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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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RETURN
TO CHOWCHILLA by Norm Bogan |
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I first visited Chowchilla as a
thirteen-year-old in 1952. I
was on an adventure to visit my uncle who resided in the Napa Valley
of northern California and due to limited funds, struck out hitch
hiking from the Los Angeles area on this near 1000-mile odyssey. On the return leg south, a trucker dropped me
off at the hamlet of Chowchilla, located on the busy highway US 99,
a major north/south thoroughfare in those days, which ran parallel
to the main rail line over the length of the state.
Chowchilla was a typical farming community, with a small main
street, Robertson Boulevard, forming the major intersection with US
99. Lining Robertson
Boulevard was a bank, farm implement dealer, dry goods store, café,
market, service station and a doctor’s office.
Chowchilla was prototypical of nearly every small town in
America. On Saturday as I journeyed to the Chowchilla
fairgrounds for the evening racing program, visions of my visit here
many years ago flashed in my mind.
Chowchilla still appears much the same as it had over a half
century ago. Oh, there
is a new freeway, although the old highway still exists along with
the nearby railroad. Added
are the fast food franchises found at most freeway off ramps, modern
gas stations replacing the old two pump stop and as the California
population expands, new housing tracts have taken the place of
former orange groves and alfalfa fields.
As residents struggle to find employment after the old
packing sheds have been shuttered, new prisons have been
constructed, providing jobs for many of the townspeople.
A whimsical drive along the local avenues seems much like déjà
vu with many of the old homes still in place, except they now have a
satellite dish in place. Tonight’s program featured Dwarf Cars, I-4 Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and the Central State Racing Association Wingless Spec. Sprint Cars. My focus for the night was the Sprints, since a special Memorial was being included for a member of one of the teams. The Shipherd #20 team was honoring the memory of a friend of nearly a quarter century, Pete Ogden. Pete recently succumbed to a long battle with cancer, but was remembered for his unselfish devotion to Motorsports as a welder and fabricator. It seems that many of the guys that shun publicity are true artists. Their reward is seeing one of their innovations improve the quality of a racing team. The Shipherds first met Pete, while he was building a racecar chassis with Chuck Delu and consulted about changes to their recent chassis to improve performance. Ogden was the guy that other racers came to
when they broke a part, whether it was to weld something back
together or fabricate a new piece.
His resume included contributions to the Spirit of America
Land Speed racer of Craig Breedlove and numerous drag racing
machines. He was an
asset not only for his physical abilities, but possessed an
analytical mind to study problem areas and suggest remedies for
them. The Shipherd team and their fellow racers paid homage to
their fallen comrade, Pete Ogden this night. The racing program went well with no serious
crashes and mostly nuisance yellow flags for insignificant spinouts.
In the sprint car feature, a rising star with a familiar name
prevailed. Nick Green,
son of Tim Green took a ride in the dirt and looked comfortable and
stable. Dave Press
jumped into the lead from the start and had established a formidable
lead. Green had started about mid-pack, slowly moving forward as
the field spread out. With
about five laps to go he advanced to third, then second and finally
caught Press passing for the lead.
Green has been racing sprinters mostly on the USAC Western
States pavement series, but appeared quite at home on the dirt.
Tim Green was the proud Dad tonight. The promoters, Tom & Cindy Sagmiller worked
hard to provide the racers with a friendly facility.
Their prices are reasonable and the track surface is usually
prepared well considering the weather conditions.
This is another of the grass roots racetracks that are found
throughout the country. Many
of the spectators are there to support a family member or fellow
worker, who is struggling to do well as a local racer.
These fans are the heart and soul of the hometown track.
Following one of the local racers and seeing him progress to
higher levels is quite satisfying. Those attending enjoyed an entertaining evening
and the racing was good for the fans.
Since this was the last sanctioned race of the season for the
CSRA Sprints, Jerry Cisco was able to claim the season title after a
close battle with Jake Serven.
It was enlightening to see these two congratulate each other
on a season of good clean racing. If you ever want to look back in time, stop off at Chowchilla some time and imagine what it was like in the fifties. This track epitomizes the racy bullrings located in small farming communities across the nation, where the emphasis is on having fun and camaraderie, with little interest in securing a NASCAR ride. |
