|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| AARON
ALTAFFER by Norm Bogan |
|
|
|
Born and raised most of his life in Tulare, California, you would expect to find
a person more interested in rodeo, than racing, but this area is an Open-Wheel
hot bed. There are several
different series appearing in the Tulare/Hanford area, including the World of
Outlaws, SCRA traditional sprints, NARC/Golden State winged 410s, plus the two
regular 360 classes of Rebel Cup Winged Sprints and the more traditional Bandit
Sprints. With two tracks running
frequently scheduled sprint programs at both the Tulare Thunderbowl and
Hanford’s Kings Speedway, there is plenty of local action.
As a teenager, Aaron joined friends traveling to nearby Plaza Park Raceway to view the Micro Midget racing. This venue has been a breeding ground for many drivers, who later moved into sprints in one form or another. Aaron Altaffer had a background of being competitive in sports. He lettered in Baseball and Football at Tulare Union High School. Aaron was All-League first team in football, playing both ways. When an interest in the Micro Midget racing became evident, Altaffer hooked up with one of the local drivers, Mike Faria and worked on the crew, gaining an understanding of the technical side of racing. In 1998, Aaron was ready to try his hand behind the wheel and spent the next three years racing with this group, improving his skills and winning a few features. At the end of 2000, Altaffer made the decision to move into the Bandit series, to satisfy a need for more speed. 2001 found Aaron traveling to tracks like Santa Maria, Bakersfield and Hanford, racing a Bandit sprinter. The following year, his program was stepped up, running the complete series and finishing third in season points. For the 2003 season, Altaffer plans a campaign to capture the Bandit title and hopes to be impressive enough that he will catch the eye of a car owner, who could put Aaron into a quality ride, in either SCRA or a Golden State winged ride. Currently, Altaffer’s team is running a Maxim chassis with a 360 ASCS legal engine. Dave Lawrence is the engine builder and has provided Aaron with adequate and reliable horsepower. Three good friends have joined the team to give support to Aaron. Aaron Caskey is the Crew Chief assisted by Bryan Elms and Tony Garcia. Sponsor help comes from Boyd’s Electric, Avran Dairy Automation and Betty Brite Cleaners. Aaron works as a technician on electric motors for Boyd Electric, a company owned by his grandparents. When queried about his outside hobbies, Aaron responded that he enjoyed surfing. This seemed to be a strange hobby for someone coming from the middle of the Central Valley. Aaron explained that he once lived in Huntington Beach for several years and surfing was a way of life. Aaron named his racing heroes a Steve Kinser, Tony Stewart and Greg Bragg, a perennial champion in the Micro Midgets. Santa Maria and Tulare Thunderbowl were named as his favorite tracks. He gave special acknowledgement to Dean “KIWI” Alexander, who taught him how to set up cars and be competitive. At twenty-six, Aaron is single and would like to pursue racing at this time. He mentioned that if they are unable to achieve their goal, during the year, of challenging for the Bandit championship, they might decide to bounce around to some other racing venues, like SCRA and is interested in racing any open wheel racer with a V-8. |
