CORTEZ – Gabe Shim had several role models to look up to when he first tried his hand at go-kart racing scarcely after he had learned how to walk. Now, the Four Corners mod-lite division is looking up to him at the top of the standings on most nights at racetracks across the region.
So, when Shim snapped the drive line in Friday night’s opener of Fan Appreciation weekend at the Cortez Fairgrounds Speedway, who should step up to fill the void to take the checkered flag but his father Leon, from whom Gabe learned many of his tricks of the trade. After spending Saturday morning setting things straight with his No. 27 car, the 26-year-old from Kirtland turned the mod-lite feature race into an epic duel with Arizona’s Michael Phay, taking the lead midrace before holding a narrow margin to the line, completing the Shim family sweep.
Not bad for a father-son combo that nearly walked away from the sport a few years ago. When one of Gabe’s uncles – a big racer and role model – passed away, Shim took a hiatus for several years, but eventually found the itch to get back behind the wheel.
Then, when Leon lost his wife earlier this year, her enduring support of their racing pursuits gave them both additional motivation to keep pushing on in a sport they love.
“She was our number one fan – so we’re doing this for her,” said Leon.
Leon Shim raced in just about every division available over his years on the hobby circuit, having originally enjoyed a passion for drag racing, but had to jump to wheel-to-wheel racing because of lack of drag race tracks in the Four Corners.
Racing in the most diminutive vehicle of the eight divisions, Gabe and Leon both learned to love the mod-lites – operating with an engine equivalent to that of a motorcycle. Fellow San Juan County racer and good friend Shane DeVilbiss convinced them to get behind the wheel and they haven’t looked back since.
“It’s such a fun division – they run lap times similar to the modified divisions, but with a short wheel base, you have to be on your toes all the time,” said Gabe Shim.
He’s learned to pick his spots to be aggressive, recognizing that one or two costly mistakes might spell the difference between victory and defeat.
“I like to be patient, especially on a slick track – that helped me race clean,” said Shim, who slipped past the pole position driver Phay by going on the low side on the sixth lap of the 20-lap race.
Leon took third on Saturday to accompany his Friday night win.
“The reason I won last night was because he (Gabe) had problems,” joked Leon, who’s still trying to sort out the kinks of a new vehicle after flipping his last one, “I’ll help him get things fixed and then he ends up kicking my butt!”
The younger Shim won the Cortez Speedway mod-lite points title last summer, meaning a repeat bid is just one of his many goals during a busy racing calendar. A win for Gabe at the season opener at the JD Minor Memorial in May helped his aspirations, and both he and his father hope to make some noise at the IMCA Winter Nationals to kick off 2027.
The Shims and the rest of the other seven racing divisions look forward to the next event coming up at the Cortez Fairgrounds Speedway on the weekend of July 24 to 25, which coincides with the Montezuma County Fair. Friday night racing begins at 7 p.m. with Saturday’s action hitting the green flag at 6 p.m.
“Family racing is the best, we’ll communicate about what’s working and try different things each week – always trying to be faster,” said Gabe Shim, “we get a whole lot more out of two people than we do just one.”
