Driver Biography
Alex comes from a family with a strong history in racing and the automotive industry. Both his paternal grandfather and father started racing go-karts at a young age and graduated to cars, winning many races along the way. His maternal grandfather was a test driver for Bendix/Allied Signal for many years. Alex’s father, who is also his quarter midget handler and was NCQMA’s 2007 Race Director and 2009 Tech Director, has been employed by various NASCAR race teams over the past 16 years, including the last 9 years as an engine builder with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and now Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies. In 2006, he also started his own quarter midget engine building business, appropriately named POWER by Murray Performance.
Since Alex was a toddler, he’s had a keen interest in racing. At the age of three, he started honing his driving skills riding a dirtbike. Due to a desire to be competing on four wheels and the quarter midget’s reputation for safety, Alex began racing quarter midgets in June of 2005 at the premiere NCQMA facility built by Bobby Labonte. He won his first race in August of 2005 just before beginning kindergarten.
2006 was a year of great accomplishment and growth for Alex. He set fast times and won races, including the Jr. Honda Carolina Cup Race, at NCQMA. He finished 4th in the NCQMA Summer Heat Series, 3rd in the NCQMA Championship Series, and was voted “2006 Best Attitude Driver” at NCQMA. He received a second car and began racing a second class, Jr. Stock. Alex also began traveling to many different race tracks with his family. This provided him with the opportunity to experience different regions of the country, learn about rules of the highway and geography, and spend lots of quality time with his mother, father, and sister.
2007 was another year of great experience and accomplishment for Alex. He continued to travel, win races, and learn important lessons. He set fast time at the States Race, made an A Main at his first Grand National event, and won NCQMA’s first ever 75-lap Jr. Honda race. He finished 2nd in NCQMA’s Summer Heat point series and Championship point series with his Jr. Honda car, as well as 2nd in the Championship Series for Jr. Stock. He added a third car and class, Lt. 160, as soon as he turned eight years old. In what is usually considered the off-season, Alex won a Jr. Honda A Main at the Columbus Indoor Winternationals where the best-of-the best from around the country are known to compete.
Quarter midget racing has been and will continue to be an education for Alex. Alex has had the opportunity to learn about his car and how it works. Driving has also helped him refine his eye-hand coordination and motor planning skills, as well as reinforce basic math concepts such as ordinal numbers and sequencing skills. Participation in this sport has facilitated the development of Alex’s social skills because, at the track, he interacts with adults and kids of all ages. He has learned how to accept compliments and criticism. He displays sportsmanship as he handles both losing and winning gracefully (most of the time) and provides encouragement to other drivers. He has demonstrated respect for rules and others both on and off the track, while also exhibiting a sense of responsibility and discipline as a member of the NCQMA, a club that relies on its members for every aspect of maintaining the track and running the racing events. Racing quarter midgets, which requires independent decision making on the track, has already improved Alex’s self-confidence.
While Alex will quickly and confidently state that his favorite activity is racing, he is a well-rounded child who enjoys riding his bike and skateboard, playing football and soccer, swimming, playing board games, baking chocolate chip cookies with his mother, listening to music on his iPod, and playing PlayStation with his friends. He continues to participate in community sports including soccer and football, and he takes TaeKwonDo. Alex has been described as a model student by his teachers as he is well-behaved, achieves on or above grade level, and encourages his classmates to do their best. Alex also participates in Faith Formation and made his First Holy Communion last spring at St. Luke Catholic Church in Mint Hill, NC.
