Jackson Jr. Has Extra Drive To Win Race Tonight -- Evergreen Feature Named After His Dad

His mother hates watching him race, but she'll be in the stands tonight at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe. His sister is never at any race except this one.

There are bigger races on the super-modified circuit. Jim "Rebel" Jackson Jr. has dominated many of them the last seven seasons. But this one, the Rebel Jackson Sr. Open-Wheel Shootout, is named after his late father.

It is about family. It is about the man who taught him about cars and speed and the rush that comes with crossing the finish line first.

So this is the one he has wanted to win more than any other since his father crashed and was killed while racing at Portland four years ago.

"It's the most sentimental race to me," Jackson said yesterday. "It's huge for me, of course, because it's named after my dad."

Like many drivers, Jackson got into racing by piling into the family motor home on summer weekends and following his dad from race to race across the Northwest, existing on macaroni and his mother's breakfast sandwiches, to watch and learn.

Twenty years later, only the roles and modes of transportation have changed. The Burien resident is fairly confident his father is traveling with him as he navigates the Western Super Modified Racing Association's 14-race circuit. And he's fairly certain his dad is happy with what he sees.

Jackson won the race in which his father was killed ("Fire me if you want, but I'm finishing the race," he said when his team owner told him to pull into the pits and quit after his father was taken to a hospital). He won his third consecutive driver's championship that season and has won all three since. And, finally, after three unsuccessful attempts, last season he won the race named for his father.

Maybe his father knew something when he nicknamed his son "Tiger" minutes after he was brought home from the hospital.

"They don't come more talented than him," said Calvin Helton, Jackson's team owner the last two seasons. "His dad was a good racer, but he's lots better than his dad ever was. He just does everything right."

Except brag about his success. Jackson is not a salesman, although he laughs and talks easily with fans and anyone else curious about car racing.

He loves the sport. He wants to race full-time. But that's not possible in a classification in which the driver's champion earns $15,000-$20,000 per season. He needs to sell himself to team owners in higher classifications, such as NASCAR Trucks or the Indy Racing League, or to sponsors who have the funds to support a team at that level.

But Jackson, 33, won't. He wasn't raised that way. And even though Jackson thinks his father would approve of his bragging if it meant he could quit his job as a yacht mechanic to race for a living, Jackson can't bring himself to beg.

"I don't feel comfortable going up to somebody and asking them for $3 million," said Jackson, who leads the points standings again this season, despite not winning any of the first five races.

He wants his performance to brag for him. So he will continue to trek from Bakersfield, Calif., to Monroe in search of more victories, more championships, and hope that someday somebody with big money calls.

Something has to happen soon, however, because he has a wife and two children to support. He's giving himself five years to make the big time, which means he will push the boundaries of his capabilities.

Though he considers himself much harder on rental cars than race cars, he has rolled end over end three times and gone upside down once.

His dad died in a similar accident. Jackson knows he could, too. He just leaves the worrying to others.

"When I watch Tiger race, it's not fun," said Jeri Dever, Jackson's mother. "Number one, I pray a lot. I talk him all the way through, just mental telepathy. Please let him be safe. If he wins, it's a plus."

But winning is what Jackson does. And tonight is extra special. His mom will be there. And his sister, Tara, will distribute the awards after the race.

There's nothing better than collecting from family.