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Jay Elardo and his sons Damon and Mithcell all own Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda racing bikes.

They say a father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be. If that’s the case, Jay Elardo would certainly qualify.

Not only does he have snapshots, but he has dozens of photos on his walls, both at home and in his office. If that’s not enough, there are hundreds of trophies, in storage and on display, to remind him of the many hours spent with his two sons over the years — and the dollars it took to make their dreams happen.

“Jay saw talent in both boys and wanted them to get to do it,” says Patricia Elardo, his wife. “Whatever it took, that’s what he would do.”

Their sons are now grown. Damon is 27. Mitchell is 24 and a father himself. But for Jay, it seems like yesterday when his boys were barely teenagers and began racing go-karts, or karting as it is more commonly called.

It was probably inevitable they would get caught up in his passion for motorsports, he says. It’s a passion he’s had since the first time his grandfather took him to the races in Kansas City as a child.

“When I was a teenager,” Jay says, “I used to be a hot-rodder, I guess you call it.”

Even when he and Patricia were dating, they would find parking lots to race their go-karts. Somebody would call and complain, and they’d have to find somewhere else to go. After graduating from college, he went into the banking business, but never gave up his enthusiasm for fast cars. After 16 years in banking, he decided to quit and be his own boss. He bought some property at Belt Highway and Messanie to begin what is now Belt Alignment and Frame. For close to 12 years, kart racing with his sons would take up most of his time on evenings and weekends, both working on the karts and traveling.

“A year in go-karting, we would rack up 20,000 miles with the motor home,” Jay says. “The worst would be when we would have to leave Thursday evening and make a 10- to 12-hour drive to get to the tracks.”

They would get there in the early hours of Friday morning and have to get everything set up. The boys would practice for two days and qualify. Then on Sunday evening, after the race, they would have to pack up everything and travel 10 to 12 hours back home, in time for Jay to go to work the next morning at 8 a.m.

“That’s when my wife really helped,” Jay says. “When I left, she stepped in. She ran the business and stayed in contact by phone.”

She also packed the motorhome.

Even as the tournaments became bigger and the drive turned into 18 to 20 hours one way, Mr. Elardo never tired of it.

“When the boys were winning, which was 90 percent of the time, it was total elation.”

Jay’s other responsibility, besides getting them to the tracks, was the mechanical part: “getting the chassis to set up, getting the engine to perform and the clutches to all work together to make the kart fast.”

The boys would tell him what they needed in order to go faster, and he would reset it. After a few years, they became invincible. Plaques and trophies began to mount up as the boys kept winning races. Eventually, they won the Racing Triad, a national go kart championship. “We were really happy and got to do things I could never have imagined,” Mitchell remembers.

But eventually, Mitchell decided he was done with racing. Winning was becoming boring. He was more interested in building cars than racing them. And it was in the middle of the season.

“At the time, I was devastated,” Jay remembers. “Mitch took his uniform and helmet off and put it in the bag. It never came out again.”

They should have seen that coming, the Elardos say. When Mitchell was 9 years old, he built a car out of Lego blocks and added hydraulics to it to make it go up and down. He started working on custom cars and developing a clientele while still a teenager, which now includes NFL player Dwayne Blakely.

Damon went on to race can-am and Indy-style cars, winning numerous awards, including Sportscar Club of America driver of the year and beating out 1,500 drivers to win the USAC-Russell Runoffs in Sonoma, Calif., with coverage by national racing magazines and a full-season sponsorship. Unfortunately, even winning became too costly without corporate sponsors, and his racing career came to an end.

“When you get to that level, the amount of money needed is tremendous,” Jay says. “We’re just normal working people. We can’t come up with a half million dollars to race a car on a semi-national basis.”

But today, the Elardos can do it all when it comes to putting wheels on the road. Jay owns the Belt Alignment & Frame, part of the Belt Automotive Group that includes a body shop, truck rental and tire business. Damon owns The Kart Shop, a supplier of go-kart parts and service. Mitchell owns M-E Customs, a specialty shop that specializes in custom cars, tires, wheels and audio sales. And they all help each other, getting together every couple of months to plan out their projects on a big white dry erase board.

The days of competitive racing may be over, but there is still plenty to look forward to, Jay says.

“It was neat during that period of time. But it’s shifted gears. Now I’m watching my two sons come up into their own businesses. When I leave my work, I can’t wait to come here and help out.”

On weekends, the three men race their current passion: limited-edition Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda racing bikes. These are the fancy bikes that look identical to the super bikes raced all over the world. They can top out at 200 mph. And you can lower them on their sides so far you use your knees to keep the bike from touching the ground — if you know how.

Jay feels lucky to get to see his sons every day and have the relationship they share. And there’s a new addition to the Elardo family: Mitchell’s baby daughter, Madeline. Although she is only a month old, Mitchell is already working on something special.

“Mitch has bought her a new Corvette model,” Jay says, ”and he’s painting it pink.”

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com