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Taking the Challenge at Gainesville Raceway

As I drove through the gate into the parking lot, I felt rather disoriented. During the Gatornationals drag races, this entire area of the Gainesville Raceway is taken up with pro team pits, cars, trailers, Nitro Alley, the Nitro Mall and assorted vendor booths. Tonight I was there to see a National Dragster Challenge and Jr. Dragster Challenge, and I could practically drive up into the bleachers. There certainly wasn’t a line for the bathrooms or to buy a burger at the Hot Rod Grill, either. But that was OK; my $10 entry fee was still a “pit pass” so I could see how the younger and non-pro racers spent a Saturday night at the drags.

Without any particular agenda, I was just there to enjoy the atmosphere and meet the racers.

As I checked out the contestants in the parking lot and staging lanes, I decided to speak first with the families who had come to see their kids race dragsters. The first trailer that caught my eye belonged to “Blue Angel Racing;” Tonya “TJ” MacLeod and her Top Alcohol Jr. Dragster from Fort White, Florida. It was obvious that Dad raced as well, because “Go Daddy” had been painted on his nearby racecar.

Like many parents this balmy evening, Mom was parked at the end of the empty trailer in a fold-up chair. Said Mrs. MacLeod, “We like having her race because we like to know where she is and what she’s doing, and there are a lot of good people here with us in the racing community.” Apparently Tonya saw the Disney movie “Right on Track” featuring Erica Enders a few years back, and that gave her the bug to get into the junior program. The “Blue Angel” tie-in (along with a Fly Navy sign on the pull truck) came from previous and current family members serving in the Navy.

The staging lanes were full of Jr. Dragster contestants of all ages, shapes and sizes. One driver climbing into her firesuit looked as though she’d barely made the eight year-old age requirement to race. I didn’t particularly focus on the girls who were racing; it just seemed that about every other one WAS a girl. The cars they drive are half-scale versions of Top Fuel dragsters. Using a five-horsepower, single-cylinder engine, it can go as fast as 85 mph and as quick as 7.90 seconds in an eighth-mile.

Each dragster had an adult or two hovering around as everyone waited for showtime; the Dad with Katie McLean’s team laughed that “they’re all business in the car and down the track. When that’s done, they go right back to being kids.” Parents helped push dragsters into position, then one would usually hold up a camera for a quick shot when they lined up on the drag strip.

The juniors were too young to have attended any particular racing school such as Frank Hawley’s, but many had learned pedal work in go-karts. Dragster speeds were about 70-80 mph, sounding like asthmatic lawnmowers going down the strip. Most drivers hit about a .2 reaction time, but there certainly were a lot of red lights from excitable kids. Oh well, that’s how they learn. (The winner that night at Gainesville Raceway was Jessica Arnold.)

The parking lot began to reverberate with the sounds of E.T. bracket racers preparing for their big moment (”Dial-In for Dollars” was coming up as well.) RV generators hummed, car engines rumbled, air compressors and stand-alone generators added background noise to the cars roaring down the strip and the track announcer’s amplified commentary. Without Top Fuel and Funny Car it was measurably easier on the ears that night (and it was certainly easier to get a seat in the stands under the billboards like the one that says “Have Fun. Meet People. Play Pool.”)

The National Dragster Challenge competitors headed down the track, one after the other as the night wore on. Raceway General Manager Don Robertson was everywhere keeping events running smoothly; I watched him grab a mop and start mopping the track at one point, to ensure that it was just right for the racers.

The variety of vehicles was half the fun; how about a Chevy van with “Gator Payroll Services” painted on the side? Or two gorgeous tailfinned Chevy Bel-Airs, one cherry red and one navy blue. I liked the Camaro named “Geronimo II,” with “You Snooze You Lose” painted on the side. And what’s more all-American than a pretty car with the hood up, a guy tinkering away on it with his gimme cap shoved back on his head, and his rear window sign that said “Crazy Cooter ‘n Country Girl.” I have to assume that was Cooter under the hood, of course.

Unlike the army of people helping on a pro team at big races, lots of folks this Saturday night were there by themselves or with minimal support. Big money here is when the pull truck is painted to match the trailer (compared to the pro team 18-wheeler that I saw at Gatornationals; its wheels had the most enormous chrome spinners I’ve ever seen.)

I watched one lone guy pull into his “pit” next to his trailer after a run, peel off his firesuit and head from the darkness into his fluorescent-lighted trailer to grab a couple of tools and do some solo work on the car before the next run.

Another driver did have his girlfriend to help with the tools, and as he was banging away at something on his dragster, the guy in the next trailer wandered over and started banging on the car, too. Hope they eventually loosened up (or tightened up) whatever it was….

If you haven’t been out to your local raceway in awhile, even for a Test & Tune, take the time on one of these mellow summer nights to drive out to the strip and enjoy yourself. The National Dragster Challenge events tend to pull more cars (and motorcycles) to the tracks to compete; for background info and schedule click here. If you want to see drag racing’s “seed corn” in action, the Jr. Dragster Challenge schedule is here.

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