Presley Sorah isn’t the only Cambridge City lad who is living the dream on a national racing circuit. Among the crew helping him is a lifetime friend, Gavin Newton.
“Presley and I have been two peas in a pod since fourth grade,” Newton said on July 18 as he readied Sorah’s No. 12 Camry for a meet-and-greet session at the Golay Community Center, Cambridge City. Sorah graduated in 2022 from Lincoln High School; Newton, a year later.
“Obviously, he’s doing all the work, but I’ll be spotting for him,” in Friday’s Circle City 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Newton said.
Newton started a graphics business while a student at Lincoln. He is working now for a graphics firm in Michigan. He designed how Sorah’s car wrap looks and the firm where he works printed it on vinyl.
When his schedule permits, Newton is part of Sorah’s race day entourage. As spotter, he watches the race from atop the grandstand, constantly telling Sorah how he’s doing in comparison with the other racers.
Sorah stopped in Cambridge City on his way to be part of the Brickyard 400 Weekend in Indianapolis. In his first hour at the Golay Center, more than 50 people came to see his car, chat with Sorah and get an autographed card from him.
Presley Sorah signs cards for well-wishers at the Golay Community Center on July 18. The Cambridge City native stopped there on his way to race in the Circle City 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Photo by Bob Hansen 
Children who wanted inside Presley Sorah’s race car got lifted into the driver’s seat Thursday. Many, like 8-year-old Kyler Ritter, looked like they were oozing out of the window after peering around the car’s insides for a few moments. Photo by Bob Hansen 
A young girl named Emmy looks tiny inside the protective driver’s seat in Presley Sorah’s race car. Photo by Bob Hansen
Many were children in the Golay Center’s Super Summer Fun program. Newton and others helped lift any who wanted – and most did — into the driver’s seat. There they sat for a few minutes, looking tiny inside the protective cage. One asked Sorah how fast he could go. He said the 770-hp machine could go about 185 mph.
White-haired well-wisher Nancy Durbin, nearly 91 years old, reminded him that she had worked with his grandmother and known him for a long time. She hoped he would win Friday night. Sorah thanked her; they hugged, and he said he’d be happy to qualify and finish.
Sorah qualified for 17th position in a field of 31 drivers, averaging 103.953 mph.
A version of this article appeared in the July 24 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.