Laina Stewart – ‘The Lyndonville Rocket’ – excels at go-kart racing

9-year-old leads in points at Ransomville Speedway

Photo courtesy of Tom Stevens: Laina Stewart, 9, is ready to race around the dirt oval at the Ransomville Speedway. She has been competing in go-kart races for four years.

LYNDONVILLE – “The Lyndonville Rocket” is often leading the pack of the go-kart racers at the Ransomville Speedway.

The “rocket” has a ponytail that hangs down from her racing helmet.

Laina Stewart, 9, has been a top driver the past four seasons at Ransomville. She first excelled in the novice division. She won eight of the races two years ago.

She moved up to the Junior 1 Division the past two seasons for 8- to 10-year-olds. This year she is the points leader with three races to go. The season starts in May and ends in early September. Most of the races are on Thursday evenings at the ½-mile dirt oval track in Niagara County.

Laina has her car painted in the Lyndonville school colors of orange and black. She has eight sponsor stickers on the vehicle which tops out at 38 to 40 miles per hour. Laina likes to go fast on the straight-a-ways and lets off the gas, a little, when she rounds the corners.

“I like the competition and the racing,” she said on Monday evening in the family’s racing garage behind their home on Ridge Road. “It’s fun.”

Photos by Tom Rivers: Laina Stewart, 9, is shown with her go-cart that she has driven to lead as the season’s points leader among 17 racers in the Junior 1 Division at Ransomville Speedway.

Laina is a regular at Ransomville, but has competed at several other dirt tracks, including many trips to Weedsport.

She started her racing career at age 5 with battery-powered cars during intermission at Ransomville.

Her stepfather, Ricky Washburn, raced go-karts at Ransomville and later stock cars as an adult. Washburn said racing is great family bonding. Laina’s grandfather, Keith Davis, also helps in the pits, keeping the go-kart in peak shape.

On a typical race day, Laina first drives an 8-lap heat to determine the order of the drivers in the main feature, which is 15 laps around the track. She is one of two girls racing in her division.

Washburn said Laina keeps her focus when she is driving. She has won four races this year, and is consistently among the top 5.

Desirae Davis, Laina’s mother, said she is impressed by all the go-kart racers at Ransomville.

“They are all so talented,” she said. “They put everything they have into it.”

Photo courtesy of Tom Stevens: Laina Stewart leads this group of go-kart racers at the Ransomville Speedway.

One of the rules for the Junior 1 Division is the driver and go-kart can’t weigh more than a combined 250 pounds.

Laina has had a few bumps and bruises from racing, but no serious injuries. She was bumped in one race, and lost her position from near the front. But she battled back in the following laps, and was among the leaders at the end. After that race, a business owner approached the Laina and her family and wanted to sponsor The Lyndonville Rocket.

“She has dedication, heart and determination,” her mother said.

Laina said she wants to keep racing as she gets older. She also plays soccer and wants to give softball a try.

Washburn said Laina likes to have fun and be with her friends. But when it’s time to race, she shifts her energy to driving the kart, often in front of all the others.

“We tell her you can be a kid when you’re off the track, but when you put the helmet on it’s 100 percent focus on racing,” Washburn said.

To see the go-kart schedule at Ransomville, including information on the cost of admission, click here.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Laina Stewart and her family have made the racing a family adventure. Laina holds her sister, Parker, age 2. In back are her mother Desirae Davis and stepfather Ricky  Washburn. Mr. Washburn also raced go-karts as a kid and stock cars as a younger adult.