SPORTS

BY KURT DUSTERBERG | PHOTOS BY BRYAN REGAN PHOTOGRAPHY

Friday nights have a feel of their own at Wake County Speedway during the warm-weather months. As the sun and the heat fade, the track comes to life with cars, drivers and fans. Soon, the engines kick in and a longstanding racing tradition roars back to life. Like minor league baseball, short-track stock car racing is part of the summertime sports landscape in cities across the U.S.

At Raleigh’s quarter-mile track, most of the drivers aren’t vying for a shot at a NASCAR ride—but when the lights come up and the fans are cheering, the competition is fiece. “There’s wrecking, there’s bumping and grinding, there’s cars torn up,” says Charlie

Hansen, owner of Wake County Speedway.

“There’s flips, fires and fights. That’s al part of the reality of what it is up close and personal in short-track racing. ”

Wake County Speedway is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2022, blending homespun charm with a modern-day outreach that brings in 1,500–2,000 fans on Fridays between April and September. The bleachers are filled with back-in-the

day holdovers, college kids and everyone in between. Staying relevant with niche entertainment means looking ahead.

“It’s a family-friendly atmosphere,” Hansen says. “Every age level enjoys the cars, the sounds, the sights, the smells. We have a lot of kids activities incorporated throughout the year. We have kid bike races, Power Wheels races, and even ridealongs, where they can sit in the car and take a lap around the track.”

Wake County Speedway’s track has grown from its humble beginnings in 1962. Willow Spring resident Randy Renfrow, who started racing as a 13-year-old in the hobby class back in 1971, has witnessed much of its history. Those early days were Renfrow’s springboard to a racing career that culminated in a six-year stint on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (more recently known as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) racing on the national stage at America’s most renown tracks.

Today, Renfrow runs Coulter Motorsports Development, a driver development program that mentors young drivers who hope to reach the highest levels in racing. He’s out on the road with his drivers most weekends, traveling the small-track circuit from Virginia to Florida, as his proteges hone their craft. That includes some Friday nights at Wake County Speedway.

Hansen knows what it takes to succeed in the racing business. He raced dirt modifieds gowing up in the Northeast, where his father also raced. But running a successful racetrack takes more than

behind-the-wheel experience.

“He’s actually got the best crowds at any race track around,” Renfrow says of Hansen. “I think it’s because he’s so good at promoting stuff. He does the kiddie go-kart races on the front straightaway and other events for kids. I think he knows that when you get the kids interested, Mom and Dad are coming to the race track, too.”

Hansen worked and raced at Wake County Speedway in the 1990s before taking over the operation in 2018. “It’s a lot of the small stuff that kind of makes it

a total entertainment package,” he says. That’s why the crowds love Checkers, the mascot who drives around in a go-kart shooting fieworks. It’s why the kids gather by the flag stand at intemission to score some goodies from a “candy drop.”

But the main attraction is always the racing, where drivers are competing for cash prizes each night. The winner of the top racing class—the late model stock cars—takes home a first-place purse o up to $1,500, with another $3,500 going to the overall points champion at the end of the season. Smaller racing classes, such as legends and mini-stocks, can win a nightly $350 top prize. The winnings are a nice boost for the drivers, but racing a late model car is no small investment.

“Back in the day, we didn’t really think it was that expensive because the parts and the cars were one-third of what they are now,” Renfrow says. “In those days, you could have a whole race car for $10,000 in the top class. Now it’s $30,000 to $35,000 for the car, and $20,000 for the engine.”

While putting together a race-ready car requires an investment, a night of racing at Wake County Speedway is still a bargain for fans. General admission is $15.

“You can come in at 6 p.m. if you want to watch all the practice, and we’re done by 11 p.m.,” Hansen says. “You get four of fiv hours of entertainment for $15. That’s a pretty good value.”

While you might see the next up-andcomer on the stock car circuit at Wake

County Speedway, you might also catch a local legend like Renfrow, who races only occasionally these days. When he gets the itch, however, he heads to Wake County Speedway. With nearly 300 wins in his 51 years of racing, Renfrow can still hang with the young kids. “If we’ve got a week off, I might drive that race because it’s my local track,” he says. “In 2020, I went there six times and I won four times.”

Win or lose, Renfrow knows what entertains the fans. “People won’t admit it, but they like to see people wreck,” he says with a laugh. “They don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but they like to see a little bit of drama. They like to see people bump each other. They like to see people get out of the car and argue about it. Most of the time, it’s just exchanging words.”

And all sorts of fans fill the bleacher

to watch. “We have from small children to

older folks,” Hansen says. “We have a lot of N.C. State college students that come to the track. We have a broad demographic. There’s no norm there, for sure.”