June 17, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/Frontiersman

BUTTE - Nestled at the base of the towering Pioneer Peak, Alaska Raceway Park in the Butte is arguably the most scenic raceway in the nation. And while that designation may be up for debate, there's no doubting that the track is the fastest strip of asphalt in the state.

Brian Aszmus gets the front tires off the ground as he rockets off the starting line Saturday afternoon at the Alaska Raceway Park in the Butte. Racing at the state’s lone drag strip continues today. ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman

As Alaska's lone IHRA-sanctioned drag strip, the park plays host each weekend to dragsters who routinely push the boundaries of speed and sanity - all while keeping a watchful eye out for wandering moose.

“We've had a couple wander out there,” track manager Lori Smith said Saturday.

Smith said visits by the state's largest ungulate really aren't much to worry about.

“We just wait,” she said.

While races are contested over a quarter mile, the actual strip itself is nearly a mile long. In addition to its scenic qualities, the nation's northernmost drag strip also has the distinction of being the only-known track to have heating installed beneath its surface.

Track co-owner Karen Lackey said that when she and her husband began making improvements to the track after they took over ownership in 2000, they decided to add heating in order to make sure racers could get a grip at the starting line. Lackey said she got the couple got the idea from a strip in Texas that used a cooling system beneath the surface to keep the track from getting too hot.

“We figured it would work the same way,” Lackey said.

While the track needs to stay warm, the same can't be said about the drivers. Butte Fire Department captain Dennis Mayfield works as a medical and safety technician during race days. He's in charge of making sure drivers stay safe and coming to their rescue if there's a wreck. He's also in charge of handing out popsicles.

Mayfield is affectionately known as “Popsicle Man” at the track because of his habit of dishing out the tasty treats to overheated drivers. He said the habit started a couple years ago when he noticed a driver struggling after finishing a heat.

“Being from the Midwest, I can spot heat exhaustion from a mile away,” he said.

The nickname stuck. But while the moniker is a bit of fun, Mayfield is all business once the races start. Stationed at the far end of the strip, he waits and watches in case anything goes wrong.

“So they can live to race another day,” he said.

The track holds races nearly every weekend, and Lackey said they often attract upwards of 1,000 race fans to the park, which is located at Mile 10.4 of the Old Glenn Highway.

Originally opened in 1964, the track has been an institution in the racing community for more than four decades. In that time, it's gone from a small-time operation to a premier facility on par with those in the Lower-48.

Driver Ron Bowerman, 53, began racing motorcycles at the park 37 years ago. Now tooling around in a replica 1932 Bantam, Bowerman said Saturday that he believes Alaska Raceway Park is as good as drag strips get.

“It's probably one of the nicest facilities in the United States,” he said. “They did build us a nice racetrack.”

Despite having raced at the track continuously longer than any other driver, Bowerman said he still gets a kick out of coming out to the park.

“The older I get, the faster I go,” he said.

Bowerman and his wife, Teresa, have been coming out to the track together since before they were married. The couple raised four daughters at the track, something Teresa said isn't uncommon among the park's racing community.

“It's definitely a family sport,” she said.

Teresa - who Ron said serves as his crew chief as well as spouse - said racing has served to strengthen the bond between the couple.

“You pretty much both have to be into it for it to work,” she said.

Driver Michelle Maynor knows what it's like to grow up amid the roar of the dragster engine. Maynor, who lives in Fairbanks but grew up in Wasilla, started racing when she was 16. Her husband also races, and she and her family still return to the track for weekends.

“It's definitely a lifetime commitment,” Maynor said.

The track isn't just fun for the drivers, but also for those who keep it up and running. Lori Smith said her staff of a dozen workers often thanks her simply for the privilege of getting to help out.

“My full-time guys will call me every day and thank me for their jobs,” she said.

Of course, a family-friendly atmosphere, world-class views and premium racing surface are only part of the track's allure. In the end, what really brings people back each weekend is speed.

Mike Welsh drives a 1932 Ford Roadster that still has its original steel body. But while the car may be an antique, it's far from a jalopy. Welsh was last season's points champion in the Mod ET division, and said he's gotten his rig to go as fast as 132 miles per hour.

“And it should go faster today,” he said while working on the car's small block Chevy engine.

Welsh said the car is popular wherever he races, which for the past decade has included annual barnstorming trips to Hawaii with Ron Bowerman and other racers.

“The guys go crazy over it in Hawaii,” he said.

Welsh has been racing at Alaska Raceway Park since 1976, and said he never tires of looking up and seeing Pioneer Peak looming in front of him as he revs the engine.

“It's a blast.”

Racing at the track continues today, with racing action set to start at noon. For more information on Alaska drag racing, visit www.akracewaypark.com

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com