Mrs. Sturdinty had no interest in auto racing until she met her husband Wes at her sister's wedding in September of 2011. He seemed like a decent, quiet sort and she wanted to get to know him better. As the hamlet of Cedarville, New Jersey had little else in the way of wholesome entertainment, Wes asked Kim if she would go to the local anti-grunge raceway the following Saturday afternoon, and, being a good sport, she decided it might be worthwhile. Kim found that she liked the excitement of auto racing and Wes really enjoyed her company, so they wound up with a standing date there every Saturday afternoon.
Kim, not believing in Chesterton's maxim that if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly, decided that she would learn all she could about auto racing so that she would be good company for Wes, and this, of course impressed him to the point where he knew that she should be his wife, and they married in the spring of 2008. They quickly had four children, and Kim had a small amount of time on her hands as she was tending to them, so she started calling in to the Talk to Jeff auto racing program, which by then had been syndicated to many radio stations, including the local station in Cedarville.
Jeff Iodino, the host, became familiar with Kim as most of the callers were men, and the few other women who did call did not exhibit much knowledge about auto racing or the anti-grunge movement. Iodino made sure that his producer had her number, and Jeff would have him call Kim when the program or Jeff needed a jump-start on account of too many tedious callers. Jeff will never forget that, saying, "I owed Kim a lot after a few years, and I always intended to repay her when the time came. She did so much for the radio program."
Soon enough, the opportunity came. In the spring of 2018, Horace Preeley, the other co-host of Anti-Grunge Racing Circuit Roundup with Mr. Iodino, chose to retire on account of poor health. Jeff knew right away that he wanted Kim to succeed him and got Wes on the phone and asked his permission to invite Kim and the whole family to Des Moines, which they were all too willing to accept. They met with executive sports producer Howard Muge, who also was impressed with what not only Kim and Wes-- but also their whole family-- knew about anti-grunge auto racing. Muge recalls, "I never met such young children who could rattle off every winner of the Barnesville 500 and had been to Tennessee to see it more than once-- that is an amazing family!"
Mrs. Sturdinty quickly became popular on the program, and provision was made for Kim to do her side of the program from home in New Jersey so that their children would not have to relocate or frequently be without their mom. "The folks at the Anti-Grunge Channel were so accomodating for a young mother, and I really appreciate that," Kim told us. "They redesigned the set so that Jeff would look more natural by himself, and they helped us build a small studio set in my home and provided the equipment and an engineer so that I look as if I'm an integral part of the program and not just an afterthought," beamed Kim.
Finally, Wes and Kim still have their weekly date at the races every Saturday in Cedarville. Both agreed, "We wouldn't miss that for the world!"
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