BY SARAH DOSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
To most people, summer vacations mean Disney World, Hawaii or even visiting relatives in another state.
But to Bob and Desiree Hamilton of Springdale, summer vacation means hopping in the RV and towing two race cars to cities like Indianapolis or Chicago to compete in a national drag-racing event.
This past weekend, the two didn't have far to go. The Hamiltons competed in an NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event at Edgewater Sports Park in Cleves, hoping to earn points leading to divisional and national championships.
The NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series is comprises 42 divisional events, with six races in each of the NHRA's seven geographic regions. More than 36,000 drivers race in eight car categories.
More than 400 raced in last weekend's event in Cleves, located in the North Central Division.
"Racing is our vacation alone time," Desiree said. She and her husband run an auto-repair shop and towing facility.
"We're together all day and night at work," Bob said. "Racing on weekends gives us a chance to get away."
Bob started racing in 1981, but gave it up when he met Desiree in 1985.
But Bob couldn't shake the urge to race, so he returned to the track shortly after, this time with Desiree as the driver of a car in the Super Gas category.
After six years with Desiree driving, they decided they decided one car wasn't enough to keep both of them busy, so Bob started racing a Super Comp car in 1996 to keep up with his wife.
"It's neat that we both do the same thing, so we can understand each other when we talk about it," Desiree said. "We have great conversation."
Besides the personal advantages the Hamiltons have found in racing a two-car team, they've also discovered a competitive edge. "If she goes down the track, I can figure out how the track conditions affect her car," Bob said. "And I can tell what it's going to do to my car."
Bob said he has seen many changes on the racing circuit since he started racing 17 years ago. He thinks drag racing has turned into a more family-oriented sport.
In the nine years Desiree has been on the circuit, she has seen the same changes in the sport.
"It's definitely growing in population," Desiree Hamilton said. "But it has some bad stigma from people who think it's all hard-core, greasy guys who race. If it used to be that way, it's not anymore."
Dean Mink, of Reading, drives a 1968 Plymouth in the Super Stock division and has raced since the early '50's. He said the family-friendly atmosphere is not the only change he has seen in racing.
"People spend so much more on their cars," he said. "It used to be the people who spent a little money would win. Now you have to spend a lot just to race."
But Mink has also seen the positive effects on families who race together.
"You see junior dragsters out there racing when they're 12 years old," Mink said. "But at least it keeps them off the streets." The Hamiltons have found it's rare not only to have both a husband and wife competing, but also just to see a woman behind the wheel. An estimated five percent of all racers are women.
"Not all marriages work when a husband and wife spend 24 hours a day, seven days a week together," Bob Hamilton said. "We weren't sure this was going to work, but it did."
