Turning Wrenches, Chasing Dreams series: Aaron Guinn

Published 7:08 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Aaron Guinn is the son of James and Karen Guinn. The family has been racing in some form or fashion since 1960. It was only natural that Aaron would keep turning wrenches and chasing dreams. He has a wife named Kayla and two kids Lawsyn and Nolan who are all big supporters of his racing.

He began racing karts at the age of 12 and stepped into full size cars in 2003. His first race was at Ashway Speedway in 1999 and he won that race.

Aaron spoke about getting into racing and the people who helped him, “My uncle Bo has helped me from day one turning wrenches on all my stuff and my family has been there supporting me as well.”

Email newsletter signup

Guinn added, “I have lots of others that have helped or still are helping including Bo, Patches, Stick, Norm, Shaggy, Mom, Dad, Jennifer,  Don, Rick, Jacob, Joe and several family members and friends.”

Racing is easier with sponsors and his list is long and includes, Mahle Motorsport, Mcrod Designs, PPM, Lakeway Title Co., Russellville Barber Shop, Sam Neill Insurance, Lloyds Electric, Warrior chassis, Fastlane Graphics, Billy Couch and Son Painting and DJ’s Performance Racing Engines.

When asked about that first big win he said this, “My first big check was winning the Charles Trammel Memorial, first Limited Late model feature and my favorite moment in racing is eight feature wins in a row in 2019.”

Guinn spoke about a moment with both good and bad memories, “I can’t forget the ACAS crate feature at Crossville in 2019. It was a $2,000 on the line race and I led the entire show after being wrecked on the first lap but I still finished 2nd on the last lap.”

Aaron has won an estimated 50 feature wins with half of those being late model features. When asked who he would like to thank he said, “I’d like to thank God, family, fans, and sponsors.

When giving advice to young drivers he said, “Stay focused on what you want to achieve, stay humble getting to those goals and after you achieve them and always work hard.”

His #97 is a tribute to his grandfather Pete Clonce. It was his number and he used it until he sadly passed away after a crash at Smoky Mountain.

Aaron has experienced the highs and lows of dirt racing; however, his love of the sport makes him continue to turn wrenches and chase dreams.

 

allen.earl@claiborneprogress.net
Aaron Guinn (Photo provided by family)