In 2001, Stornetta strapped into a Beginner Box Stock, a 5-horsepower engine that he used to win main events, heat and trophy dash races in.

Joe Stornetta Jr., 20, a Santa Rosa Junior College student is trying to make it big in the racing world—his dream since being a kid.

Both his father, Joe Stornetta Sr. and his grandfather, Paul Stornetta, introduced him to racing.

“I guess the biggest surprise would be that at the age of five-and-a-half, he won the main event the first night in a race car,” Stornetta Sr. said. “There is nothing that can compare to the feelings of watching your kid playing with toys one minute and then see him strap into a racecar.”

Throughout his career at Vallejo Speedway, he raced Box Stock and 125cc Intermediates and then jumped into 600cc Micro Sprints for five years as well as getting a ride in 500cc outlaw kart.

In 2010, he moved into the bigger, faster Wingless Spec Sprint car. He started racing at Petaluma Speedway in the Wingless Spec Sprint car division. In his first season in a sprint car, he finished fifth in points.

Stornetta’s biggest moment of his career came in 2012 when he was crowned the Wingless Spec Sprint champion.

“2012 was simply all around a spectacular year for us,” Stornetta said. “I won my first ever sprint car race, four races on the year and a championship to go along with it. It honestly could not have gotten much better.”

He also said that he couldn’t take all the credit for what was a special year for the Napa-based driver.

“My sponsors, crew and especially my father were the sole reasons why we were successful,” Stornetta said. “I couldn’t even count how many problems we had with different things with the car after hot laps on some of those nights, but my dad and crew put their heart and soul into the car and made my job very easy the rest of the night.”

Stornetta had a busy childhood growing up.

“For about seven or eight years, I would be playing either baseball or football in the mornings, and then leave right after the games to go to the racetrack and race later that evening,” he said. “Needless to say, I was a pretty tired boy on the truck ride home.”

With many interests, Stornetta could have chosen between baseball and football or racing. But it was a no-brainer: racing was his choice.

Stornetta’s grandfather was a huge supporter of his racing career, always coming to the races and trying to give him the best advice. He passed away in October of 2010.

“I always looked up to my grandfather,” Stornetta said. “Not only when it came to racing, but with anything I needed encouragement with. Not including my mom, he was my No.1 fan on and off the track. He always believed in me and believed that I was good enough to make it very far in racing.”

Another racer Stornetta looks up to is “Mr. Excitement” Andy Foresberg, out of Auburn, a fan favorite and one of the top California drivers.

“His racing style is not one that many others can or will ever match,” he said. “He’s aggressive when he needs to be aggressive, you can race to wheel-to-wheel with him for laps at a time without even so much as touching and most of all he is fast.

With a major in mechanical engineering, Stornetta is working on getting his general education classes out of the way before transferring to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo to get his bachelor’s degree.

Besides getting a degree, Stornetta also hopes he can expand his racing career into new realms.

“It’s December of 2014, and quite honestly I’m not sure what or if I’ll be driving this upcoming March,” Stornetta said. “Nothing is for certain as a driver and that’s the constant struggle for most dirt track drivers. You really just have to drive the best you can, be thankful for the opportunities given to you, and take absolutely nothing for granted,” Stornetta said.

As a driver, Stornetta is respected driver.

“Joe is a very respected competitor,” said Chase Johnson, friend and driver of the No. 24 sprint car. “I don’t race against him often but the couple of times I do he is very clean but aggressive, which is key in racing today.”

Stornetta has big plans for the future. He wants to race in the Chili Bowl, a weeklong event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, showcasing drivers from all over types of racing. He also would love to win at the famed Calistoga Speedway and race in the Indiana Midget Week and Indiana Sprint Week. Stornetta also wants to race in the Knoxville Nationals and wants to jump into a 410 Sprint Car.

“There have been a lot of wins and championships, and there is nothing that I would change in his career so far, which has spanned 15 years,” Stornetta Sr. said. “I get to spend almost every weekend with my son and work on his car. Nothing can compare to being around your family and friends, all the while keeping an eye on your ‘kid,’ watching him grow to be a man right in front of your eyes.”