NHRA News: Motorsports stars gather to help Scelzi build a racetrack for kids (1/3/2004)

Motorsports stars gather to help Scelzi build a racetrack for kids

By Rob Geiger, NHRA.com
1/3/2004

"We all understand what it's like to be a kid and want to race."
– Gary Scelzi

One year ago likable Funny Car driver Gary Scelzi brought together many of his friends from the world of motorsports for what he called "A Night of Speeding Stars" in an effort to solicit contributions and save a local go-kart track for kids. The impromptu event ended up raising $80,000 and although they lost the battle to save the track, they did have enough funds to buy property in an adjacent town to build their own facility.

Now, as the old track inches closer to the day it will be completely razed in favor of an industrial park, Scelzi has gathered the troops once again to generate resources for some of the construction costs of the new racetrack. "Plain and simple, we want the kids around here to have a safe place to race and hang out," Scelzi said.

The "Night of Speeding Stars," which takes place Monday, will include a special dinner where each of the guests of honor will speak and sign autographs, as well as an auction of various motorsports memorabilia. Prior to the dinner, which starts with a 5:30 p.m. reception, the stars will race each other around the condemned racetrack, Kermin Kartways in Kermin, Calif., from 12-3 p.m. The general public is invited to attend all of the festivities.

An artist's rendering of San Joaquin Raceway Park.
Click for larger image

"The coolest stuff you can think of has been pouring in for this auction," Scelzi said. "We have autographed fenders from the NASCAR guys, helmets from a bunch of different people, die-cast cars, firesuits, all kinds of high-end stuff that you just can't buy anywhere. Don't tell [team owner and boss] Don Schumacher but I'm even going to auction off some pit passes from Schumacher Racing.

"The motorsports community, and I'm talking all of motorsports, really knows how to rally around a cause. We all understand what it's like to be a kid and want to race. We've all been there. It's a shame this deal turned out the way it did because Kermin Kartways has been there for over 40 years. My oldest son Dominic just started racing go-karts there when they found out the property had been sold. We've been trying to figure out a solution ever since."

Aside from Scelzi and fellow NHRA Funny Car star Ron Capps, this year's event will be attended by World of Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski, IRL professionals Billy Boat and Davey Hamilton, former Indy great George Snyder, and USAC Midget racer Wally Pankratz. Comedic relief will be administered by drag racing enthusiast and television star Christopher Titus. NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart will serve as Master of Ceremonies and track announcer.

Ron Capps

"Everyone has donated their time to this project," Scelzi said. "It's very cool when your friends come through for you like this. We raised $80,000 last time and we hope to match that again this time around. That won't be enough to build the new track, which we've projected at $250,000, but it will give them the framework to put something together so the kids can at least race. We'll have more functions in the future and just keep working at it until we're done.

"This place, when it's finished, will be first-class. Kids from all around central California and even up to the Bay Area will race there and their parents can know they'll be as safe as possible."

The new track will be located on 11 acres in Lemoore, Calif. The City of Lemoore gave Scelzi and his group a cut-rate deal on the property and is affording them favored status as the project moves forward.

"We hope to see a lot of people there," Scelzi said. "Any support is appreciated. What we're trying to do here is build a track that is nice enough it can support itself. It will be run entirely by the local go-kart club, which is a non-profit organization. They're a great group of people who always make sure and put the kids first. We just want to get them to be self-sufficient. Hopefully, we'll reach that goal, even if it takes five years to do it."

For information on "A Night of Speeding Stars" or to reserve a space at the dinner, contact Paul Spraetz at 559-294-2905.

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