Buckeye grad Tanner Tecco has racing in his blood

Tanner Tecco has been into racing since before he could even hold a helmet, and his passion for the sport is as intense as ever 15 years later. Encouraged early on by his father Mike Tecco and grandfather Chuck Cronick, among others, Tecco has risen through the ranks from go kart racer at 7 years old to a 22-year-old racing 410 Sprint cars. "When I turned 4 my grandpa bought me a go kart, but I was a little too small to hold the helmet up," Tecco said. "So 7 years old was when I hopped in that go kart and just started racing from there. "My dad and grandpa raced a little bit, so it's kind of in my blood." The younger Tecco, a 2022 graduate of Buckeye High School, has won four state championships at different classes and was named Most Improved Driver of the USSA Kenyon Midget Series in 2023 after getting his first win on that circuit and finishing third in points. "There's a thrill to being behind the wheel of a car and pushing it to its limit," he said. "It's just so much fun. There are no other distractions. It's just you and the car." Tecco hopes to make a full-time career out of racing one day. For now he is also studying to be a master car technician for dealerships and helps his dad coach the Buckeye wrestling team in the winter. This is Tecco's second season racing the 410 Sprint cars, which weigh 1,425 pounds with the driver and have a 410-cubic-inch engine that creates over 900 horsepower. The cars can go between 140 and 160 mph. Tecco has what he called his biggest race of the season Tuesday at Attica Raceway Park with the World of Outlaws 410 Sprint event. The winner takes home $15,000. While winning would be nice, Tecco's main goals are continuing to be consistent, load the car onto the trailer after a completed race and continue to get better each time on the track. "We've got a big one coming up on Tuesday," he said. "All the dudes that do it for a living are going to be at Attica. We're going to go and see what we can do with it only being our second year in these things." While still relatively new to the circuit, Tecco is adjusting to what the cars can do compared to the go karts and midgets he raced in previously. In his first season, Tecco had one top-five finish and five top-10s. He finished in the top 12 in 10 of his 13 races last season. "It's definitely got a lot of power," he said. "That's a learning curve to control over the course of the night as the track slows down. I'm still learning how the whole car works and what to do when the track slows down. I probably won't stop learning for a while." Helping Tecco tackle his learning curve is his team, which includes his dad, Jeremy Bonnett, Dick Palker, Jim Martin, Jamie Martin and Brock Martin. He bought his current car from the Martins, who Tecco said have been instrumental in cutting down on the learning he has to do in controlling the car. "It's been family based since we started," he said. "We've met a lot of good people that we like to say are family up and coming with other teams. You spend a lot of time with your dad and your grandpa at the racetrack. We're all there together having fun." Along with his team members are his sponsors, Chuck's Custom Truck and Trailer, Amsoil and Albright Security. The business aspect of racing is as crucial as the race itself when it comes to actually getting a car on the track. "It's crucial getting businesses to help support your goals and what you represent is a major part," Tecco said. "Without sponsors, it's kind of hard to go racing. It's quite the expensive sport and sponsors are a big part of it. No matter the contribution, it all means a lot." Tecco won his first state championships in 2019, taking the Yamaha junior and 206 junior titles. Getting those wins validated the hard work he and those helping him had put in to that point. "I had a couple (wins) get away from me before that," Tecco said. "I was bridesmaid a couple of times. We started clicking off some top threes, getting really, really close to the winner's circle and we finally parked it there. We felt good all night, I made good decisions behind the wheel and ran a good 25 laps." He won back-to-back state championships in 125 cc shifter karts in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he was third in points on the USSA Kenyon Midget Series and got his first win on that series at Circle City Raceway in Indiana. "I think people would be surprised how on the edge us drivers put the car," Tecco said. "Every time we hit the track, we give it 110% and try to push the car and ourselves to the limit to go the fastest." A journey that started when his grandpa bought him a go kart when he was 4, Tecco hopes it doesn't end until he has made a career out of racing. "I want to race full-time and end up going where I just race for a living," he said. "That's the end goal and once we get there, start winning championships and the big-money races. "Right now, I'm just racing any way I can to chase that goal." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.