Stock car Saturday night

The Classics approach the starting line.

A hot summer night, just one day past the solstice still with more than 19 hours of daylight, what better is there to do than go to the neighborhood stock car races. I haven't been over there since my first time a couple of summers ago but every Saturday night when the stock cars wind up and Sunday

Uh oh, spinout

afternoon when a couple of loud top fuel dragsters blast down the quarter mile, irritating the neighbors, it is music to my ears and something of a siren's song. It had been too long.
As a young man my friends and I spent most of our summer Saturday nights at Holland International Speedway. Holland, New York, not the Netherlands. And, international because most weekends one guy brought a car down from his home in Canada. The first race I saw this night was for what are called moderns. I couldn't recognize any of the cars and as I sat in the stands I realized the "moderns" featured in those long-ago races I watched were 1965 Chevys.
I arrived late but still saw several races. In one the driver of a beautiful light blue model ran a beauty

Baby Grands approach the starting line. Note the light
blue car, the eventual winner driven by Tonya Klayum.

of a race among what are called Baby Grands, for a time during the race this driver  went wheel to wheel with a competitor for about five laps before eventually pulling ahead and then maneuvering to get a lapped car between them as the cars roared to the finish line. At that point the loudspeaker blared the name of the winner — Tonya something. No wonder most of the women in the stands cheered that particular driver.


















Lance Mackey operates his milkshake maker. Be sure to turn up the sound.
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Over the evening I let the roar of the engines, the colorful race cars, the trip through the pits and, yes, the snowcapped mountain, in the background transport me into an atmosphere that opened up in the 1960s and never really went away. Even the smoky haze from wildfires on the Kenai Peninsula 200 miles away couldn't spoil the experience. The only thing missing was the dirt. This track is paved. Nevertheless I am going to have to go over there more often.

Dirt Track Saturday night 
#alaskaracewaypark Web Site
Tonya Klayum

A comment on facebook from a friend who had been there too:
 Peter Leitzke Holland was a fun raceway to watch. One third of a mile dirt with 18 foot high banked turns. New comers would sit in the front seats closest to first turn , , , until the first lap of the first race bombarded them with clumps of wet clay. First lap of one race, a car bad wrecked on front straight at starting line blocking the track so the race couldn't resume. Before the wrecker could tow it away, his crew took their truck out there and they welded him back together and he restarted with the rest of the field. Top treat was hot fresh made French fries with vinegar and salt.