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RACING COUSINS by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
You could say that racing is in their blood. Cousins Keith and Thomas Filipiak have made quite an impression on the diecast racing world since they came on the scene during the pandemic lockdown last year. That may be because they put a lot of effort into getting their cars dialed in just right, or it might be an innate sense of how to make anything on wheels go fast. Followers of WeRaceDiecast’s King of the 621 will know that the Filipiaks have domininated that track since the beginning. On the racetrack, Keith is Flip’s Racing, and Thomas is FPD (Filipiak Performance Diecast). Keith races under the names of Flip, Remy 12 Gauge (his son’s name is Remington), and Amber Beach (his wife’s name combined with her favorite place). Thomas races under a variety of names, including Clutch, Buddy “Throwin’” Sparks, and Deuce (named for his son). Like their fathers, the younger set of cousins are also into racing. Deuce even does a bit of diecast modding, but generally, the sport is the domain of the elder generation. Naturally, when two relatives are quite competitive, it turns into a rivalry. So, is there a rivalry between these two? “Oh, there’s a f*@#&n’ rivaly, alright!” says Thomas. “Keith tests on his track to make sure his stuff is fast, the comes over to my track and tests there. He does it just to make me feel bad,” he laughs. “He dominates me on my own track. It’s sad, really.” Keith puts things more succinctly. “Of course there’s a rivalry between us. We both wanna be faster than the other, but we also help each other as much as possible.” “We do share information pretty freely,” agrees Thomas. I tell [Keith] what I’m trying if I think it helps. We bounce ideas off each other all the time.” So, they have a friendly rivalry, and a cooperative, but competitive relationship. And they both produce fast cars. Keith was an early heavyweight at the 621. Thomas joined him shortly thereafter: “Finally winning King of the 621 was big for me,” he claims. Keith’s rides at the Maryland track, and across the world of diecast racing vary greatly. He sticks to 10 | Diecast Racing Report
