He wasn’t sure if anybody else was surprised, but Wim Dons of Rio Rancho said he was happily surprised when his kids won some prestigious karting championships last month.

“We weren’t thinking they were going to do any good,” he said, chuckling at the memory.

It would have been a long trip for nothing, then.

Cody Dons won the prestigious "DuffY' in this ho-kart, which bears 24 ... the same as the number on the bus and his classroom at Rio Rancho Elementary last school year.

Instead, “Lightning Cody” won a Duffy, which is to karting what the Vince Lombardi Trophy is to the NFL. He Cody also won a regional race at Delaware Speedway against 16 competitors, but they didn’t give him a Duffy for that.

Dons and his wife Leigh-Ann loaded their racing kids, 11-year-old Cody and 7-year-old Kaylee and headed to Delaware, Iowa, for the Grand Nationals.

Cody Dons raced his way in to IKF karting royalty by capturing the International Karting Federation Junior I 2 cycle Light National (Duffy) Championship at Delaware Speedway in Iowa.

Duffy Livingstone, who co-founded the Go Kart Mfg Co. in 1957, is to this day referred to as the "Father of Karting.” And that’s why a prestigious trophy was named in his honor.

Last weekend, the racing siblings pursued state titles at Harvey Caplin Speedway near Mesa del Sol, south of Albuquerque. The Dons have had great success there in the past.

Cody hopes for success in Tulsa in January, when he hopes to win a “Driller” to put next to his Duffy. He also has a date on a track at Aztec over Labor Day weekend.

Truth be told, these kids have had great success anywhere they’ve strapped on their helmets – and Cody is already qualified to race mini-sprints at Hollywood Hills Speedway.

Their secret to success?

It’s two-fold: They have the best equipment, thanks to Wim, and have no fear when it comes time to put the pedal to the metal.

Cody has been racing for six year and his father says he’s “won everything locally,” including a state championship and regional crowns last year.

Kaylee is in her third year of racing.

“She just wanted to do it. We gave her the opportunity to do it and she did very well,” Wim Dons said. “She also won ‘everything’ last year, including a state championship.”

In 2008, he said, his daughter “has a couple wins this year, her first year in a full-size go-kart. She is doing very well.”

Of course, the kids need to do well in school. Kaylee is a second-grader at Rio Rancho Elementary, while Cody is in his first year at Lincoln Middle School, where he’s in the sixth grade.

Wim Dons had an impact on his kids’ decision to race. A native of Belgium, he has raced in Albuquerque, Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Belgium, where he raced Formula 4s.

His influence came from his father, whom he said was a “set-up man for Honda” (motorcycles). Wim Dons came to the U.S. with his family when he was 7, the same age he was when he started racing. He has lived in New Mexico since 1973.

Climbing behind the wheel for a race is a thing of the past for him.

“I gave it all up for them,” he said.

Leigh-Ann has no racing in her background, Wim said.

“When we got married she didn’t have anything to do with it – now she’s fully into it,” he explained. “We’ve been married 12 years, and have spent almost 10 years in Rio Rancho.”

Just as the youngsters wouldn’t have started racing without their parents’ encouragement and support, once they made the leap into the competition they needed support from sponsors, and Wim said the family is grateful to Uncle Frank’s Legend Chassis, Burris Racing, Clausen Racing Engines, Genesis Motor Sports, Rio Rancho T-Shirts, Stephen’s Sign Shop and (read this one backwards) Kcabtuo.

Wim said he gives advice to his kids when they ask for it. All he wants is for them to “Be safe and have fun. Go-karting, by the statistics, is the safest sport in the world.”

Wm Dons, who puts the karts together and keeps them running, said he doesn’t worry when his kids are driving on the course at 50-70 mph.

“You can go out there and play and be very good with a minimum amount of time and money,” he said. “With karting, it’s a real family effort. One of us is cleaning tires, one is checking the chain – it’s a real family thing.”

He hasn’t hesitated to pull out his wallet. A huge garage is behind the family’s home, as well as the trailer used to haul their karts and equipment.

“Like any sport, of course, when you got to a higher level, the work gets harder and needs more precision,” he said. “I have to make sure everything is perfect. If not, that’s the difference between being on the top, with equipment 100 percent and someone going out and having a lot of fun and still doing well.

“A pro athlete’s always going to push himself,” Wim said, eyeing a bright future in the sport for Cody, who’s not sure if he’d like to race NASCAR or open wheel racers.

“So far – knock on wood – he’s won every race in this,” Wim said.

Racing has been therapeutic for Cody, he said.

“He’s ADHD and dyslexic, but he gets in his car and is so focused,” he explained. “This helps him so much it’s just unreal. We’ve taken him off everything. He has no time to get into that when he’s racing.”

Now, says Cody, “We’ve got too many trophies.”

Most are packed away. The Duffy occupies a special place inside the family’s living room.