Super Nationals run at full speed
Nick Rice
POSTED: June 22, 2008
SALEM — If your life involves speeds of over 100 miles per hour, shimmering paint jobs and tire smoke, Saturday at the Steel Valley Super Nationals would have just been another day.
However, for those who don’t typically get the opportunity to witness cars perform and appear at such a high level, Quaker City Raceway was the right place to be Saturday.
“It’s great to be out here seeing the cars and the people,” Scott Chamberlain said. “Not a lot of people get to see this stuff on an everyday basis so it’s a good opportunity to do something different.”
Jay Brown of Lisbon has been racing for 15 years and been behind the wheel of a dragster for over 10.
“I come out here every weekend, but this weekend is especially fun though because we’re camping out here,” Brown said while waiting in the staging area. “I usually travel a lot around the pro-am circuit, but lately I’ve been trying to stay a little closer to home because of gas prices so this track helps me out a lot.”
Brown’s dragster is a 240-inch Lakeside dragster that runs a 565 cubic-inch engine which reaches speeds of over 190 miles per hour on the quarter-mile track.
“After you race this type of car for a while, it starts to feel a little slow,” Brown said. “I’ve been racing and driving fast since I got my license so it’s nothing new to me. I’m just here to go as fast as I can and put on a show for the fans.”
Tom McKenzie Jr. and his son, Tom McKenzie III, of Columbiana were taking turns down the strip.
“I’ve been racing for a couple years,” McKenzie Jr. said. “My son is only 18 and he’s getting ready to take the car down the strip in an hour or so.”
“I haven’t had a chance to race the car since last August so I’m a little nervous,” McKenzie III said. “I’ve been racing for a few years and come here every two weeks so I think I’ll do fine.”
“I get more nervous when my dad’s out there because I never know what to expect from him,” the recent Crestview graduate added. “He’s a great driver but I have no control over it like when I’m racing.”
Cars and bikes weren’t the only things taking a turn on the raceway, snowmobilers were able to test their rides on the quarter-mile track as well, even if there isn’t any snow.
“We have to have a lot of modifications done to be able to race them off of snow,” Al Baker from Youngstown said. “We change the skis out for wheels and the tracks on them have to be smooth so we get more grip. The clutching is different too but these things fly on asphalt and grass.”
“All the other racers hate us,” Baker said jokingly when asked about the response he gets from the more traditional participants. “They make us and the bikers ride together most of the time but we all get along. We come here a lot so we’re all friends. It’s sort of like a family away from home.”
Today will be the final day for the third annual Super Nationals. The gates to Quaker City Raceway open at 9 a.m. and will close at 4 p.m. Racing action is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and the final trip down the track will take place 5 p.m.
