"I was really scared the first time he flipped over and crashed into the wall," said Jaclyn Pinheiro of her then-six year old son. "But they are so secure, with safety harnesses, and the fire suit."

"I got used to it."

That 6 year old boy, Jacob Burns of Bristol, is now at the ripe old age of 12, and finishing up grade 6 at the Kickemuit Middle School. And he doesn't exactly remember how many times, all told, he has crashed or flipped. He thinks maybe 12 or 13 times. He's hurt his wrist, and bit his lip — but otherwise not experienced any injuries that you wouldn't expect to find of a soccer field.

Now that he's getting older, the stakes — and speeds — are getting higher. This season, for the first time, he is competing in the "Legend" class, which is essentially comprised of full-sized cars that go up to about 120 miles per hour. In this class he competes against people of all ages, not just other kids.

He spun out in his first competition, but had much better luck in his second, when he finished 10th, out of about 16 cars.
"At this point, all I'm really trying to do is finish," he said.

Racing is a family affair for Jacob. His great-uncle, Ron Louro, Jr. of Warren, who used to race himself, got him started. And his great-grandparents — Ron Sr. and Rosalie Louro — are his biggest fans. Just last week they were driving Jacob's equipment trailer to Thompson, Connecticut, when they, and the rest of Jacob's large family cheering section, were preparing to spend the weekend watching Jacob race.

The racing circuit is seasonal, and summer in New England is on the short side, so when it's on, it's on. The entire Lauro/Pinheiro/Burns clan will be spending many weekends over the next few months traveling to tracks from Seekonk to Syracuse trying to keep up with Jacob.

In fact, the only thing weighing this speedy kid down are all of his trophies — several of which are taller than he is. They fill shelves in the family garage, and take up one entire wall in Jacob's bedroom. He has so many that he is thinking of doing something unheard of to most 12 year olds — returning them so they can be reused in other competitions.

"We need a shadow box, and to just hang on to the little metal plaques with the date and the finish," said Jacob's mom Jaclyn. "It's too much."

Jacob is pretty laid back about his future in auto racing, and he just plans to see where it takes him. As long as he's enjoying himself, that's all that really matters.

"I'm competitive," he said. "But I really just think it's fun."