Motor Racing / Vince Kowalick : Kelley Looks for Way to Cash In on His Hobby
Brian Kelley collects trophies. Lots of them.
“I have about 50 or 60,” said Kelley, Saugus Speedway’s Hobby Stock division points leader. “When I first started racing, all I wanted was a trophy. But now? Money!”
Kelley seemingly is capable of putting money where his trophies are. Two weeks ago Kelley, a 23-year-old track sophomore from Arleta, posted his sixth main-event win of the season--most of any driver in any division at Saugus. He also has posted seven “fast times,” the top one-lap qualifying time of the evening--also a track high.
But Kelley won’t soon be driving for dollars. Not as long as he remains a member of the track’s Hobby Stock class. Whether driving in a main event or a heat race, it’s all just a trophy dash for Kelley and his competitors.
Hobby, you see, is the operative word in Hobby Stock, Saugus’ lower echelon of racing. The division offers no monetary reward for main-event wins or track championships.
Only trophies.
“My roommates are going to throw me out if I bring any more home,” Kelley said. “Last week, I gave a trophy to a little kid in the pits. He wanted an autograph. I said, ‘Here’s a trophy.’
“Trophies mean a lot, but after a while, it gets to the point where you’re spending your rent money on tires.”
Shannon Flavin of West Hills has won five Hobby Stock main events--second only to Kelley among Saugus drivers. In his fifth season, Flavin, fourth in the points standings, estimates his trophy total at 25 to 30.
But Flavin, 28, is more concerned with his operating costs that, he says, have exceeded $10,000 this season.
“At the beginning of the season, I had so much money set aside and I used it up real fast,” Flavin said. “I enjoy racing, but this is probably my last year. I gotta start thinking about my future. I can’t be spending $10,000 a year.”
Having to compete for virtually nothing is a common complaint among Hobby Stock drivers, who have in the past petitioned Saugus officials--with little success--for a piece of the financial pie.
“That’s the way most tracks’ entry-level division is,” Saugus promoter Ray Wilkings said. “If you want to run for money, go to Street Stocks. If you want to run cheap and keep it competitive, run Hobby Stock.”
That thinking is prevalent at short tracks throughout the country. Saugus’ Hobby Stock division is considered a “claimer” class in which any driver can “claim” another driver’s vehicle by presenting $500 at the end of the evening.
The idea is to discourage drivers from spending money to improve performance and consequently promote parity among competitors.
“Nobody’s going to kill each other over a trophy,” Wilkings said. “It’s not like the dog-eat-dog competitive nature of Street Stocks. But they put on a hell of a show.
“I’ve told them, ‘If you want to compete for money move up to Street Stocks. You’ve proved yourself in Hobby Stocks. Go to Street Stocks and prove your competitive nature.’ It’s not that big a move.”
Kelley admits that the situation is “a little hard to swallow.” But he plans to take Wilkings’ advice next season.
“The only way I would stay (in Hobby Stocks), is if they pay,” Kelley said. “They way I look at it, if a guy brings his car through the gate, he should get paid.”
Motor Sports Weekend: Stock-car racing at Ventura Raceway will not resume until Sept. 1 as the Ventura County Fair gets under way next week. The one-fifth-mile dirt oval, however, will be the scene of the fair’s Motor Sports Weekend, beginning with the annual Ventura County Fair Motocross on Aug. 18.
Final-round qualifying took place last weekend. One-hundred and forty riders will compete in seven classes, ranging from 80cc beginners to 500cc professionals in the motorcycle division, and 250cc beginners to 500cc professionals in quad racers (four-wheel vehicles).
Total purse for the motocross will be about $7,000, according to track manager Jim Naylor.
On Saturday, the raceway will feature a “Monster Truck and Tractor Pull.”
Racing begins Friday at 2 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Information: 805-656-1122.
Points standings: Don Prudhomme of Granada Hills is fourth among Funny Car competitors in the National Hot Rod Assn. Winston Drag Racing Series points standings after qualifying second in the Seafair Nationals last weekend in Kent, Wash..
Prudhomme lost in Sunday’s semifinals.
Tom Kendall of La Canada finished fourth in the Sports Car Club of America’s Trans Am Series race in Lime Rock, Conn., last weekend and is third in the SCCA Trans Am points standings after eight of 14 events.
Keith Spangler of Northridge leads Gary Sigman of Carson by a point to pace the Saugus Sportsman division points leaders. Spangler, however, trails Sigman by 248 points among the leaders of the Sunbelt Region of the NASCAR Racing Series standings, which bases its standings on victories at 11 short tracks in California, Alabama, Arizona, Florida and Texas.
Sigman, with eight top-five finishes, is in 32nd place with 2,385 points. Spangler, also with eight top-five finishes, is 46th with 2,137 points.
Will Harper of Tarzana, with 13 top-five finishes, is 25th with 2,524 points to lead all drivers from Saugus. The top 10 drivers at season’s end will share a $15,000 purse.
