Joe Bush

Joe Bush (born October 30, 1966) is a retired American professional stock car racing driver and he competed full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving the No. 94 Chevrolet for Robinson Racing, driving the No. 67 Chevrolet, for Hill Machinery. Bush caught the racing fever after watching his dad compete at the old Hastings Speedway.

"Pretty much, after I got out of high school I was like, 'Eh, I want to try racing,'" Bush chuckled.

Decades later, that racing bug was passed on from Joe to his daughter Lauren.

"Lauren was about 13 or 14-years-old, she said dad I want to race and I said you do?!" Bush laughed.

The start of Lauren's career would take her to the DeltaPlex where she began arena racing.

Growing up, Hastings native and resident Joe Bush caught the racing fever after watching his dad compete at the old Hastings Speedway.

"Pretty much, after I got out of high school I was like, 'Eh, I want to try racing,'" Bush chuckled.

And it quickly became a lifestyle.

"I grew up racing. My wife Lorraine, her dad and her brother Rob both raced with me at Kalamazoo and that's how we met was at the race track, at Kalamazoo Speedway."

Decades later, that racing bug was passed on from Bush to his daughter Lauren.

"Lauren was about 13 or 14-years-old, she said dad I want to race and I said you do?!" Joe laughed.

The start of Lauren's career would take her to the DeltaPlex where she began arena racing.

"I did arena racing and that was kind of when everything came together. I did that for one winter season and I was hooked," she added.

Like young racers all across the country, Lauren's teenage years were anything but normal.

"Everybody would be out on Friday night at football games and I was like nope, I can't do that, I have to get my race car ready for Saturday," she recalled.

Racing career
Bush has been winning races at the Berlin Raceway since the mid-1980s.

Saturday’s win was just a little more special than the rest.

Bush outdueled Eric White to win the 71-lap Super Late Model feature at the Marne half-mile, and he got emotional after climbing out of his No. 101 hot rod. Bush discovered after arriving at the track Saturday afternoon that 91-year-old Berlin Raceway Hall of Famer Ralph Baker is in ill health, and he dedicated the win to him.

Ralph Baker, whose Berlin days date back to the track’s inaugural season in 1951, has continued to work at the track as an official, making sure that the cars do not exceed the decibel limits. Baker has not attended any of the three race nights this season due to health issues.

“Ralph would always stop by and see me every week,” said Bush, fighting back tears. “He always told me my car was too loud, and I would just ignore him. Ralph is just a cool dude, and I felt so bad for him when his son Scott was killed at Toledo (in 2000), and they are just a bunch of good people.

“I didn’t know he wasn’t doing well until they told me today. For sure, this one is for Ralph.”

“I took a few years off because I helped Lauren, but I still want to race,” Bush said. “Here we are, both together. There’s nothing better than to race with your daughter.”