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Race weekend a homecoming for Jim Maher
Jim Maher has had quite the ride. He’s gone from a youngster with a lead foot on the streets of the Youngstown area to the owner of a racing-parts store that ships parts worldwide.
Maher’s company, Good Vibrations Motorsports based in Whittier, Calif., is sponsoring this weekend’s event at Keystone Raceway in New Alexandria, Pa.
Maher grew up in North Lima but had a job at the Ohio Gas Station on South Ave. in the late 1970s. His future wife, Marion, grew up not far along Kenmore Ave.
“Back then we used to street race,” Maher said. “Nobody had video games back then so you grew up burning up the back streets. I was fortunate to move out to the west coast and still had the racing bug and I was lucky enough to make a living out of the motorsports industry.”
There’s plenty of ways to get into motorsports and plenty of different types including oval and road racing. But Maher said he got pulled into the drag racing world due to the simplicity.
“Drag racing is something people can do easily,” Maher said. “You can use any type of car, anything from a grocery getter on up. All you need is a quarter-mile of pavement in back woods.
“There’s roundy-rounds and other forms but I think it’s just the crowd I hung out with.”
But with the steel mills closing and population beginning to tumble, Maher saught out his opportunity to make something for himself out west. And he didn’t stop until he nearly hit the Pacific Ocean.
“[Southern California] has always been a boyhood’s dream,” Maher said. “Everything was shutting down and there wasn’t much opportunity in Youngstown so I moved out west for the opportunity and stayed because of the weather.
“We come back to northeast Ohio about 3-4 times a year. Our roots are back there — our heart and soul. But I don’t think I could handle that weather year round!”
Success didn’t come overnight for Maher though. He started totally from scratch.
“When I got here I pretty much forgot about racing. It was all about survival,” Maher said. “All I had was my motorcycle and my suitcase.”
Maher eventually got a job and began taking classes at the local junior college for the next eight years — all while working full time. From there he found work in the aerospace industry but still found himself drawn to the races on the weekends.
“I thought racing was behind me,” Maher said. “But fortunately I got started again.”
Maher ended up winning five championships in the California Independent Funny Car Association. During his time while working in aerospace, Maher eventually was put in charge of the local track.
“I became the go-to man,” Maher said. “If someone needed a part I would get it. Then they’d start calling me on Monday and Tuesday looking for parts and I started to think, ‘Hey I could probably make a living doing this.’”
He’s done just that. And weekends like this one he’s sponsoring he’ll hold dear.
“I’m going to be able to go see old friends like Richard Lotze back from North Lima,” Maher said. “I haven’t seen him in 30 years but all us North Lima boys are very tight.”