North Texas youth, 6, follows Pakistani father as he chases pro racing dreams

Nur Ali grew up in Germany as a Pakistani and fell in love with Formula 1 racing. He began his professional racing career at age 23, a career choice not many Pakistanis have made.

In fact, he was the first, and from A1 Grand Prix to NASCAR he found success.

His son, Pasha, is following in his tire tracks — but at a much younger age. At only 6 years old, he has established himself as one of the top go-kart racers in Texas, even the nation.

“Before I became a father, I saw some of those racing legacies, the Earnhardts, the Andrettis, even our new NASCAR champion Chase Elliott and his dad Bill Elliott, and I knew that that was what I wanted for my kids, whether they were going to be boys or girls,” Nur, now 46, said. “To see that come to fruition, it’s my every dream come true.”

Pasha started racing at age 3. He started in a balance bike racing series called The Strider Cup all across the United States, along with two international races that were held in the U.S. He won his first Strider Cup race at age 3 in 2017 at Lincoln, Nebraska.

Pasha and Nur, who live in Trophy Club, spent a lot of time practicing at the track at DeSoto BMX while getting ready for the 2018 Strider Cup season. They wanted to win every single U.S. race in the 4-year-old division — and they did — capturing the unofficial Strider Cup title and finishing 12th overall in the world standings.

This year, Pasha won the North Texas Kartway Mega Season Kid Kart championship in Denton. Typically, NTK has a winter season, spring/summer, and fall season. Due to COVID-19, NTK combined the spring/summer and fall seasons into the Mega Season. He also recently won the Greater Houston Race Series.

“My papa is my best friend and I want to be just like him,” Pasha said about having his father on his race team. “He inspired me to never, ever, ever give up, not until I make it to Formula 1.

“Papa is my best friend, my coach, my team owner, my manager, everything. I love him very much. He and my mom do everything for me so my dreams can come true.”

Living a dream

Nur knows a thing or two about dreams coming true. After making history as the first from his heritage country of Pakistan to turn pro in the sport, his highlights include being a former two-time Southwest Formula Mazda Series Champion, and he drove in the A1 Grand Prix series for Team Pakistan.

“In the Pakistani community racing is so out in left field. We didn’t know anything about it, so I didn’t even know you could race as a child. I had the passion of speed instilled in me as a 4-year-old living in Hamburg, Germany, watching F1 on TV and being driven around by my parents on the German Autobahn,” Nur recalled. “The same continued when we moved to the United States in the early ‘80s, only difference being F1 was replaced by NASCAR on TV, and the German Autobahn without speed limits was replaced by the U.S. Interstate system that had speed limits of 55 mph.

“My father always told me that I could explore racing as a career option, but I had to get my college degree first. I got my degree from American University in 1998 at the age of 23. Then, I started researching, found Skip Barber Racing School in Ohio, formed a team with my college roommate and his mom, found a mechanic at my local dealership, John Morris, who now is the crew chief for my son’s go kart, and the rest is history.

“John and I won some championships, and he really shaped me as a driver. I am excited to watch him with Pasha and the bond they are developing.”

Morris has literally traveled the world with Nur and his family, racing in Canada and even visiting Pakistan with his friend. He said it is an even greater privilege to help with the next generation of the Ali family.

“It’s easy to tell there is a real talent, and it’s gratifying to help on Pasha’s development as a racer. I think great things are to come,” Morris said.

Pasha has a younger brother, 3-year-old Raif. He started racing Strider Bikes when he was 2.

“He can’t reach the pedals in the go-kart yet, but he says he wants to race it,” Pasha said. “We have an electric go-kart at home and he rides that one around our neighborhood, but it only goes like 12 miles an hour.”

Passion for racing

Though he enjoys racing bikes, Pasha said there is no feeling like when he has the pedal down in his Kid Kart, which can reach speeds in the mid-40 mph range. When he moves up to Cadet Karts, they reach speeds in the 60s.

“When I put my visor down, I am just focused. Papa told me to just go out there and do my thing,” Pasha said.

“I am dad, team owner and manager, coach, mechanic, accountant, everything. Other than being dad, I think the biggest role I play is coach,” Nur said. “I can use my two decades of experience driving on tracks all across the globe to motivate him, and to guide him. We have had an amazing bond since the day he was born, and it’s easy to see that translate to the race track.”

Pasha has to balance a busy schedule. He practices a couple days a week, and often races both days on a weekend. If there is only one race, he usually practices on that Sunday.

And he stays on top of his schoolwork at the Clariden School, a small project-based learning private school in Southlake.

Competition includes traveling all around Texas and Oklahoma, including every weekend for the past few months. Next year Pasha plans to join the Texas Sprint Racing Series, which is all over Texas and includes northern Louisiana.

He’s also hoping to race in Daytona for the World Karting Association’s Kart Week. That series will also take him to New Castle, Indiana and Charlotte in 2021.

“What’s so special about Pasha isn’t just that he is fast. It’s his race craft. He is smooth — smooth when he is driving out front or when he is passing,” said his mother, Naureen Ali. “He is able to go to a new track now and pick it up immediately. But he put in the work. He studied track maps.

“He talks about it, asks the questions, and he puts his butt in a seat, his visor down, his hands on a wheel and he works for it week-in, week-out.

“He has an incredible passion for racing, and it’s amazing to see his direction at such a young age. He eats, sleeps and breathes racing. Even his teacher says it’s all he talks about at school. As a family, we will do everything to support his dream.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM.