The Santa Maria Speedway—kicking off its 2009 season on April 25—is under new management this year. That would be 39-year-old Chris Kearns, a former racer who started promoting three years ago.
Kearns was doing just that (promoting, not racing) at the Santa Maria Town Center on April 18, along with 30 of the cars that will be circling the track when the season starts.
For those new to the Speedway: It’s a third-of-a-mile clay oval at the north end of Santa Maria. Cars that race on it are divided up into classes that range from late models (“Almost like NASCAR on dirt,” Kearns said) to sprint cars, the funny-looking ones with the big wing on top.
Sprint cars are by far the most popular draw at the Speedway. They’re lightweight, high-horsepower, open-wheeled racecars. They have no transmission and no starter, and hence have to be push started. They race around the track in what’s pretty much a continuous power slide.
Kearns said his goal is to make the Speedway a destination for the whole family.
“We have a beer garden, but even with the drinking we’re still family friendly,” he explained. “We have a family section with no drinking or smoking. We want the kids to have fun, too, so they’ll bug their parents to take them to the races.”
It’s not just about watching racecars on a track either, he added.
“People aren’t just coming to watch a race, they’re coming to be entertained,” he said. “Every night, we’re giving away two kids’ bikes. On opening night, we’ll have a dunk tank and a stand-up comic.”
Kids aren’t limited to just watching the races, either. Drivers of dwarf mini stocks can be as young as 5. The driving age for regular-sized mini-stocks recently lowered to 14, so Kearns noted that “we don’t ever have to lose the kids to the go-kart tracks.”
Having been in continuous operation for the last 45 years, the Speedway has been a fixture for some Santa Maria families. Bobby Clayborn has been visiting the Speedway since it opened in 1964, and raced there starting in 1972. So what does he think of racing then versus now?
“I can remember times when there wasn’t even money for a purse,” he recalled. “Guys would be willing to race for a six-pack of beer. That, and everything was home built. We didn’t have any of this ‘race stuff’ where you just get in a catalog and order parts for the car. Back then, we had to make our parts.”
Racing stuck with the Clayborns: Bobby’s dad and uncle were both racers, and his son Joey was the Speedway’s 2004 rookie of the year.
Kearns said people in the community have really come out to show their support.
“There’s no way we could have done everything we’ve done without everybody being involved.”
Kearns and his volunteers have been hard at work on such things as replacing 900 feet of grandstand, adding 3 feet to the catch fence on the front straightaway, splashing fresh paint on everything, and widening the track.
If you’re a longtime race fan or just curious what all the noise floating around Nipomo is about, the season starts April 25.
The Sun almost lost Staff Writer Nicholas Walter to a go-kart. Contact him at nwalter @santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 23-30, 2009.