By Ben Deatherage
YUBA CITY, Calif. (May 2, 2025) — The first win of a new season always feels special. For Jimmy Ford, the checkered flag he claimed at Rattlesnake Raceway on April 18 meant far more.
“It feels like the weight is off my shoulders,” said Ford. “It was a special win. I lost my wife in February and it’s the first one that I’ve won since she’s been gone, and it meant a lot to me. The last race I won with her was at Rattlesnake in October.”
That win, in the no. 12T Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod, was the kind that transcends stats. It was about love, grief, healing—and remembering someone who never missed a race.
A Racing Life from Day One
Ford’s path to the racetrack was practically preordained. His grandfather, Nick Burcher, owned race cars from the time he was 18 until he was 78. Ford went to his first race when he was just three months old.
By the time he was five, he was behind the wheel of a Quarter Midget. Due to the strict age requirements of the time, he couldn’t move to a full-sized race car until he turned 16. But once he did, there was no looking back. Now in 2025, Ford is celebrating his 41st consecutive season in a full-sized car.
“I haven’t missed a season,” he said. “Except for when I broke my arm. I was out of the driver’s seat for two months, but that was it.”
His uncle Jerry Garner, one of Ford’s racing heroes, once drove for Burcher. Other names like R.C. and Rick Horton, and Duane Hodges—who even filled in for Ford during that arm injury—also piloted Burcher machines.
Returning Home, Finding SportMods
After living in Oregon, Ford moved back to California in 2006 and immersed himself in the Mini Stock scene. Eventually, he saw SportMods for the first time and immediately took interest.
“I got one (circa 2013) when Antioch Speedway started to run them,” he said. “Then I approached Marysville promoter Dennis Gage in 2014. Dennis took a chance to have the SportMods at Marysville. He thought it was a good class, and it has been going strong ever since.”
Ford drove the Scott Kanes no. 60K for several seasons until the operation was sold. He now fields his own entry, wrapped in a patriotic red, white, and blue scheme.
Originally racing the no. 76 in honor of Uncle Jerry, Ford later had to change numbers when he moved to Oregon. Choosing no. 12 as a nod to one of his favorite Antioch drivers, “Gentleman” Don Robinson, Ford has run with it ever since—unless he’s been tapped as a hired gun.
In 2025, he made one more change.
Tami’s Number, Tami’s Memory
Jimmy and Tami Ford share a moment together by the water. The couple’s bond extended far beyond the racetrack, and Tami’s legacy continues to inspire Jimmy’s racing journey.
After his wife Tami passed away on February 26, Jimmy changed his number to 12T.
“I just feel like it’s what I needed to do,” he said. “I have a picture of her inside the car with me at all times.”
The loss shook the Marysville racing community. On March 15, at the first SportMod race of the year, drivers from across the Bay Area and even Oregon came to pay their respects. Jimmy ran memorial laps in Tami’s honor.
“She was the loudest person at the track no matter where you went,” Ford said with a laugh.
Marysville Raceway even installed a plaque on the wall where Tami used to stand. It’s a small but meaningful tribute to someone who made the pits and grandstands brighter.
Competitive and Consistent
Ford was a 2022 track champion at Marysville Raceway and will run full-time there again in 2025. His schedule also includes Rattlesnake Raceway and the IMCA Wild West Speedweek in June. If all goes well, he hopes to head to Arizona in January for the IMCA.TV Winter Nationals.
“I think we have some of the best drivers in California,” Ford noted. “I know you have Tyler Bannister and all them down south, but in the northern part of the state, we’ve got Phillip Shelby, Danny Wagner, Jason Ryan Jr., and my cousin Mark Garner. We get some stiff competition and hold our own when the out-of-towners come in.”
That competition sharpened Ford’s drive—but April 18 gave him more than just a win.
“I was so close at Marysville,” he said. “Finally punching through at Rattlesnake, at the same place I last won with Tami—it just meant the world.”
Bowling for Balance
Ford’s uncle Eddie was a semi-pro bowler in the 1970s and ‘80s, and Ford often traveled with him to tournaments, picking up the game along the way. Off the racetrack, Ford bowls once a week—just enough to reset and relax. He rolled his first-ever perfect 300 game in December 2019.
“Bowling gets your mind off things,” Ford said. “Sometimes you have to do something different than working on a race car 24/7.”
Whether on the lanes or the oval, Ford brings the same mindset: steady, focused, and deeply tied to those who helped shape him.
Racing, for Jimmy Ford, is more than just a lifelong passion—it’s family, it’s tradition, and now, it’s healing.
