Although playing with miniature automobiles and riding in a Little Tikes toy car are common pastimes for children, most youngsters have to rely on their imagination to hear the rumble of an engine or to see a waving checkered flag. However, 16-year-old Alex Lukacs of Strasburg sat behind the steering wheel of a real racecar for the first time when he was 6 years old.

Of course, young Alex wasn't just propped up on a stack of phone books in a full-size racecar; he started his career in the NASCAR Youth Series, which is a quarter midget series. This means that competitors drive vehicles that are one-fourth the size of midget cars. While midget cars typically have four-cylinder engines and can boast up to 400 horsepower, their smaller counterparts are only capable of a fraction of their speed. Quarter midget cars are primarily driven by youths between 5 and 16 years old, and they are typically raced on tracks that are one-twentieth of a mile in length.

Alex started racing at Honey Brook Speedway, and he picked up his first win a year later at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks in Orangeville. Alex continued to compete in quarter midget races as he got older, traveling to race at various tracks in the Mason Dixon Series. In 2019, he started racing in micro sprints, which are smaller versions of the lightweight but powerful open-wheel vehicles known as sprint cars.

On Aug. 26, Alex won the micro sprint race in the 270 sprint car class at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Newmanstown. Alex wasn't planning on racing that night due to engine issues, but Ron Kreider, the owner of Alex's car, surprised him by replacing the motor just before the competition. After beginning the race on the pole, Alex countered multiple drivers' passing attempts to lead all 25 laps and claim the win. "I'm thankful to Ron. He said he knew (the engine) was going to be fast, and it was," Alex said. "I tried to run high and cut under the guys who would wash up trying to pass me. After that, we just set sail under the green flag laps."

Alex was the youngest of 28 drivers who competed in the race, and he remains the youngest driver in the series this season. He credits his father, Eric, with the early development of his passion for motorsports; when Alex was a kid, Eric worked as a member of a pit crew for NASCAR, and Alex would frequently attend races.

Alex is currently a junior at Lampeter-Strasburg High School. Although he hopes to study criminal justice at Millersville University after high school, Alex has no plans to stop racing any time soon. "I love the rush and the adrenaline aspect (of racing)," he said. "It's different from anything else. It's hard to explain."