Brothers have cars' keys

To all of the men in the world:

You missed out.

You should've grown up an Ostdiek.

You should've grown up in a house packed with racing trophies that you and your brother won. You should've grown up with a race simulator in your rec room, a mother who begs you to drive faster, and a garage in which you don't notice the golf, baseball, hockey, football, snowboarding and lacrosse equipment because of the two cool mini-race cars and the video feed of your last victory and/or crash.

You should've grown up in a friendly house in Lakeville with a racing trailer parked out front and a father willing to spend his spare time tuning your engines and wrenching your bumpers into place, a few minutes north of the racetrack where so many of your family members shredded tread.

Matthew Ostdiek, who attends Lakeville North High School and works at Elko Speedway and a few golf courses, is 16. Racing quarter-midget cars, he won five championships and 185 races, including the Junior Rookie Gasoline Alley Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2002. Now he's racing Legends cars, and he became the youngest racer ever to win a Great North Legends Feature event at Elko Speedway.

Michael Ostdiek, who started racing at 5, attends Kenwood Trail Middle School in Lakeville. Only 14, he won five quarter-midget track championships and set two track records. He started racing Legends cars, slightly bigger and more powerful vehicles than quarter-midgets, this year.

On a recent Saturday, the two competed in the same Legends race at Elko. Matt, gunning for a victory in the last turn, wrecked, and one of his tires targeted Michael's car like a big, bouncing, brotherly spitball. Neither finished, leaving their father to seek assistance in lugging the vehicles into the family trailer, while the boys and their mother, Teresa, socialized along pit row.

Matt and Michael had never before wrecked each other. "I was thinking I had a good enough car to go for it," Matt said. "That's racing. First place is all the glory. Second, well, it isn't first. First place, you get the trophy, the money, the picture and everybody knows who you are."

Will he be grounded? "No," he said. "I'll just have to work on it a bunch."

It's a hobby for the Ostdieks, one of many. "Some people go on vacation," Dan said. "We go on racing trips."

Matt and Michael were born into local racing royalty. Dan's father, John, owned Elko Speedway from 1978 to '91. Teresa's father, Larry Behrens, was a racer of note around the Midwest in the '60s and '70s. Her brother, Dwain, also raced locally with distinction.

So it's not surprising that Dan and Teresa met at Elko Speedway and now spend many of their Saturday nights at the picturesque track.

Even with their family history, a moment of chance led them back into racing.

"I went to a Kohl's one day," Dan said. "I have no idea what I was doing at a Kohl's, but I ran into a guy I've known for 25 years. I asked him what he was doing these days, and he said, 'My kids are quarter-midget racing.'

"So Matt and I went out and watched. Of course, Matt fell off the bleachers, which was bad. But he also said he really liked racing.

"So then I bought the first car, and Michael runs out of the house, at 4 years old, and yells, 'Is this my first car?' "

Matthew is calm and calculating. Michael is not.

"Michael is more aggressive," Teresa said. "He learns by his mistakes. When he learned to ride a bike, he went out to the cul-de-sac and flipped over and hit his mouth."

The family has adopted an expensive hobby that someday could become a lucrative calling. Matt showed enough promise that Valvoline sponsored him, enabling him to compete across the country.

Crystal Lake Golf Course in Lakeville sponsors the boys, along with Hope Kids. They both work at the track on weekends and play other sports.

"The busier we keep them," Teresa said, "the less trouble they can get into."

The boys dream of becoming NASCAR racers. Their travels have allowed them to meet some famous racers and compete against the sons of Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton.

"Yeah, I want to be a NASCAR racer," Matt said.

"I'm sure everyone wants to do that," Michael said. "But the chances are slim."

Dan, standing in the family kitchen, said: "There are a lot of guys who race locally who are good enough to make it, but they never get the exposure or the resources or the money they need to make it nationally.

"I think of a guy like Dan Fredrickson here who could easily make it, but he doesn't get a lot of exposure. And even if you invest a lot of money, you might not make it. It's a high-risk deal."

Risk doesn't bother the boys. They've grown up racing glorified go-karts 100 miles an hour while weaving through the racing equivalent of rush-hour traffic.

Recently, the family gathered in their home garage to show off their cars and watch a video of Michael wrecking. As his car came to a halt, Michael slammed his hand against the door.

"Three weeks before nationals, I flipped my car a couple times and tore the roof right off," Matt said. "It was a little scary. But I tend to get hurt more playing other sports. We're really well-protected."

Luckily for Teresa, she's accustomed to the risks of racing. "I don't tell a lot of people how fast these kids go," she said. "I can handle it, but a lot of people wouldn't want to know."

For the Ostdieks, it's all part of the racing life.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon and weekdays at 2:40 p.m. on 1500ESPN. His Twitter name is Souhanstrib. • jsouhan@startribune.com