JIM HOWE

beneficial , as both drivers finished in the top 10 in points . With a full season now under their belts , Howe envisions even bigger things this year .

“ I always wanted to run a multi-car team ,” says Howe . “ John came to me when we were building my new car . He was running Futures ( class ) at the time , but wasn ’ t competitive at the NPK level . I wanted to build two cars that were very similar , so that we could share data , and every run would be like two runs . My goal this year is to have the two most dominant cars in NPK .”

Supporting Howe at every event is his crew , made up of his wife , Amanda ; his son , Jimmy ; and longtime friends Dan and Chris Nusbaum . It ’ s a small , tightknit group , and Howe laughs when he hears stories claiming he has former Pro Mod teams running his operation or benefits from professional funding .

“ Not everybody likes to give credit ,” Howe says . “ They think John is this multi-millionaire , and I have an unlimited checkbook . That ’ s not at all how we do things . I do all the tuning . It ’ s my motor program , my drivetrain program . I pay for my program , and John pays for his program .”

One thing is certain , though – Howe is having

the time of his life competing at the highest level , and seeing his time and effort rewarded with ontrack success for both himself and Odom .

“ I ’ m tickled to death with what I ’ m doing ” says Howe . “ I must be having fun , because for me to

spend the kind of money that I spend to do this … I ’ m either having fun , or I ’ m incredibly stupid . Maybe a little bit of both . Hopefully we can start where we left off last year , and if we can do that , it ’ ll be a dream come true .” DI

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