GRASSROOTS RACING

My interest in motor sports started a long time ago during my high school years. As soon as I was able to drive, my buddies and I could often be found at one of the local drag strips, or at the Watsonville Fairgrounds for the dirt track action.

Yesterday afternoon, I made my way to the Havasu 95 Speedway for some fender banging, roundy round racing. This type of competition is where most of the NASCAR Superstars started their careers, and who knows, perhaps one of the next NASCAR Champions was driving yesterday.

When the racing started, there was a pretty good crowd.

A half hour before the races started, the bleachers were almost empty.

From 2pm to a little after 5pm, the action was almost non-stop. This little track has established an excellent program, attracting drivers from as far away as Tucson, and Las Vegas. By the time the racing was nearing the end, the sun was setting directly across from the grandstands, and the only negative was the fact that it became a little difficult to watch the racing with the sun in your eyes. Most of the Saturday racing programs are at night, so that's not a problem.

There's no such thing as a cheap entry into any type of racing, but some of the stock classes were pretty bare bones regarding the equipment. I saw one of the race cars for sale at $1,500, it just needed a seat. It was an entertaining afternoon with lots of sunshine, and some pretty darn good racing action.