Team

Born:  April 20, 1991

Birthplace:  Toledo, Ohio

Current Residence:  Bowling Green, Ohio

Travis Philo is sprint car driver that runs a true “Outlaw” schedule, competing in World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, FAST, MOWA, IRA, and OSCS events across the Midwest.  Although his ultimate goal is to run with the World of Outlaws for a living, he currently works full-time as a Project Engineer for one of the largest commercial contractors in Ohio, Rudolph Libbe.

Travis began his racing career in 1995 at the age of 4, where he raced go karts along side his father, Jim.  After a year of racing together, Jim selflessly decided to hang up his helmet and focus on his son’s racing career.  Over the course of the next 10 years Travis and his Dad would race quarter midgets and go karts all over the country, racking up hundreds of wins and numerous championships.

When Travis turned 15, his Dad contemplated their next move in racing.  They wanted to be able to race closer to home and cut down on their travel time.  Travis raced many years with Cole Duncan, so they leaned on advice from Cole’s father &  former sprint car driver, Rodney Duncan as well as local Ohio standout, Byron Reed.  With their guidance they decided to pursue 410 winged sprint car racing and purchased a complete car from veteran driver, Jerry Nemire.

It was quite an adjustment for Travis and his Dad jumping straight into a 410 sprint car from the quarter midget and go kart ranks.  For the first few seasons they concentrated on running a limited schedule at the Ohio local level including Attica Raceway Park and Fremont Speedway.  Their years of hard work finally paid in July of 2012 when they earned their 1st career 410 victory at Attica Raceway Park over current World of Outlaws member, Greg Wilson.

The next few seasons they started to race more and travel on a regional level, and also competing in the full Ohio Sprint Speedweek where in 2014 they finished 4th in points and were 1 of only 5 cars to make all (7) A-main events that year.  Travis and his Dad were also able to pick up another FAST victory at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, OH.

In 2015, while both still working full-time they decided to join the All Star Circuit of Champions tour and were able to complete the entire season, finishing 10th in the final points standings.  Although the results were not what they were striving for, it was an accomplishment in itself to finish the entire year, while most nights it was just Travis and his Dad at the track.  The following year they were able to bring on crew chief Daniel Smith mid season and had great success together.  The team competed in numerous All Star Circuit of Champions events, racking up many podium & top 5 finishes, a 360 victory at Limaland Motorsports Park, and also finished 3rd in the final points standings at Attica Raceway Park.

The team carried over its speed & success in 2017, finishing the year with (7) podium finishes, (13) top 5’s, and (21) top 10’s in a total of just (40) races.  They were able to bring on veteran crew chief Jim Roby to finish off the season and were extremely successful in the (9) shows they ran together.  Roby was able to help the team pick up (5) top 5’s in those (9) races, which included (2) 3rd place runs in the final two shows of the season at Mansfield Motor Speedway & Eldora Speedway.

Keith Kramer – Crew Chief

Red (Bryan Darling) – Car Chief

Bryan (aka “Red”) is originally from Attica, OH, but currently resides in Toledo, OH.  Red grew up on a farm in Attica with his twin brothers, who both currently help out the weekly operations team at Attica Raceway Park.  Red has a very extensive mechanical background and received his mechanical engineering degree from the University of Toledo.  While at UT he was a member and driver for the Formula SAE program, a student led & nationwide competition where engineering students are challenged to design, build, and race an open wheel formula style race car.

Red is currently a Project Manager & Estimator for the mechanical division of GEM Inc., a major mechanical/plumbing/electrical contractor located in Walbridge, OH.  Red met Travis while both working on the Hollywood Casino Project in Toledo, OH, when Red started to occasionally attend races with Travis and is now the head Car Chief for Philo Motorsports.

Robby Bohm – Crew Member

Robby along with his wife currently reside in Pontiac, IL.  They have three daughters together and all of them actively race go karts. Robby has recently took over operations of a local dirt go kart track, Bohmer’s Rt. 66 Raceway in Pontiac and is a current police officer for the Pontiac Police Department.  Robby is also a direct supporter of Philo Motorsports through (2) companies he is involved with, Bohmer Rentals & Tire-Slick.

Robby and his family met Travis and the team in a very unique way.  In the summer of ’17 their daughters’ go kart race in Ohio was rained out and they happened to drive through the parking lot of Eldora Speedway, where Travis and his team were completing maintenance on the car after a speedweek show.  Robby & his family introduced themselves and Travis was happy to show them through the trailer & even had the girls sit in the car to get their pictures taken.  Ever since then Robby & his family have been huge supporters of Philo Motorsports and they have all become great friends with all members of the team.  Robby joined the crew towards the end of the 2017 season and has been a great hand.  He plans on working on the Philo Motorsports crew in 2018 for as many shows as his schedule allows.

5T – Team Mascot

5T is Travis’s 3 year old black Shar-Pei puppy and he currently resides in Bowling Green, OH with his Dad. He is named after the iconic Philo Motorsports number and can be spotted at the track hanging out in the team’s trailer.