Wagner Works So Others Can Race

Gentleman, start your broken-down, low-budget, on-their-last-leg engines. The Wags Dash is coming to Ventura Raceway.

Financially strapped, accident-prone drivers of the Sprint Car Racing Assn. can thank the benevolence of Ken Wagner, who for a decade has spread the wealth among them with his exhaustive fund-raising.

Wagner, 56, an Orange County computer operations manager for Kawasaki and self-described racing fan, will stage his annual season-ending dash for cash Oct. 31 on Ventura’s one-fifth-mile clay oval.

But the Wags Dash, which Wagner said might make Ventura its permanent home after the inaugural visit, isn’t the only method by which Wagner rewards.

Wagner attends every SCRA event on the 10-month schedule, collecting donations from spectators and others. Attired in a red-and-white, polka-dot hat and toting a clipboard, Wagner has been a familiar sight at SCRA tracks since he conceived the idea in 1988 at a visit to now-closed Ascot Park.

“People know me,” Wagner said. “And people easily find me. Most of the time, they give me cash. But we have 50-50 raffles, silent auctions, racing photos for sale. . . . It’s all collected during the season.”

And distributed--based on need--to drivers during the season.

Many SCRA competitors operate on a shoestring budget. Factor in the costly repair of an occasional accident and it is easy to understand why some drivers struggle to stay on track.

Wagner at each event determines which driver is most deserving of a financial boost. Typically he doles out between $200 to $500 among several drivers.

“Remember, it’s low-buck,” Wagner said. “I won’t give the money to a [defending champion] Ron Shuman or anyone who is winning all the time. I’m looking at the guys who could use sponsorship, and I give [the money] to the [car] owner.”

The season-ending dash includes a field of about 20 needy drivers who received “Wags Bucks” during the season. Wagner presents his most-lucrative purse at the Wags Dash, which he has organized every year since 1991. Wagner’s goal this year is to offer a $20,000 purse.

“He’s just a racing fan who really cares,” Ventura promoter Jim Naylor said. “He and his group pay the money to the guys, and they could use it.”

Wagner estimates he has collected and disbursed $150,000. He also publishes a racing newsletter, “Wag Times,” with his own column, “Wag’s World.”

“I happen to love racing,” Wagner said. “And this idea happens to work.”