This weekend the Sports Racer Challenge series was hosted by VARA at Willow Sprigs Int’l Raceway. The track changed ownership last year and the new owners are in the midst of some much needed upgrades. And I must say they are noticed and appreciated. Unfortunately the big track will be closed for the 2027 season, but we certainly look forward to its repaving (and hopefully they clean the big rocks out of the runoffs while they’re at it).
Early Spring racing in the Mojave desert can be hit or miss, for this same race in 2021 we actually had Friday afternoon snow and freezing temps at night. But this year was the desert at its finest – nights in the 50’s, and sunny days in the mid-80’s. I enjoyed the drive through Antelope Valleys’ poppy bloom on the way home, but could have done without the $6/gallon gas prices along the highway.
We had a fair SRC turnout for the season opener, starting with twelve sports racers signed up. We raced with VARA’s Wings & Slicks group for the Saturday and Sunday afternoon races, and had our own SRC race group on Sunday morning with nine cars taking the grid (a little bit of attrition after some mechanical mishaps). MFRacing hosted the Saturday night gathering with a delectable selection of steak, brats, and ahi coming off the grill. And we had a post-race pow wow to hand out the trophies. First Place in our five Classes went as follows: HS2 Troy Tinsley, S2 James Capelle, WSR John Adams, WSR1 John Bennett, and Open James Spowart. This weekend’s Hard Charger award went to Mark Francis (and crew for the push start!) for making the race grid without a clutch.
Track photos by Eric Rosenberg
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