RACING SON

He won’t be confused with Dale Earnhardt or Jeff Gordon, but John Kinder of Orange probably will be as popular as those NASCAR stars this weekend.

Kinder was one of 31 drivers selected to compete in the second Suzuka Thunder Special on Sunday (Saturday PST) in Suzuka City, Japan.

“We’ve been a pretty consistent runner in Winston West,” Kinder said, “and the Japanese-American ancestry doesn’t hurt.”

Kinder is the youngest, and also the only Japanese-American driver, tabbed for the event, which combines Winston Cup, Craftsman Truck, Busch Grand National and Winston West drivers. Four NASCAR-licensed Japanese drivers also will compete.

The event has become a family affair for Kinder, one of the highlights of his professional and personal life. His grandmother will be his translator and his mother is returning to Japan for the first time since she was 2.

“It’s one of those situations where I can bring part of my personal life into racing,” Kinder said. “It’s a part of my life I’ve never gotten to see.”

Kinder, 23, is fourth-generation Japanese-American. His father, Jim, is German-Irish (and also the team owner of Santa Ana-based PowerBase Motorsports).

“I’m very proud of both sides of my family,” Kinder said. “I’m a Japanese-American, that’s what I’ll be representing. It was my grandparents’ parents who established us in the United States. They worked very hard to establish themselves as Americans, and we really consider ourselves Americans even with the Japanese heritage.”

The relationship he expects to have with his grandmother, Toshi Mori, will be the most special part of the trip.

“I grew up playing baseball and being a racing fan, and she always wanted me to be a ballplayer,” Kinder said. “She never went to a race--she has yet to go to a race. But ever since she saw me on TV, she’s accepted the racing.

“She’s 82, and she’s not going to be making too many more trips, and to be able to give her an experience like this is just awesome.”

Experience on road courses is one thing Kinder lacks. Though he began racing professionally at 16 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield in Late Model Series cars, this will be only his second race on a road course. In preparation, he drives the Suzuka course 74 laps a night on a computer racing game.

“That’s what he’s been using to practice,” said Jim Kinder, recalling his son’s first few trips around the virtual track. “Every time he took off, he crashed. I told him, ‘I’m going to the local pub for a beer. When I come back I want you to be able to complete at least one lap.’ It was a pretty spectacular crash.”

The computer racing game has been Kinder’s friend. He did the same thing before his road race debut, at Sears Point. He qualified 12th but finished fifth. He even led--for one-turn shy of a lap. “Brain fade,” he called it.

“I guess I was in disbelief that my first time on a road course I was leading,” Kinder said. “I fixed that--I wasn’t leading after turn 11.

“It’s all about rhythm. If you can find it, driving’s not that difficult. But finding that rhythm is the hard part.”

Kinder races on the Winston West circuit, driving the same cars that are used in Winston Cup by Gordon, Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin and Ernie Irvan, who are also in the Suzuka race. The difference is that Winston Cup cars don’t race on the more expensive radial tires except on tracks longer than one mile.

Kinder has had 19 top-10 finishes and 10 top-five finishes in his 43 total starts. He will drive a 1997 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Japan. It will be his third time in the car. He usually drives a Pontiac for the cost-conscious team, but the Monte Carlo has been good to him. He finished seventh--he was on the lead lap in his first race on a superspeedway--at the inaugural Winston West race at the California Speedway in Fontana, and was running fourth in Colorado when a valve spring broke.

The car was a gift “out of the blue” from a silent partner.

“Now I have a car capable of winning every time it rolls out,” Kinder said. “Hopefully, I can showcase what I can do in a race car with this car. Personally, if I can get into the top 10, it would be a triumph for a Winston West team against lot of seasoned Winston Cup veterans.

“I imagine when I get there and see Dale Earnhardt pull out in front of me on the race track, there will be a little bit of awe. I’m just fortunate to be on the same list. More than awe, I think I’ll feel lucky. I feel feel very fortunate.”

“This is the biggest thing I’ve ever had happen to me. I get to race against guys I’ve idolized since I was a little kid.”