"Racing is tradition for Gough Family"
NOVEMBER 24, 2001 - Derrick Gough is probably not going to be a professional golfer or tennis player. He is following in the footsteps of his grandfather Dave Sr., his uncle David and his father Jay Gough. His grandpa raced go-karts starting in 1960 thru 1980 while his dad Jay started racing in 1973 and is still going strong. His Uncle David began in 1975 and is still racing both karts and migdgets. Derrick started racing karts this year at age seven with the Burris Circle Tour in northern Illinois after going along as 'pit crew' since he was three.
His dad had a one-of-a-kind Kid Kart built fir Derrick by Joe Vayette of Precision Racecraft, one of Jay's sponsors. Joe is co-owner of Precision Racecraft with Keith McRae and also works for famed midget race car builder Bob East "BEAST" Midgets in Indianapolis, IN.
Derrick competed thirteen times at the oval tracks at Rockford Speedway (Rockford, IL), Lake Geneva Raceway (Lake Geneva, WI), Illiana Motor Speedway (Schererville, IN) and Norway Speedway (Norway, IL). Derrick won feature races at Lake Geneva Raceway, Illiana Speedway and Norway Speedway this past year. It looks as if he is going to keep up with the rest of the family!
Jay Gough has been a big winner on the Burris Circle Tour the past few years as a Champion in 1997 and 2000, was a major winner in street races at Elkhart, Indiana in 1994 and also at the STP Shootout at the indoor races in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1997.
Derrick's Uncle David won championships in the Burris Circle Tour in 1995 and 1996 and also the live-televised races at the Veladrome in Indianapolis in 1994 and 1995. David also won the invitation-only Kart race held in conjunction with the midget races at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis in 1996. He then went midget racing and was Rookie of the Year with the UMARA in 1997 and their champion in 1998.
David also won the Illinois State Midget Championship this past summer and will find himself piloting a Silver Crown car next summer in addition to midget and stock cars.
