped on his path to Sprint Car stardom. Obstacles that might’ve halted others didn’t even slow the “G-Man.” He didn’t quit. He found solutions. Not just in racing, but everywhere in life.
“We grew up in age where you rode bicycles, and you didn’t just drive them three blocks, you drove them three miles,” said Kevin Gobrecht’s brother, Scott. “Brian is the middle brother. I’m the oldest. Kevin was the youngest. Brian and Kevin were going fishing in a town called East Berlin, which is a good many miles away, and they were riding their bikes there. They’d just started going, and the pedal broke on Kevin’s bike. And for most people that would’ve been the end of that story, ‘We’re going to turn around and call it a day.’ But not Kevin. Him and Brian, they pedaled their way out. They went fishing and made the best of a bad thing.”
It was that drive that led Gobrecht to the highest level of the sport. The youthful resilience didn’t shed as he grew up and his racing career bloomed. In fact, it intensified.
“Very early in Kevin’s career he hadn’t won a race yet at Lincoln Speedway,” Scott recalled. “He was on his way, and a left front tire went flat while he was leading, and he kept racing. It was holding up enough under speed that he held off Billy Brian, which was a big deal back then, and was winning that race. A yellow came out with a couple laps to go. Well, on the restart, the tire kind of dug in and away it went. Even with three good tires and one bad tire, he wasn’t pulling in. He was giving it everything he had.”
Broken pedals. Flat tires. It didn’t matter. Kevin Gobrecht didn’t give up.
Gobrecht worked his way into a great spot for the 1999 race season as a full-time driver with the World of Outlaws. He’d earned his first victory with The Greatest Show on Dirt the year prior at Williams Grove Speedway in the famed Zemco car. Dave Blaney needed a driver for his No. 93 with backing from Amoco Oil, and in went Gobrecht for the 1999 campaign.
The pairing found speed midway through the year and picked up a huge win at Eldora Speedway’s Historical Big One. The following week Gobrecht finished on the podium at the Knoxville Nationals.
But then it was just a little more than a month later when Gobrecht tragically lost his life in a crash at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, NE.
A life cut short, but not before leaving a profound impact on all he encountered.
“He epitomized what it meant to get a chance and seize that chance,” said Bill Klingbeil, who has worked in racing for nearly 30 years and was the PR Representative for Amoco’s Sprint Car racing partnerships when Gobrecht drove Blaney’s car. “He wanted to race so bad, and he put the determination into everything. Working the golf kart shop during the days and racing at night or building engines. He was hands on. He was mechanical. He did just about everything… He had a passion and a will to be the best.”
Even for those who weren’t around to get to know him or watch him race, his legacy lives on. Nowadays drivers aspiring to the top of the sport compete for the honor that carries Gobrecht’s name, the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year.
The young guns may have not seen him race, but their passion for the sport has led them to learning the history. They know his story and often share similar paths of dedication, navigating their own broken bike pedals on the journey. It makes earning the award all the more special when a competitor aligns their name with Gobrecht’s.
“I never was really around when Kevin raced unfortunately, but it’s cool to hear how he came up and what he had to do to make it,” 2024 Rookie of the Year Michael “Buddy” Kofoid said. “Not that I can say I know his story fully, but I feel like I can appreciate hard work and the grind and the hunger to make it. Making it to the Outlaws is one of the hardest things you can do in dirt racing.”
Gobrecht isn’t only honored with his name on the coveted award. The World of Outlaws have also made it tradition to have a special presentation when the Series visits York Haven, PA’s BAPS Motor Speedway, which is owned by Scott Gobrecht.
Two years ago, when the tour returned to BAPS for the first time since 1992, Scott Gobrecht and all former Rookie of the Year winners on hand surprised Kevin and Scott’s mother during opening ceremonies by having each driver bring her a rose.
“To be able to bring that to a track that my family has put so much time and effort into, we’d had the racetrack about six or seven years, and the Outlaws gave us an opportunity to shine, what a crowning moment for us,” Scott Gobrecht said. “My dad was there. My mom was there. My brother was there. To honor him was incredible.”
The tradition of a special opening ceremonies presentation will continue when The Greatest Show on Dirt comes to town on Wednesday, July 23 as both the track and Series have a plan in place. Fans can witness in person by purchasing tickets HERE or at the track.
If you can’t make it to BAPS, catch the night of racing live on DIRTVision.