Playing for Keeps : Junkyard Orphans Race for New Homes in Saugus Claiming Program

Like the the kid with the face only a mother could love, claimer cars hold a special appeal to their owners.

Bill McLean of Canoga Park bought his 1973 Plymouth Barracuda for $400 and has an additional $165 invested in safety equipment and tires. But his affection for the car cannot be measured by dollars and cents.

“You put your blood, sweat and tears into them,” McLean said about claimer cars. “You don’t want to let them go. You get to know the cars.”

Saugus Speedway will try to cram 90 of these automotive orphans tonight into its third Enduro 150 race.

“We had 86 at the last Enduro,” said Saugus Track steward Monte Monteleone, “and 88 at the one before that.”

A claimer is usually a car that has been paroled from the junkyard and given new hope in the world of low-budget, stock-car racing. The cars usually run on the first and third Friday nights of the month from April to October.

Said Monteleone: “The racers get these cars, put a junkyard motor in it, put tires on it and that’s it. They’re basically people who are doing it for the fun of it. They just want trophies and points.”

No cash, no big-name sponsors, no TV spots endorsing beer. The drivers race for points and personal glory. While a modified car could cost up to $45,000, claimer drivers rarely spend more than $800.

And for good reason. Their cars can literally be claimed.

Prior to racing, a driver who has been a member of the Olympic Racing Assn. for two weeks can write the number of the car he wants on a slip of paper, put it into an envelope with $800 ($500 in tonight’s race) and give it to Monteleone. At the end of the race, the car must be turned over to the new owner.

If the car is destroyed during the race, there’s no refund. The claimee goes to the claimer--folded, spindled or mutilated.

But most owners are not eager to give up their investment.

Ed Horst of Reseda once refused to give up his ride--and was banned from the Friday races the rest of the season.

Said Monteleone: “If you play, and it comes to giving up your car, you pay.”

Most drivers would rather retire their car for the rest of the season than let it be claimed.

“I’d rather help someone build a car than have them take mine for $800,” McLean said.

Monteleone said the pressure on claimer drivers isn’t as great as it is on the high-budget modified, sportsman and street stock racers who run on Saturday nights.

“The attitudes of the people are different,” Monteleone said. “It’s not as intense.”

McLean agreed. “The attitudes are a lot more laid back. We’re all friends,” he said. “There’s no slack on the track, but when we get off the track we joke about trading paint or trading chrome.”

McLean has the money to race the more expensive cars of Saturday night’s usual program, but would rather just stick to the claimers.

“I like racing against the people I race against,” he said. “If your car gets broken, the same guys you raced against will be the first ones to help you get your car going so you can go out and play again.”

The claimers were the original cars to set tires to the Saugus track in 1959. After 15 years, the cars were dropped from the program in favor of the faster street stocks.

Two years ago, the claimers made a return at the Indian Dunes motorcycle park just West of Valencia. It started with a few cars on Sunday afternoons, but the number quickly grew. When Indian Dunes closed in March, Saugus began a Friday night program in which cars raced in heats.

But tonight will give them a chance to race together. The Enduro will cover 150 laps--75 one way. After a break, the cars will race the last 75 in the opposite direction.

“That’s a neat race,” Monteleone said. “I’m sure some cars will be claimed in that one.”

McLean is hoping it won’t be his.