2/5/2024
Badger Midget Auto Racing Association
Meet Miles Doherty
We don't have a lot of Hawkeyes among the drivers in the Advanced Fastening Supply Badger Midget Auto Racing Association. We don't have a lot of high schoolers either. But, Delmar, Iowa's Miles Doherty checks both boxes.
He's also the 2023 MARA Rookie of the Year and was 14th in Badger points and just 15 years old. Let's meet Miles Doherty.
Car Number: 53m
Car Owner: David Alexander
Team Name: Horizon Racing/ Miles Doherty Racing
Crew: Uncle Dennis, Dad, AJ, Aaron, Mom, Andy, Dan, David
Sponsors: Horizon Carpentry, Inc.; MWR; RTE Inc.; ASM Performance;
Mongo Crane
BMARA: Were you a fan of racing before you got behind the wheel and if so, who were your heroes and what tracks did you attend?
Doherty: I’ve been a fan of racing ever since the first time I went to the track, I was just under 1 year old! The first track I attended was Sycamore Speedway. I also went to Davenport Speedway, Maquoketa Speedway, and West Liberty Speedway often. Some of my first heroes were Tony Stewart, Brady Bacon and Jason Feger.
BMARA: Give us a synopsis of your racing career:
Doherty: In May of 2015, at the age of 6, we went to a local racing swap meet at 61 Kartway in Delmar, IA. We ended up buying a racing kart. For the rest of the year we spent countless hours at the track practicing whenever we could. My uncle helped out a lot in my racing career between his time, effort, skill, and financially.
The 2016 season was coming around the corner and I told my dad I wanted to start traveling more. His response was “we won’t travel until you win here at your home track”. The next race weekend I won the feature and set a new track record.
The next week we went to a track in Illinois called Concept Haulers Motor Speedway, in Sheridan, IL. That weekend we also set the track record in Kid Karts. Around 7 years go by and we were racing go karts nationally with the CKNA and WKA sanctions and we got noticed by a Midget team. When we got a call from David asking if we’d come drive for his team, we couldn’t turn this amazing offer down! A year later, with a lot of support from the sponsors and crew, we had earned the 2023 MARA Rookie of the Year.
BMARA: How much time do you spend on the car each week during the season?
Doherty: Me, my dad, and uncle spent countless hours in the shop working on race cars and go karts. We would practice at least 3 times in a week getting as many laps as we could. We would spend countless hours working on go karts in the off season getting them ready for the Florida swing that we had competed in 4 years in a row!
BMARA: What is your day job and how does racing fit in?
Doherty: Between school and racing I didn’t really have time for a job, school would keep me busy from 8-3 and as soon as I got home I would be in the shop with my dad just messing around trying to find a way to go faster and faster, whether mechanically or something the driver needed to work on.
Things some may not know…
I am a 3-time Daytona Kart Week Road Course winner and I have a Miniature Dachshund named Turbo.
Article: Bill Blumer Jr. with Miles Doherty
Photo credit: Bill Blumer Jr.
Submitted By: William Blumer