ORLANDO, Fla. — Tony Mouriño has been a NASCAR fan for over two decades and now he gets to enjoy it so much with his family that they even created a podcast called “Let’s Go Racing Family” where they talk “about our love for NASCAR and motorsports racing.”
“I’ve been a fan of NASCAR since the late ‘90s, early 2000s. I kind of grew up as a kid following NASCAR as a sport. I invited my girlfriend — now wife — to go with me to the 2004 Pepsi 400. And that was our first race together. And we just love the sport. And as we naturally had kids, they grew up in the sport, and it’s our family sport. It’s our family activity, it brings us together,” Tony said.
About that first date at a racing event, he remembers that “Karen had told me she was interested, but that day we made a perfect bond, seeing her enjoying my passion was just amazing.”
She admits that hearing the cars roaring and feeling the speed of the race course was something that made her fall in love with the sport. Now they share this enthusiasm with their three kids: Sebastian (17), Giovanni (14) and Johann (9), all who have a passion for the sport.
Seeing the Kissimmee family’s dynamic around race car driving is just impressive. They all have full knowledge of the NASCAR races, not just this year’s Daytona 500, and can also talk to you about past events they have been to, their favorite drivers, including some who are retired, and have a full-on discussion about the sport and each race individually.
“We all have our own drivers that we love, for various reasons. And we watch the races together as a family. When the pandemic started two years ago and we were kind of in lockdown, we thought if we were ever going to do something like a podcast, this was the time to do it,” Tony said.
They decided to get the equipment and start talking about NASCAR. They are now in their third season. Now that things have opened back up, they are trying to go out to more races and look forward to enjoying their time together.
“We just love talking about it. Because it’s something that brings us all together,” Karen said.
When asked about how she feels being the only woman in the family and representing women involved in sports, she said, “I’ve always since I was a little girl loved sports in general, and cars on their own. And I knew that there was a NASCAR race every year — the Daytona 500. And I would tune in to watch it. But I didn’t realize that there was an entire season. But then, when I started dating Tony and he invited me to the NASCAR race, when I saw it in person for the first time, it was just so captivating to see the cars, to listen to the cars as they’re driving 150 to 200 miles an hour. I just fell in love with the sport.”
Being a Latino family involved in a sport that has been mostly followed by English speakers, Sebastian said, “I think it’s important that everybody has an opportunity to enjoy something. And a good way to do that is to find a connection, like having a Latino family doing a NASCAR podcast. Most people wouldn’t probably be interested in the sport if they didn’t have an opportunity like, ‘Hey, if these people have a podcast and talk about the sport for living, maybe this is something worth checking out,’ ” he said.
Giovanni agreed, saying, “Diversity is extremely important in a sport, especially in American sport. I think having the inclusion of other races and ethnicity is something that is important as it is in other sports like basketball and football. And NASCAR has done a really good job at that. And they’re trying to open up their audiences to reach more people like Latinos or the Black community or even others.”
But Johann thinks it should be better and bigger.
“The sport needs drivers from not just America but they could need drivers from other places around the world,” Johann said, mentioning IndyCar stalwart Hélio Castroneves from Brazil in addition to the F1 races that have drivers from around the world.
A podcast born from their passion
Talking about NASCAR and car racing was something they did on a regular basis. They say that their love for the sport was so present in their household that all three of their children became naturally involved.
The father admitted that when it comes to picking up his driver, “I am a more old-school fan here. And so, my favorite driver growing up was Dale Earnhardt Sr. And then when he passed away in 2001, I obviously became a fan of his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. I also love the fact that there are new drivers that are bringing new fans to the sport. So like when Juan Pablo Montoya had started with Ganassi Racing, we followed him and I was very interested to see him do well in the sport … to see him succeed. I thought it would just broaden the sport,” Tony explained.
He also said, that as a Latino who’s been invested in this sport, “I like seeing the diversity, and not only the type of drivers but like age, and one day, I loved it when Danica [Patrick] was there and I hope that one day we see another woman drive in the sport in the foreseeable future. Because again, I think it just adds to the sport. It’s one of the, it’s an equalizing sport.”
Karen, whose parents are Dominican and Venezuelan, emphasized that her favorite drivers are “Daniel Suarez, I like him because again of diversity, he’s a fellow Hispanic, so you know, I’m always rooting for him. And then second is Ryan Blaney.”
Don’t let their ages fool you
Sebastian, the oldest son, says that he remembers how his parents loved the sport so much he just wanted to be part of it. Now he gets to share this with his two younger brothers, Giovanni and Johann. The three of them are like living NASCAR encyclopedias. They can go on and on talking about every single detail of the sport, the cars, the drivers. It is just impressive.
Giovanni, the middle child, says his favorite driver is Joey Logano.
“I remember watching him when he was a lot younger. He had just started the series. I remember he was driving the 20 Joe Gibbs, and he was OK. I think he definitely could have done better, but I just liked him. I thought he seemed like a pretty cool guy. And I guess I just stuck with him. And then he started winning races, and I got really excited,” he said.
Picking a favorite driver can’t be a decision taken lightly, he said.
“I think you need to be someone that you can kind of connect with. And you know, you feel like you to have something in common. But it’s also that factor of, you know, kind of mom said, like, you want to know they’re really about the fans and that they do cherish who supports them. ... Maybe they’re not the best, but they could be in the future, so power drivers running in a race. Those are all factors and how you can pick a driver,” Giovanni suggested.
Johann might be the youngest in the family at 9 years old, but his NASCAR knowledge can leave the biggest fan in awe. His room is full of decorations about cars, including those from Disney/Pixar’s “Cars,” and he has a collection of mini-car replicas that he can describe to the fullest.
“My favorite car driver was Jimmie Johnson, because like he was my long, long, long, like life driver. I love Jimmie Johnson, and then he retired in 2020, so I became a Chase Elliott fan. I just really like the Hendrick guys because Hendrick Motorsports is great,” he said.
Being part of the podcast and having to discuss car racing with people older than him doesn’t make him nervous.
“It comes very natural to me because I’m not like ‘Pressure. I need to do research;’ I am more like, ‘Man, I know what to do today,’ “ Johann said very proudly.
“NASCAR became part of our life. They grew up in it; they chose their own drivers. And it is it’s our family thing. It’s our family sport. We travel to see the races. We’ve even gone and visiting tracks when they’re not racing, and it’s just become our sport, the thing that we do together as a family that we really enjoy,” Karen explained.
Tony agreed and said that NASCAR and car racing in general represent his love for sports, unity and creating memories.
———
You can follow all the family’s adventure on their YouTube page and website at www.letsgoracing.family.
