Jonathan Newcombe was 14 years old and a new resident of Colorado Springs when he and his father, Corky, camped out on Pikes Peak in preparation for The Hill Climb. It was 1992.

Next day, Jonathan and Corky watched from Devil’s Playground as cars roared past. Jonathan was instantly smitten.

“Dad,” he announced, “I’m going to race this.”

As kids, we plot to become movie stars or NFL quarterbacks or astronauts or, yes, even race-car drivers. For most of us, those plans fade as reality invades and pollutes our lives.

But Newcombe, a 1997 Harrison High grad, refused to let his dream fade. He’s racing, for the fifth time, in The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

“I fell in love with it,” he said, thinking back to 1992. “It’s just a unique race, with the cliffs and back then the dirt and all the turns.”

He talked while standing near his souped-up 2008 Hyundai Tiburon, which will compete in the Time Attack One category.

“It’s still a dream, I guess,” Newcombe said. “It doesn’t seem real sometimes. I feel I’m still here at a spectator. Then, I say, ‘Oh, man. People are here to watch me now. It’s amazing.”

It also can be perilous.

Last year, as Newcombe was driving at the top of third gear toward the top of Pikes Peak, he lost control at Mile 16. For an instant, he was frightened.

“I was sliding off,” he said, “and I figured, ‘Oh, no, I’m going to hit some trees.”

But his car stopped sliding before it sailed into the trees. Newcombe returns to the race knowing he must embrace a complicated combination of aggression and caution.

“You throw it in the back of your mind,” he said. “Obviously at that turn, I’m going to go around it and I’m going to think, ‘Oh, no, this is where I went off last year,’ but as a competitor and a race car driver you know that you have to have confidence in your car and your ability and know this time it won’t happen.”

Corky is still by his side, working on his crew. His mother, Linda, keeps a close watch, too. Both Corky and Linda raced cars in their youth. They understand the thrills, and the dangers.

“He is my baby, and it’s very scary, very nerve-wracking,” Linda said.

On Sunday, the family and crew will gather in a circle around the Tiburon just before Jonathan climbs into his car to conquer Pikes Peak. The Newcombes, who attend New Life Church, will pray for Jonathan’s safety and for the safety of all other drivers.

And then Jonathan will joyfully chase his dream, the same one he’s carried in his heart since 1992.

Jonathan Newcombe was 14 years old and a new resident of Colorado Springs when he and his father, Corky, camped out on Pikes Peak in preparation for The Hill Climb. It was 1992.

Next day, Jonathan and Corky watched from Devil’s Playground as cars roared past. Jonathan was instantly smitten.

“Dad,” he announced, “I’m going to race this.”

As kids, we plot to become movie stars or NFL quarterbacks or astronauts or, yes, even race-car drivers. For most of us, those plans fade as reality invades and pollutes our lives.

But Newcombe, a 1997 Harrison High grad, refused to let his dream fade. He’s racing, for the fifth time, in The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

“I fell in love with it,” he said, thinking back to 1992. “It’s just a unique race, with the cliffs and back then the dirt and all the turns.”

He talked while standing near his souped-up 2008 Hyundai Tiburon, which will compete in the Time Attack One category.

“It’s still a dream, I guess,” Newcombe said. “It doesn’t seem real sometimes. I feel I’m still here at a spectator. Then, I say, ‘Oh, man. People are here to watch me now. It’s amazing.”

It also can be perilous.

Last year, as Newcombe was driving at the top of third gear toward the top of Pikes Peak, he lost control at Mile 16. For an instant, he was frightened.

“I was sliding off,” he said, “and I figured, ‘Oh, no, I’m going to hit some trees.”

But his car stopped sliding before it sailed into the trees. Newcombe returns to the race knowing he must embrace a complicated combination of aggression and caution.

“You throw it in the back of your mind,” he said. “Obviously at that turn, I’m going to go around it and I’m going to think, ‘Oh, no, this is where I went off last year,’ but as a competitor and a race car driver you know that you have to have confidence in your car and your ability and know this time it won’t happen.”

Corky is still by his side, working on his crew. His mother, Linda, keeps a close watch, too. Both Corky and Linda raced cars in their youth. They understand the thrills, and the dangers.

“He is my baby, and it’s very scary, very nerve-wracking,” Linda said.

On Sunday, the family and crew will gather in a circle around the Tiburon just before Jonathan climbs into his car to conquer Pikes Peak. The Newcombes, who attend New Life Church, will pray for Jonathan’s safety and for the safety of all other drivers.

And then Jonathan will joyfully chase his dream, the same one he’s carried in his heart since 1992.

Jonathan Newcombe was 14 years old and a new resident of Colorado Springs when he and his father, Corky, camped out on Pikes Peak in preparation for The Hill Climb. It was 1992.

Next day, Jonathan and Corky watched from Devil’s Playground as cars roared past. Jonathan was instantly smitten.

“Dad,” he announced, “I’m going to race this.”

As kids, we plot to become movie stars or NFL quarterbacks or astronauts or, yes, even race-car drivers. For most of us, those plans fade as reality invades and pollutes our lives.

But Newcombe, a 1997 Harrison High grad, refused to let his dream fade. He’s racing, for the fifth time, in The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

“I fell in love with it,” he said, thinking back to 1992. “It’s just a unique race, with the cliffs and back then the dirt and all the turns.”

He talked while standing near his souped-up 2008 Hyundai Tiburon, which will compete in the Time Attack One category.

“It’s still a dream, I guess,” Newcombe said. “It doesn’t seem real sometimes. I feel I’m still here at a spectator. Then, I say, ‘Oh, man. People are here to watch me now. It’s amazing.”

It also can be perilous.

Last year, as Newcombe was driving at the top of third gear toward the top of Pikes Peak, he lost control at Mile 16. For an instant, he was frightened.

“I was sliding off,” he said, “and I figured, ‘Oh, no, I’m going to hit some trees.”

But his car stopped sliding before it sailed into the trees. Newcombe returns to the race knowing he must embrace a complicated combination of aggression and caution.

“You throw it in the back of your mind,” he said. “Obviously at that turn, I’m going to go around it and I’m going to think, ‘Oh, no, this is where I went off last year,’ but as a competitor and a race car driver you know that you have to have confidence in your car and your ability and know this time it won’t happen.”

Corky is still by his side, working on his crew. His mother, Linda, keeps a close watch, too. Both Corky and Linda raced cars in their youth. They understand the thrills, and the dangers.

“He is my baby, and it’s very scary, very nerve-wracking,” Linda said.

On Sunday, the family and crew will gather in a circle around the Tiburon just before Jonathan climbs into his car to conquer Pikes Peak. The Newcombes, who attend New Life Church, will pray for Jonathan’s safety and for the safety of all other drivers.

And then Jonathan will joyfully chase his dream, the same one he’s carried in his heart since 1992.