The summer racing season at Twin Cities Raceway oval dirt track got off to a smokin’ start last week as racers from around Alaska turned out to chase last year’s champions. Memorial Day weekend the track opened to racers for the annual Test N Tune afternoon, where rookie drivers, as well as the champs could test their cars and try out the track prior to the first day of official racing. 2014 Late model champion Mike Braddock with his Elite built car was at the Test N Tune, as rain threatened and said, “I feel I’ll be lucky if I get to win one more race this year. We had a really good season last year and there are probably five or six guys that spent all their time and money last winter to come after me this season,” Braddock told the Dispatch. And did he spend all his time and money planning a way to prevent that from happening, “Absolutely!” But would he say what that was, “No way! Okay there’s a little bit of luck but races are won in the garage the night before,” he confessed.
Twin Cities runs A & B stock cars according to B stock driver Dustin Bass, “A stock means mostly stock parts in the car where B stock allows more modifications and bigger motors. My goal this year is just to stay clean and out of the wrecks, but you’re going to see a lot of action out here this year,” said Bass.
A stock driver Jimmy Hale has become a legend at Twin Cities having won three consecutive championships, “I’m going for four, you can count on it,” said Jimmy and what has he been doing to make it four in a row. “I’ve changed my oil and knocked some dents out of my fenders and I drive a Ford,” teased Hale. “It really is like a chess game not just the equipment but like Mike says it’s won in the garage and if you’re preparing and constantly working on your car; it’s consistency that wins and it’s an addicting sport, so come out and see me do it again. We promise dirt flinging, mud-slinging action every Saturday,” added Hale.
Bryan Barber is a legend car racer and explained, “A legend is a scale car of a 1030’s vintage auto. My car runs a fiberglass body with a 1,200 CC Yamaha motorcycle engine in it and we sit about four inches off the ground so we take some pretty hard hits. But we have all the safety gear you can imagine on our cars and we can actually pull a little faster times than the A and B stockers,” said Barber. “The fans are great and they give you confidence as well as the desire to do better to please the fans,” said late model B stock driver Dustin Bass. “I found my car out in the weeds off K-Beach and she’s a beauty.”
Chuck Winters will be driving # 32 B stock and says he’ll be chasing the camps at Twin Cities, “I am chasing one guy in particular this year so come out and watch it happen. We’re all family out here and no grudge matches but it’s competitive and fun to size up your own gear against someone else and prove it out on the track while having a good time,” he said.
Coming down from Wasilla every weekend, will be 17-year-old Ashton Joneg who was being coached by her dad who races in Wasilla, “She loves it! She doesn’t have her driver’s license for the road yet but she’s great on the track. And what’s better than being a dad who gets to watch his daughter race every Saturday night rather than wondering who she’s out with during the summer,” laughed Joneg. For all coming events at Twin Cities Raceway visit twincityraceway.info.
