From the Silver Screen to the Speedway

In 1988, 14-year-old Kevin Colborn was just a kid from Easton, Maryland, riding his bike down a country road when a chance encounter changed the course of his life. This encounter would be the start of one of many adventures he embarked upon before landing at Delaware Electric Cooperative as a Cable Locating Supervisor.
 

As Colborn was riding his bicycle into town, he was stopped by Moby Griffin, a producer on the set of the movie “Clara’s Heart,” which was filming in the area. Griffin thought Colborn bore a striking resemblance to the main character in the film, David Hart, played by Neil Patrick Harris. Griffin asked if Colborn would work as Harris’ stunt double, helping with scenes that required swimming and water work. Growing up on the Eastern Shore, he was no stranger to the water, spending his summers crabbing, swimming and jumping off bridges with friends. Colborn leaped at the chance to work on a Hollywood movie set, and the next day his classmates watched as a limousine picked him up from school to drive him to the set. 

While filming “Clara’s Heart,” the starstruck Colborn met Whoopi Goldberg and enjoyed working with the other stars of the film. He performed so well on camera that what started as a one-time job turned into more opportunities, including working behind the scenes on the set of “Miami Vice” with Don Johnson and a trip to Jamaica, where he worked as an extra in the 1990 version of “Lord of the Flies.”

For many people, that kind of experience would have been the dream. But for Colborn, the real dream had always been racing — a sport that took him on countless more adventures. Long before he found himself on movie sets, Colborn had competed in World Karting Association races across the country.
 

“When I think about high school, the racetrack was my classroom and those were my people. Racing was always my love — the movie stuff just came about,” Colborn said.
 

Racing had always been a part of Colborn’s life. His father worked as a NASCAR pit crew member, and he had spent his childhood and early teenage years surrounded by the racing community.
 

In 1988, Colborn captured two World Karting Association national championships in the Junior Stock and Junior Super Stock divisions, an accomplishment he still considers one of the proudest moments of his racing career. The achievement earned him recognition in World Karting Association publications, and he was later featured in racing magazines for both his championship success and his unique experiences working in the film industry. Seeing himself featured in the magazine he had grown up reading was something he had dreamed about for years.

Today, Colborn has found a new way to stay involved in racing through slot cars, a competitive hobby in which miniature cars race around electric tracks at speeds of more than 100 mph scale speed.

For Colborn, racing has always been about family, and in 2020, during his final race, he had the opportunity to race alongside his son at Daytona, a full-circle experience at one of the most iconic racing venues in the country. Colborn says it was a reminder that while trophies and accomplishments are important, the people you share them with matter most.
 

While his racing days may have slowed down, the lessons Colborn learned at the racetrack extended far beyond competition. At DEC, Colborn oversees a team responsible for locating underground power lines and helping prevent them from being damaged. The work demands the same focus and attention to detail that defined his early years.
 

Long after the movie cameras stopped rolling and the checkered flag waved, Colborn remains grateful for a life he never expected to live.
 

“I’m just a regular kid from a regular old town who got to do a lot of cool stuff,” he says.

Read more stories from this year's edition of Delaware Living magazine here.