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WAKIM GEARS UP FOR ALL COAST CHALLENGE AT VENTURA |
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VENTURA, Calif. (March 24, 2008) – Simi Valley sprint car racer Chris Wakim is under a lot of pressure these days. That’s nothing out of the ordinary for the Ventura Raceway regular. Racers are forever pressing themselves to win. If they are winning, they want to win by wider margins. And if they are blowing the rest of the field away every weekend, racers somehow want to improve on that. But, as he prepares for the March 29 first round of the All Coast Construction 3-2-1 Challenge at Ventura, Wakim needs a win just to maintain a bit of balance at home. His son, seven-year old Cole Wakim, already has two wins in Ventura’s Mini Dwarf Cars – Pistons Division. The elder Wakim has raced well this season, finishing second to Mike Spencer on March 22. Wakim is always among the favorites to win at Ventura. A victory in the Raceway’s first major race of the season would help wrest family bragging rights away from the younger generation. “My son said to me, ‘If I win three in a row, will you give me $100,’” Chris Wakim told Raceway promoter Jim Naylor over the track’s public address system last week. There is a lot more on the line in this weekend’s first round of the Challenge. The first two events in the series will pay $2,000 to the winner. The final installment in the series will pay $3,000 to the winner, $2,000 to the runner-up and $1,000 to third place. The top point-getter in the special series will win an additional $1,000. Racing begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. “It’s a major deal,” Wakim said of the Challenge. “The money is the determining factor at the end. It’s going to bring out more cars, more fans. It’s going to be a big deal.” Both of Wakim’s sons, Cole and his five-year old brother Connor, race in Ventura’s youth program. “I didn’t know what it was going to be like for me,” Chris Wakim said. “I didn’t know if they’d be interested. When (Cole) won, I was climbing the fence and shouting. It’s a father’s dream to have a kid follow in something he does.” The boys are active in other sports and do well in school. But Dad is a racer and, well, you know how it goes. Nan Wakim, Chris’ wife and the boys’ mother, has adjusted to living with three racecar drivers. She told Naylor after Cole’s second win, which came on a night when all three raced, “It’s incredible. It’s a great family night. It’s exhausting.” Maybe a family win in the Challenge would allow Nan Wakim to rest easier. More information about Ventura Raceway is available at www.venturaraceway.com. |
