TENINO — Nick Behn has good news for racing fans in Lewis and South Thurston counties: racing season at the South Sound Speedway has begun, and it looks like it’s going to be a strong year, despite the down economy.
“Attendance and participation are always up and down,” said Nick. “But a lot of people are “staycationing” closer to home, which means going to their local race tracks.”
Racers and racing enthusiasts have just a handful of tracks to choose from in Washington state.
In Western Washington there’s the Evergreen Speedway, north of Seattle in Monroe, the Port Angeles Speedway, and Tenino’s South Sound Speedway.
In Eastern Washington there are tracks in Wenatchee, Yakima and Spokane.
With Jackson Prairie Speedway’s recent closure, South Sound Speedway is the only race track within a hundred miles of Lewis County, although if you’re into dirt bike racing you could check out the Burnt Ridge MX Park, in Onalaska, which opens with its first race of the season April 25.
Nick and his father, Butch Behn, took over the South Sound Speedway in 1995. The three-eighths mile track was built 39 years ago.
“Now it’s one of the nicest tracks you can find,” Nick said.
In 2002, Nick made what he believes was the next most logical move. He opened a parts store at the track to sell race car parts and tires for all classes of race cars.
“It was so ideal, it made perfect sense,” he said. “And now we’re one of the biggest supply stores in Washington, and it’s because we’re right here on the track.”
This turned Nick’s involvement in the racing business to a full-time gig. Now he manages the track on the weekends and run the parts store on weekdays.
The speedway opened for the 2010 season a week ago. Attendance and participation weren’t great, Nick said, but then again, the cold weather wasn’t ideal.
“I think we’re going to be okay,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, a lot of people tend to stay home on nice days. But we noticed at the end of last year that attendance was high. Again, people are looking for racing in their own area.”
Racer participation has been lower, however. Nick attributes a lot of that to the cost of the cars. People just don’t have as much money to spend, he said.
“But it tends to average out,” he said. “Now we have more of the smaller class cars, because they don’t cost as much.”
According to the drivers, they can only afford their hobby with the help of many sponsors.
Michael Millard is a 15-year-old racer from Brinnon, Wash., on the western side of Hood Canal. He and his father, Mark, started their third season at South Sound Speedway this year.
Michael, who has been racing since he was about 6, races a baby grand in many of South Sound’s races each year. They do travel sometimes to races outside the state, but they usually stay within Washington.
Mark works two jobs to help support their racing habits, which can get costly. Although they bought their tiny race car used, it still cost $8,000. A new baby grand would cost close to $20,000, Mark said.
Then there’s the cost of gear, trailers, fuel and other travel expenses — and the price to enter the races themselves.
Most of the cars at South Sound are even more expensive. The average super stock car costs about $80,000.
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Dian McClurg is a freelance writer living in Centralia. She can be reached at dlmcclurg@comcast.net.
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Go to the Races
South Sound is open for the 2010 season now. For a schedule of races, go to www.southsoundspeedway.com. Tickets for adults are $12 to $16 depending on the race. Kids 6-12 are $5 and those under 6 are free.
