Angry Race Fan

The staff at Angryracefan.com took a road trip over the weekend to find some live racing action. In the quick becoming frozen tundra of the Midwest, there aren’t many options this time of year. Luckily in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they have one of only three arena racing leagues in the United States. The off season void is exactly what the Arena Racing folks look to fill. So we took in the season opener at the Grand Rapids Deltaplex.

Photo Credit: Angry Race Fan

 

As I made the trek cross-state to the Deltaplex Arena, I was really hoping this wasn’t going to be a complete waste of time. The drive was going to take longer than the evening’s event. Plus, let’s be honest, these are ½ scale “cars” with 13 hp engines. They bill the cars ½ the size of a Sprint Cup series car. What they are is full bodied go karts with Honda lawnmower engines in the back. They have more in common with Indycars than they do NASCAR buggies (insomuch as the Honda powerplant in the back). So I’m assuming it is a novelty and I just hope it worth seeing. On the flip side, Joe Gibbs, who is no slouch in the professional sports, racing, or the business world, bought into this concept. I’ve also read positive comments on the racing from Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Denny Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. So it must have its merits, right?

Well it does have merit. However, it is also a novelty. The strangest thing you notice right off the bat, is that the track straights are flat and the turns are relatively high banked. Unfortunately this all occurs within the confines of a typical hockey rink sized area. Even at half scale, not enough room for much transition. This results in huge bumps going in and coming out of the turns. I don’t know how these cars don’t get airborne. When you have lap times under 10 seconds while going around in circles basically jumping two sets of railroad tracks while turning, there is a lot going on in those small confines. The track action is a follow the leader parade until lap traffic is encountered. Most short tracks I’ve seen lately are exactly that though. It does create a lot of fender to fender, and fender to wall action.

Photo Credit: Angry Race Fan

The evening does drag a bit. There is only one class of cars, 18 in total. They split the cars into a couple heats, a semi-feature, followed by a 50 lap “Top Dog” race. Time is given between the races for crews to work the cars and the downtime is filled with ¼ scale radio control car races, country music on the speaker system, and the obligatory t-shirt cannon. Speaking of that loudspeaker system; it was the worst set-up I’ve ever heard at a commercial event. Cheap wedding DJs would think the equipment and acoustics were horrible. I couldn’t make out one word of the track announcer all night.   (Since publishing this we were contacted by the Arena Racing facility and series mangement.  The audio issues were due to electrical problems they had incurred earlier in the day.  Understandably they were unable to remedy the problem before the race, but the show must go on.  In the future, the speaker system should not be an issue, and we were glad to hear it was a one time blip.)  To make the downtime more enjoyable, the facility does offer all the usual racetrack fare. Not to mention the Coors Light was cold and reasonably priced. Still they could shave a half hour off the nearly three hour show, and I don’t think anyone would complain.

The races have double file starts and restarts. As stated earlier, once they sort out in a lap or two it pretty much a parade until lap traffic is encountered. Then things start to heat up. You can tell the drivers feel pretty brave in these little cars. They aren’t afraid to move the other guy out of the way, but they also take it serious enough not to make it a demolition derby. The race we watched was won by Dave Sensiba. I don’t know how old Dave is these days, but I do remember that I used to watch him run ASA back in ASA’s heyday. So there is a definite mix of drivers, from 14 year old kids, to established late model touring drivers. I think the mix leans towards the hopefully up and coming drivers.

While the racing was rather entertaining, the facility of the Deltaplex is rather utilitarian. It has space, seats, walls, and a roof. That’s about it. There isn’t a whole lot of character with this building. It’s pretty similar to an empty big box store. Which now that I think about it wouldn’t be a bad use for a few of these empty retail buildings dotting the landscape.

All in all, I would say it was worth the drive. They have 15 dates this season, and I may catch another one if the opportunity of a free evening presents itself. Hopefully the series does well and finds a sustainable niche audience over on the west side of Michigan.