Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo The King family, from left, Rex Jr., Russell and Rex Sr., have been racing throughout the past couple of decades at Sharon Speedway and are one of the more successful racing families in this area.

HARTFORD — It’s half-white, half-gray with an orange stripe separating the two triangles at a 45-degree angle across the trailer. The words King Bros. Racing catch your eye.

There are two modified race cars stacked inside the towed housing. The tailgate opens as each is slowly maneuvered behind and onto the dirt below.

There’s fine tuning of each piece of machinery. Races start at 7 p.m.

Rex King Sr. and Red King Jr. watch Russell King make the adjustments, it’s what he does. Rex Sr. and his wife, Mary, better known as Sis to those in the pits at Sharon Speedway, are owners of King Brothers Ready Mix Concrete in Bristolville, while Rex Jr. runs King’s Sanitary Services.

Russell’s racing is put on hold, maybe until the end of the season. His brother and father are his priority, his full-time job.

This isn’t 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., that’s not racing. A paycheck every Friday or two weeks? Not here. There’s not just one or two competitors like a typical business. Twenty or more are vying after each other’s livelihood.

Seven days a week, five to six at Sharon and other tracks around Ohio and western Pennsylvania with many titles and earnings.

“That’s why we’re competitive,” Russell said. “We win points. Our (cars) don’t fall apart, knock on wood. It’s a lot more work than any average race fan has an idea about.”

The Kings’ story started years ago.

Sis remembers those first dates at Sharon Speedway, close to her childhood home.

Mary spent many dates with Rex Sr. in the pits next to the 3/8-mile race track, watching her future husband compete and win — more than three decades of dedication to this craft.

Rex Jr. and Russell followed soon after, never missing weekends of engines revving to decibel-piercing levels. The grandchildren have followed as well.

“Racing has been the glue to our family,” Sis said. “Every weekend since they were born they’ve been at the race track, not so much because they had to be, because they wanted to be.

“When you’re going through those teenage years, wondering where your kids were, I never had that worry. I knew where they were.”

There is plenty of family around the pits, even if they’re not related.

“Racing is like a big family in itself,” Rex Jr. said.

Sis and Rex Sr. knew darn well their boys’ go-karts took top priority. The parents demanded a C average for the boys to keep them when they were in middle school.

“They let it slide,” Rex Sr. said. “They thought mommy and daddy wouldn’t sell the go-karts. By God, we sold them.

“We let it go nine weeks. They didn’t recover. We sold them. That’s how you teach them.”

That was a teachable moment.

“In life, nobody is going to give you anything,” Sis said. “There’s repercussions for non-performance. If they want to succeed in the big cars, you have to tow the line. You have to pull everything together to be successful.

“As a parent, if you’re giving them everything, when they turn 18 and get out in the real world, they can’t perform. That’s because YOU didn’t make them perform. We’re all going to pass away. When we do, it’s our job as parents to make sure they can stand on their own.”

Russell felt the sting of that decision, but ultimately understood.

“The end of the day, kids got to have their education in this world anymore,” he said. “If they let me quit in seventh grade to work on race cars, I would’ve quit. They did let me quit college to do this. I still tell them that was the wrong decision, but it kind of played out OK for today.

“We did win (July 20), so I think that was a good decision to quit college. Nights we run second or third, I think it was the worst decision ever. I should’ve got a real job.”

Nah, the Kings’ successes rule out that last thought.