By ELISE DALLEY
The Progress
The Southern Nevada Racing Association (SNRA) has started up its season once again. The youth mini car racing club started its season on Saturday, September 17 and local racers and participants showed up for a good time.
The racing is split up into specific classes, including quarter midget cars, mini dwarf racers, and flat cars. The speed of the car is controlled by restrictor plates, which is placed over the engine in order to manage the amount of air available to the engine.
The quarter midget is the smallest car, followed by the slightly heavier mini dwarf cars, and both surpassed by flat cars which run 212 harbor freight engines and are similar to go karts.
All the mini cars are controlled by the weight of the car and drivers. In order to enter into the racing, drivers pay a $20 entry fee and bring their own carts.
Club founder, Jeff Hobbs, has been hosting races in the region for 10 years. The club has recently decided to bring the racing out to the Clark County Fairgrounds. They have been setting up and taking down the track for every race. But the club was recently gifted four acres of property near the airport as a permanent home.
“There is a lot of work to do because it is all sand up there,” Hobbs said of the property. “But we are going to have a permanent track and that is exciting.”
On Saturday, both racers and spectators alike enjoyed the thrill of watching racers compete against one another on the oval track.
“I like racing,” said 8th grade racer Ryker Katich who was there on Saturday. “It is exciting and keeps me busy.”
The races started at 10:30 on Saturday, but there was a free pancake breakfast for the community before the races began. It was an opportunity for community members to check out the racing and see what it was all about.
“The pancake breakfast was free,” Hobbs explained. “But we are accepting donations for the club. We’ve got a lot of work to do for our new track in fencing in the property. All our donations are going into that.”
Mini car racing is not only a good opportunity for kids and youth to get involved, it’s also something unique and enjoyable, Hobbs said.
“Its good for the community,” he said. “It gives something for kids to do. Not everybody is going to be a football or a baseball player. So it gives kids more opportunities and choices.”
