April 2 is the date local racing fans and drivers have been waiting for all winter: the start of the 2011 racing season at Santa Maria Speedway.
The one-third-mile, clay oval track has held races continuously since Doug Fort built it in 1964, and after recent heavy rains flooded the parking lot, track officials are scrambling to ensure the facility will be usable come opening night.
“We’re working very hard at it,” said Speedway promoter Chris Kearns. “The sun and the wind is going to help, but there’s still a lot to be done to get it groomed and ready to go.”
If for some reason the track isn’t good to go by then, Kearns said, opening night would be pushed to April 9, and the races rescheduled for later this summer.
According to Kearns, about half of the Speedway’s spectators are travelers, visiting from as far away as Ventura and Bakersfield. Though gas prices threaten to cause havoc for both drivers and spectators, according to Speedway spokesman and track announcer Dave Castaneda, 2011 has all the makings of another well-attended season.
“This year we have a schedule that will really help us out with numbers,” he said. “Almost every race, we’ve got one of the premiere classes running. We try to mix it up a little bit.”
Castaneda said he expects up to 2,500 attendees on opening night, which, as scheduled, will feature super late models and the popular International Motor Car Association (IMCA) modifieds. Late models boast high-powered engines and are the top class on the track, while modifieds are open-wheeled stock cars with uniform regulations, so they can be raced at almost any track without alterations.
Besides holding various traveling series all season long, the Speedway also has its own point system and championships for local divisions, including 360 sprint cars, street stocks, mini stocks, and hobby stocks.
Last year, Santa Maria resident Tim Randolph dominated street stocks, typically the track’s most competitive class. Randolph won the Speedway championship, as well as the California series, competing in a total of 24 races, eight of which took place at the Speedway.
“Traveling to the other tracks makes you a better racecar driver because you just get that experience,” Randolph said. “It’s just about being in the seat all the time.”
Entering his 11th season racing at the Santa Maria track, the 43-year-old Randolph has had racing in his family his whole life. His father Bobby raced at the Speedway the year it opened, and brother Toby currently races in the same class.
Randolph’s car, like nearly all street stocks, is an old Camaro, with a fabricated, beefed-up engine. He spent the off season rebuilding the car’s engine and transmission and refurbishing the body and paint job.
“Without the sponsors helping us out, we’d never be able to get from track to track,” Randolph said. “It gets expensive. You’ve got to love to do this because there’s no money in it.”
Randolph said the street stock class looks to be more competitive this season. The division is adding more drivers, including Michael Frazier, who’s moving up to street stocks after winning the Speedway’s hobby stock championship last season.
In comparison with late models, which can easily run $80,000 to $100,000, hobby stocks can be had for less than $5,000. Cars in this class are American-made V8s, typically built in home garages by “weekend warriors.”
Driver and Speedway track grader Tom Breshears quit driving hobby stocks two years ago, figuring he was too old to race. However, he’s back to do it all again this season.
“Once you get it in your blood, it’s there forever,” Breshears explained. “I thought, before I get too old, I want to go out there again, because it’s so much fun. It’s better than any roller coaster ride there is.”
Other popular locals taking the track again this season include street stock driver Kirk Morgan and Pete “Ricky Bobby” Lethcoe, who’s looking for his first main event win.
No matter what night it opens, the Speedway season promises a little something for every racing fan. It runs until October, with off nights on April 30 (in lieu of the Strawberry Festival) and June 11.
The biggest nights are sure to be the 410 Wing Sprints on May 21 and July 9, bringing in faster cars and big-name drivers from the Midwest and all over California. On May 7, the ASCS 360 Wing Sprints come to town, and NHRA funny car driver Ron Capps, a Central Coast native, makes an appearance to race a modified and sign autographs.
Other highlights include the Golden State King of the West traveling series on May 21, followed by the Nationals and West Coast Shootout on Memorial Day weekend: May 28 and 29.
The last local series of the year is Sept. 24, when hobby stocks, mini stocks, street stocks, and modifieds run their last point race of the season for their respective championships. Finally, Oct. 1 is the night of the Enduro, where drivers just try to survive the race’s grueling 250 laps.
The track will also host traveling series throughout the season, including NMRA midgets, East vs. West street stocks, California Lightning Sprints and the Dwarf Regionals.
While some things haven’t changed over the past 47 years at the Speedway, a night at the races has evolved into more of a family atmosphere, according to track spokesman Castaneda. While races used to extend into the wee hours, the Speedway has become much more efficient, usually ending the racing slate by 10:30 p.m.
In his third year as the Speedway promoter, Kearns is focused on increasing driver participation, coordinating with other nearby tracks to ensure there’s no overlap. The cooperation has helped raise car counts and attendance at all tracks, he said.
Kearns is also looking to expand the local fan base, beginning with children. Besides bike races and prize giveaways for kids each weekend, the Speedway also hosts monthly Go-Kart races featuring drivers as young as 4 years old.
For Kearns, a former racecar driver himself, the upcoming season is as much about entertainment for the fans as it is a competition among drivers.
“People just need to come and experience it for the first time and feel the excitement and adrenaline,” Kearns said. “Normally when somebody comes out and sees it, they’re pretty hooked.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas has a 4-year-old driver. Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 7, 2011.
