A column written by track announcer & PR T. J. Layne
As we are just a little over a week away from getting the 2021 season started with the 2nd Annual Yes Chevrolet/Yes Ford Cabin Fever Bash, there is something special in the air at Ona Speedway.
2021 will be my second year at Ona Speedway, but will be my 17th year of working in the motorsports industry. I’ve been a part of a lot of things and have seen a lot of things. What we have going on at Ona Speedway is truly a special thing and is an excitement level I haven’t seen in a long, long time. What we have is different than most of the trends you see in the industry.
For most short tracks, the dawn of a new season is concerns of what car counts will be with few new entries and news of race teams selling out. At Ona Speedway, our biggest headline of the offseason is how many new teams are coming into the sport. In 17 years, I’ve never seen so many new people who have never raced before buy race cars like what we are seeing here.
People are truly coming from the grandstands to the track as drivers. Not only are we seeing an influx of brand new drivers, we’re seeing drivers from the past coming back with race cars as enthused and excited about racing as ever. A lot of this is attributed to track promoters Thomas and Kim Mays creating exciting, affordable racing classes that truly fit any budget. Racing is expensive and always will be no matter what form it is, but cost saving rules at Ona have created a way for more and more people to be able to afford to race competitively.
We always hear about how motorsports can’t attract young people. Not the case at Ona Speedway. Many of the new drivers entering the sport are drivers in their teens and 20’s. Approximately 30 drivers registered to compete this season are under the age of 25. The largest age group for followers of the Ona Speedway Facebook page are people between the ages of 18-34. Take a look at the stands on any race night. You’re going to see a lot of kids there with their families and a lot of high school and college students.
You also hear talk of how the motorsports industry can have more involvement from women. At Ona Speedway, there are 7 female drivers registered to compete in 2021. I think you would be hard pressed to find another speedway in the country that has that many female drivers competing. In another incredible statistic, 42% of the followers of the Ona Speedway Facebook page are women.
Fans have long grumbled about racing formats. Most race tracks and racing series have gone to heads up formats where the fastest cars start up front. This results in many races won from the pole with little passing. At Ona Speedway, we do a combination of redraw, inverts, or pill draw (depending on the classes) to make for an exciting format that helps to produce some incredible racing action. In some racing circles, those formats would be met with complaints from drivers. Ona Speedway drivers embrace it. In fact, there is one competitor at Ona, U Car driver Tim Cassidy, who will intentionally start from the rear because in his words, “it’s boring starting out front, I want to pass cars and put on a show.” How many drivers across the country have that mentality in 2021?
Speaking of the drivers, I absolutely cannot say enough about each and every driver at Ona Speedway. Not only do we have some of the most talented drivers in the country with some awesome personalities, we have drivers that truly understand the big picture. Last year I was the new guy at Ona walking around the pits putting my phone camera in front of drivers on the spot on Facebook live. Not one time did a driver decline an interview. Even though drivers may be busy and doing interviews may not be what they are most comfortable doing, every time I wanted an interview they embraced it. They realized the big picture of how important it is to connect with the fans.
Last year we ended the season with a trick-or-treat night on the frontstretch. We asked drivers to bring candy to give out to the kids. All 70+ drivers in attendance that night participated and went all out to provide an unforgettable experience for the young race fans. When a new competitor would come to the track and need assistance, our drivers were there to help get them on track and assist any way they could.
This season seven of the nine class sponsors are businesses owned by Ona Speedway race teams. Several race events are sponsored by businesses owned by Ona Speedway race teams. When the idea came about of doing an Ona Speedway iRacing Series this winter, it was a driver, Jason Garrett, who volunteered countless hours helping to put the series together. Garrett also created the Ona Speedway History Facebook group and has spent hours finding never before seen historical content.
There’s not a race night that went by last year that I did not hear multiple drivers come up to Thomas & Kim and thank them for all they do to keep the track going. Not one night last year did I not have multiple drivers thank me for the PR work for the track. I can tell you from my years of experience in this industry, that is not the norm. Each and every driver at Ona Speedway gets the big picture and wants the track to succeed as much as the track owners and operators. This group of drivers is truly special and has a camaraderie I’ve never seen before.
Rising ticket prices seem to be a common theme in all sporting events. Not at Ona. Weekly races see an adult general admission price of $10 and special events have an adult general admission price of $15. Race fans can attend both nights of a 2 day special at Ona for only $25. Kids 10 and under get in free while kids 11-14 receive a big price break. Attending a race at Ona is one of the most affordable things for families to do in the greater Huntington/Charleston region.
A lot of tracks talk about how their weekly racing programs are dying. Not at Ona Speedway. Fans enthusiastically packed the stands for every race last year, whether it was a special event or weekly race. I say enthusiastically because our fans get into the races. I can hear the fans cheering over the sound of the engines and insulation of the press box during an exciting race. I see fans on their feet cheering on their favorite drivers. Our fans have created an electric atmosphere that I have only seen at a few local short tracks in my lifetime. We are truly blessed to have the best fans in racing.
There’s a huge Ona Speedway race fan and historian named Steve Chapman. Chapman spends hours volunteering painting and working around the speedway. He also works hard each year to bring something special to the race fans to help honor the history of the speedway.
Every single person involved with Ona Speedway is committed to making this track thrive. The amount of work that track promoters Thomas & Kim Mays put into the speedway is unreal. They are constantly finding ways to get money put back into the track. This March I stood there at the Banquet of Champions Thomas and Kim put together looking at thousands of dollars worth of awards and food as the top points finishers were honored. This banquet, which was as nice as any banquet a national touring series does, didn’t cost a penny for anybody to attend.
Last season so much work went into the first race of the season. Mother nature had other plans as the pit area was flooded. There was no way the event could be ran because the pits were inaccessible. Ona Airpark & Speedway owners Bill & Lynn Bauer stepped up and shut down the airport runway so the track could use the runway as pits and run the race. That shows just how much they want the track to thrive.
Every single member of the track crew at Ona is committed to seeing this track succeed. They put in long hours of work each and every raceday to make the show run. Our towing crew A1 Towing does an incredible job cleaning up accidents bringing rollbacks and wreckers. Saved by Grace BBQ works hard each raceday providing great food to the race fans and race teams with the concession trailers. Several businesses in the community support the speedway with sponsorships that help keep the track financially viable.
What we have going on at Ona Speedway is not the norm. We are breaking industry trends. Thomas, Kim, and I travel to a lot of national and regional level races to network and support our drivers racing in those events. What is going on at Ona Speedway has caught the attention of people in high roles in this industry. When we say we are from Ona, people are very familiar with the speedway.
I’ve said all of that to say this. What all of us have at Ona Speedway is truly special. What makes it so special is everyone; track management, track staff, drivers, fans, and sponsors are all on board in making this the greatest race track possible. 2021 is our year, let’s have a great season everyone!
