|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
|
A BLOOM IN THE DESERT by Norm Bogan |
|
|
|
A few years ago in the high desert metropolis of Victorville, you could find auto racing at the local fairgrounds. The menu was mostly weekday commuters looking to vent after playing “Freeway Hockey” every day. Most of the classes were low in the racing food chain and many raced for only trophies and maybe year end point fund bucks. These racers chose this form of recreation as opposed to joining a bowling league, playing golf on Sunday or participating with an industrial league softball team. The track was family friendly, with reasonable admissions and basic foods at the concessions. There was a down home atmosphere with most of the racers and fans from the Victor Valley area. Over several years, track management changed a couple of times, with each desiring to step up the program, bringing in Modifieds, Late Models and Sprint Cars. A few exhibition races were held, which built up the crowd and gained a few entries from afar, mostly out of curiosity. Former racers and local residents, Mike and Dena Gibson, the promoters now in their third year, looked for ways to make the facility more attractive to racers from outside the immediate area. New clay was trucked in and the banking was increased and the corners made more sweeping, allowing racers to carry more speed into the turns. The Gibsons put together the “Turkey Classic” event for the weekend following Thanksgiving, paying elevated purses and giving many teams an opportunity at one more pay day before the winter layoff. 2008, found new grooming of the racing surface and a number of events on the regular schedule. Sprint Cars ran every three or four weeks with a couple of big money events that were open to both 410 and 360 racers. Shows were scheduled to avoid a conflict with other area tracks. The result was increased fans in the stands and improving car counts, usually enough for a full feature. A pill draw determined the starting position in the heat races and heat race finishes then established lineups for the “A” and “B” features. “B” Main transfers would then tag the “A” Main by finishing order. In the beginning, the 410 cars were not top of the line competitors, allowing a good 360 car to finish well. The real benefit was that many racers accumulated much needed racing laps to gain experience. For most competitors, they were able to make similar monies as they would at Perris, Ventura, Bakersfield and others, because they made the show, instead of running the Consi and going home. Tear-Off King, Seth Wilson of Racing Optics, found the track to his liking and arranged to supply a new layer of clay to the track for 2009. Obviously, Wilson found the new surface beneficial as he captured the first two features of the year. The Gibsons have made a conscious effort to not schedule against regular sprint car tracks like Perris and Ventura. This allows racers to come to Victorville on an off weekend. Often, the Gardner Pipe & Mechanical fleet with a group of young drivers and Jack Jory team with Rip Williams two sons, Cody and Austin being able to gain additional track time and confidence for their normal USAC/CRA schedule. Mike and Dena have gained help from a few of the locals like John Aden, who grooms the track surface and operates the motorcycle and Micro Midget track next door. Some of his graduates, like Heidi Tresler and Kenny Perkins are crowd favorites. The Perkins family has established a sprint car driving school at the facility and operates a sprint car rental program, allowing “wanna-be” race drivers to test their mettle, before investing a lot of money on equipment. So, in fact, racers and fans have discovered this “Bloom in the Desert”. For those of you reluctant to make a journey to the San Bernardino County Fair Grounds, take a chance and enjoy “down-home” hospitality at a facility that doesn’t match the sound and lights of the Perris and Irwindale Taj Mahals, but provides some very exciting competition for your Saturday evening entertainment. |
