DELTA―Dirt track stock car racing is alive and well, right in the middle of Utah. Both Delta’s Millard County Raceway and Price’s Desert Thunder Raceway host a series of stock car events beginning in April 2023 and continuing into September. Further northeast, near Vernal, Diamond Mountain Speedway kicks off its season in mid-May. Wild Bill’s Raceway, near Mt. Pleasant, concluded its final season in 2022, and will not host stock car racing in 2023.

Shawn Maxfield, a Millard County Raceway promoter (with Jason Reese), says that stock cars charging as fast as possible around a 1/4 mile dirt track is something you have got to experience up close and personally to fully appreciate. General admission tickets are a reasonable $10 at all three tracks, with discounts for children, seniors, and military members. A pit pass is $25 at all three tracks. Not bad at all for a full night of speed, sound, and adrenaline.

Millard County Raceway (MCR) got its start about 12 years ago when Maxfield and a friend approached the county to expand motorsports use of the fairgrounds beyond the occasional demolition derby. Millard County wanted to increase use of the facility, so was supportive about expanding. They started with a rock-crawl course, then added the dirt oval stock car track and, later, an off-road course.

Stock car heats are run under International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) rules, and a typical night of class competition includes modified, stock, hobby stock, sport mods, and sport compacts, as well as mini-sprints―600-900cc dwarf sprint cars―and 305s―like modifieds but engines are limited to 305 cubic inch displacement with 2-barrel carburetors. Some events are part of IMCA’s Western Fender Series, where out-of-state drivers join Utah’s best and winners’ purses are higher.

As for race drivers, they come from diverse vocations and backgrounds and range in age from a 14 year old sport compact driver to an 80 year old modified driver. While racing is never completely economical, preparing a car for some stock classes is relatively cost effective and car/driver entry fees are as low as $30. For someone considering breaking into stock car racing, MCR’s Maxfield recommends getting in touch with a track local―one good reason to purchase a pit pass. Most are happy to talk about the sport and will provide lots of pointers about setting up a car. There is also no need to belong to any association unless a driver wants to compete in IMCA classes and wants to earn season points. For non-IMCA members, race insurance can be purchased at the track ($100/night).

When asked what’s new for 2023, Maxfield reports that MCR is looking into simulcasting races via a You Tube channel. Still, with seating for over 2500 and attendance closer to 1500, there are no bad seats and there’s plenty of room to spread out. Further, a screen can’t really compete with in-person stock car battles in all their glory. Consider taking advantage of a great opportunity to get the kids off their screens―they’ve probably watched Disney’s Cars a hundred times―and into real live-sports action.

Notes:

• Monthly motorsports and automotive event schedules, including stock car racing, are available at https://utahmotornews.com/category/events/.
• Details on individual events, for spectators and drivers, are available at track websites: http://www.desertthunderfoundation.org/; http://www.diamondmountain-speedway.com/; and, http://www.millardcountyraceway.com/.