Winter Garden boy embraces box car racing

Brian Cristaudo likes to go fast.

Like his father, Giuseppe Cristaudo, the Winter Garden youth and student at Keene’s Crossing Elementary has a passion for race cars — especially Lamborghinis and Ferraris.

At 8 years old, though, Brian isn’t quite ready to get behind the wheels of a real race car. Fortunately for Brian and dozens of other youth in Central Florida, there is a lost part of Americana making a comeback in nearby Groveland. 

CM Box Car Racing, which offers free box car racing to interested racers, is run by race director John Bomm and operates just off of U.S. 27, near the Florida Turnpike, on a hill on Wilson Lakes Parkway.

“It was very funny, because a co-worker knows I am a car guy, so they suggested to me to meet John,” Giuseppe Cristaudo said. “Immediately, (Bomm) gave me all this information and invited me and Brian — the car and everything was already ready. It’s very nice and very well organized … it’s all about safety.”

After Brian raced for the first time — and loved it — it has become all the Winter Garden boy talks about.

“This is something that is in his DNA,” Giuseppe Cristaudo said. “He is doing what I was supposed to be doing when I was a child, but in Italy, I never met anybody doing (box car racing).” 

Giuseppe Cristaudo said the day a race was postponed, his son couldn’t believe it.

“He was so mad, and he didn’t believe me — I had to bring him to the track and show him that nobody was here,” he said.

Bomm, who said his family has been involved in the sport for more than a decade, has a son, Sirge, a former national champion, and another, Gerard, who placed third in the nation. When the family, who has raced everywhere from Michigan down to nearby tracks in Ocala and Sanford, relocated to Lake County, the idea for Bomm to get something going took root.

All the cars are donated from other boxcar racing aficionados and friends, as are the trailers that Bomm uses to store them. Bomm has gradually built a relationship up with the city of Groveland, and members of the city government will be present at the next race CM Box Car Racing hosts May 30. The event is being held in honor of the Wounded Warriors Project, and participants are encouraged to bring donations. Beyond that, though, racing through the organization is free.

“People don’t have the money; there’s a lot of parents out there (who) can’t afford things, and there’s kids (who) can’t play regular sports,” Bomm said. “So we took it to the next level and we made it free — I work on the sponsorships six days a week.”

Bomm said as long as he has enough sponsors, kids will continue to race for free. He projects he is good through early 2016 at this point. Bomm is in talks with Groveland officials to have an actual track built instead of blocking off a portion of Wilson Lakes Parkway. He said he is expecting upward of 40 racers at Saturday’s event.

Among them, of course, will be Brian — hoping for his first win — and one very proud father.

—

WANT TO ROLL?

To learn more about how to get your child involved in this sport, go online to cmboxcarracing.com and/or email race director John Bomm at [email protected].

—

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].