Kash Singh’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb family grows after loss of father

Colorado Springs, COLO. (KRDO) -- Drivers come from all over the place for the Race to the Clouds.

It’s year 13 for Kash Singh, and he went through a lot over the last week to get here.

"We had an issue with the motor," Singh said after his first race week practice run. "We put our new built motor in on Wednesday, (and) ended up blowing it on Thursday. We were running up to Denver to pick a motor - that was actually the last motor Ford Motor Company had in one of their distribution centers sitting in Denver. I got lucky. It's the last one, like in the nation."

The adventure continued into late Saturday night, just 8 days before the race.

"We had a transmission problem pop up. So, now Sunday, we're trying to find bolts and other things, flywheel parts and barely got to tech (inspection) before tech was closed. It's been a mad dash to get the car on the mountain."

Kash went through a lot, but of course he did. This race matters to him, and this one even more, because it’ll be the first time he’s raced without his father, Harbans Singh, in his corner.

"So my brother crews with me and then, frankly, my crew, they're all my family. We lost my dad in December, so that's just another part of the unfinished business up here... He was here to watch me on my first race in 2011. He was my crew."

That makes this a bittersweet time for the Singh family.

"The one thing we're going to miss is Dad's weather report, Singh said with a smile. "Dad would sit back in LA, he couldn't come up, and he would give us the weather reports."

Kash laughed as reflected on what his dad would have said, if he had been around to see what Kash went through just to get here.

"He'd probably give us a stern look, because every time I came up here, he was a little scared for our safety," Singh said. "I remember the first year I crashed. And when I came back, instead of checking out his son, 'Are you okay'; he's looking at measuring points in the car, to make sure the car is okay. And I'm like, 'Dad, I'm okay, too.' And he's like, 'Well, yeah, but is the car good?'"

This race continues to be about family, and Singh’s family has only grown larger, as the other drivers are pulling for him. They gave him quite the welcome when Singh's team finally made it to tech inspection.

"When we pulled up in tech, people were honking their horns because they followed the story on social. So, it worked out really great for us. Everybody was cheering that we would make it. It's special for that where you lose a member of a family, but you gain a bigger family. That's what this mountain is, and that's why it's special to me. And I've been coming back just about every year since my first."