Racers sprint to the finish line

WASILLA — North Star Speedway will feature a special addition to its typical offering of high-octane entertainment this weekend. The sprint cars will hit the asphalt of the Wasilla-area oval track for a one-night-only appearance on Saturday.

About a half-dozen drivers will hit the track with their sprint cars, North Star promoter Erika Bills said, for their first appearance at the speedway since 2008.

“It’s definitely a special occasion,” Bills said.

Sprint cars have a high power-to-weight ratio which leads to high speeds during the racing action, something that fans love, Bills said.

“It’s very exciting,” Bills said. “These cars can go close to 100 mph, about 20 mph faster than the legends (cars) do.”

Sprint car racing is more common on dirt tracks, such as Capitol Speedway in Willow. Putting these light cars that move at very high speeds on the asphalt adds another element to the action.

“It’s exciting for the fans, but it also can be very dangerous,” Bills said. “Dirt is forgiving. Asphalt is not the same. On the dirt track there’s a controlled drift.”

While there is greater potential for crashes during the sprint car races on the asphalt track — Bills vividly remembers a crash during a sprint car event at North Star in 2003 — it’s also a chance for drivers to really showcase their talents, she said.

“The drivers have a good time,” Bills said. “It shows what kind of skill they have.”

Bill said the emergence of Design Graphics as a corporate sponsor for the event is key to North Star’s ability to host the sprint car drivers.

“The only way we can do it is to get a good sponsor,” Bills said.

Design Graphics has agreed to anti up the prize purse for the sprint car races. Bills said driving sprint cars is even more expensive that competing in the average race.

“All they’re doing is burning up their tires,” Bills said.

Among those who will race their sprint cars Saturday is Anchorage’s Al Palma, who spent years racing in the legends class at North Star. Wasilla’s Bob Erdman, Big Lake’s Doug Fisher and Palmer’s Dave Hughes will also race, Bills said.

Bill said North Star will open its gates at 3 p.m. and racing starts at 6:30 p.m. The speedway will feature all the classes of its weekly GCI Saturday Night Thunder series and run the sprint car main event.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.