LINCOLN, Neb. (September 2, 2011) Its not uncommon at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships for a husband and wife team to both leave the event with a National Championship. And the Solo paddock makes no secret of the fact that its a family sport. But in the Garfield family home, its mom and son that are taking the winners trophies back to their Mount Airy, Md. home. In most families, there may be some bragging rights that go with those trophies. That doesnt seem to be the case with Brian and Lisa Garfield and their sons, 13-year-old Julian and 11-year-old Carson. This is how we do everything, Brian said. Its this in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter. We snowboard together we took our first trip out west last winter. Sometimes it can be frustrating, too, but its awesome that we get to spend a bunch of time together. This week, were here for 10 days, and at some point you think youve got some free time, but we really didnt. Somebody is always running, always working, doing something. Most recently, the family got to congratulate Lisa on a dramatic Formula 125 Ladies class National Championship, her first. On the start of her final run, the sidepod of her CTS CR125 kart came unclipped and fell off. Unaware, Lisa continued her run and crossed the finish line in a time fast enough to take the lead. Brian, Julian and Carson sprinted to the tech tent to see if the missing side pod was going to leave her underweight. When the numbers popped up on the digital scale, all three of the boys threw their hands in the air. They came over, and I wanted to know if I did well, Lisa said. But they didnt cheer, they stopped and it was wait, wait, wait. Then they cheered and told me what happened. Lisa had finished second a season ago for her first trophy. Im so excited, said Julian, who actually serves as his mothers driving coach. Shes been working so hard, and shes been closing the gap every year, and she finally won this year. Ive been helping her out on the course walks, and Im so happy that she won. Brian serves as the chief mechanic for each family members karts as well as his own. Shes been working so, so hard and she practices so much when you can¦ I dont know what to say, Brian said. Shes wanted this so bad. Its just awesome to see her win like that. I couldnt be happier, Im just elated. Its really incredible. Julian has won the last four years in his Formula Jr. class, the first two years in FJB and the most recent two in FJA. Carson earned a trophy in FJB in 2010, but mechanical problems cost him some positions this year. We all go into it not expecting anything, but to try your best, Lisa said. Unfortunately, this year was hard to see Carson struggle so much with different problems, but he held it together and to him, its not the end of the world. Carson is actually very fast, Brian said. The thing that makes Julian so fast is that he understands the kart, and how to tune it. Brian learned the value of the extended family that that the Solo community becomes when his kart broke during the Tire Rack ProSolo Finale the previous weekend. In the past, he had served as a driver coach for the University of Marylands Formula SAE team, and they immediately offered him use of their car in A Modified. Brian earned the familys third trophy of the weekend with a third-place finish, including the fast time of the day on the West coarse on Wednesday. Its clear that this is a family that enjoys spending time together, and you can hear that from all of them. Even a long tow to the event is, somehow, an enjoyable family experience. The long car rides 20 hours here and 20 hours back, Julian said. We spend so much time, and its a lot of fun, too. Its really great that we get to spend so much time together because I think of some parents, both of them work, and some kids never see their parents. Carson echoed his older brother. Its really fun, he said. Its a privilege to do that as a family. Sometimes we find out stuff that we dont want to find out about our family. Its actually really fun on the car ride, we can get close to each other. Now, the family gets to make that return trip with new memories and smiles on their faces. Brian knows thats why the family plays in SCCA Solo together. This end goal is what youre looking for, and to come up with two of them is amazing.
