Herbert J. Vida : Racer Finds Out That Being No. 1 Isn’t All Fame and Fortune When Not Too Many People Know About It

Remember go-carts?

Today their counterparts are called super-carts. And the one Tom Kistler drives reaches 160 m.p.h.

The Anaheim man, who started racing as a go-carter at age 9, is currently ranked No. 1 in super-cart circles by the International Cart Federation. He has won the national championship four times, including 1987. He has won 22 of 25 races.

So why isn’t he famous?

“This has got to be the best kept racing secret,” said Kistler, 29, who owns and operates a Placentia machine repair business when he is not racing his $9,000 cart. “It took awhile for go-carts to get known, and I guess it’ll take time for super-carts to get some press notice.”

Part of the reason for the lack of recognition, he feels, centers around the shortage of race tracks.

“There aren’t that many places for super carters to race so we have to travel to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Riverside and Monterey,” Kistler said. “There isn’t a place to race in Orange County.”

His sleek 75-horsepower cart, with six speeds and four-wheel disc brakes, sits just two inches off the ground, and he drives lying on his back, sometimes competing against as many as 30 racers at one time.

“It’s not really uncomfortable,” said Kistler, who wears a back brace, a neck brace, a helmet and a full racing uniform to prevent injury. “I’ve never been hurt, even though we really have to race aggressively and close to one another. If you don’t race hard, you don’t win.”

Besides three other super-carts, Kistler also owns a fully renovated 1934 Ford hot rod, a truck, a 1973 Mach 1 Ford Mustang and a collection of 600 match box cars.

“A lot of people think I’m a combination speed freak, car freak and Bud freak,” he said.

The “Bud Freak” moniker comes from his collection of Budweiser beer memorabilia such as beer mugs, signs and neon advertisements that cover most walls in his garage, where he also houses his hot rod. Even the backboard of a basketball hoop on his garage advertises the beer brand.

But super-cart racing remains his top priority, and his wife, Monica, 24, his son and parents Margie and Ed Kistler, both former go-cart racers, usually travel along to watch him race.

His wife said she is planning to race one of his super-carts, although she may find the going tough.

“There are a few women racers, but they have to compete against the men,” said Kistler.

The way Nancy and Jerry Mena remember it, “the pigeon just kept walking after us, so we picked it up and brought it home. Then it decided to stay.”

After a few weeks, the Costa Mesa couple decided it wasn’t right for a bird to be cooped in a house, so they set it free.

The accommodations in the Mena house must have been great because the bird they call Mirris kept coming back to stay overnight, sleeping on the shower bar in the bathroom.

“At 7 in the morning,” said Jerry Mena, “we open the door and the bird leaves. And right at 5:30 p.m., he comes home for dinner. He waits for us to open the door.” Mena said the routine has been going on for two years.

“It’s a good thing the bird is housebroken,” he said.

Here’s another believe-it-or-not animal story.

Bartender Teri Primrose of San Clemente said a patron walked into Goody’s Bar in San Clemente and began playing pool. He had a 2-foot-long baby python wrapped around his neck.

“He would place the snake on the table and play pool,” Primrose said. “One time, the ball hit the snake’s tail and frightened him. It slithered down the ball-return (system) and he wouldn’t come out.”

Primrose said the man called police officers “because we couldn’t find the key to open the pool table. He wanted to take the table apart to get his snake back.” Well, the key was found, the table was opened and the snake was pulled out.

Talk about an eight ball.

Acknowledgments--Citing his contributions to the public, community and profession, Richard L. Hopping of Fullerton was named Optometrist of the Year by the California Optometric Assn. Hopping is president of the Southern California College of Optometry in Fullerton.