Sand Drags Return to Southern California!
After a long hiatus due to….. yes, you guessed it Covid-19. The Southern California Sand Drag Association (SCSDA) is back and they came out swinging! For those of us who never bought into the whole pandemic thing, we couldn’t wait to be back out in the dirt to enjoy the sound of rip roaring motors, and the smell of burnt fuel. The weekend lasted 3 days, but unfortunately we were only able to attend the second day (Saturday). The weekend’s festivities were in honor of Mike Willams Sr, a proud member of the SCSDA family, whom we lost last year. We are all confident he is racing in peace.
“It was a great event and an amazing start to the 2021 sand drag season with a lot of tight racing all weekend long. We were thrilled to see a great turnout of regulars and the return of some who’ve been away from the track for a few years.” – Chachy Zavala (SCSDA Race Director)
We caught up with Caleb Mings (SCSDA Marketing/ Digital Media Coordinator) to get his thoughts on the the return of racing. “The first race back in Southern California was bigger and better than we expected especially in these uncertain times.” No doubt all the crews effort and hard work paid off. Mings continued, “It was great to see a huge turnout of racers and spectators including many first timers. Expect more exciting sand drag action from the SCSDA to fill the Hemet Valley with the sites and sounds of racing action soon.”
The Morning kicked off bright and early at 8:00am with the bikes. Some of the coolest 3 and 4 wheeled bikes began to approach the line to prove what they are capable of.
Soon after we had the thrill of running into off-road legend, and 2005 Off-Road Hall of Fame inductee Larry Minor. Minor’s career began in the Glamis Sand Dunes in 1959. I asked him what it feels like to be out here today. “Racing has always been in my blood, I raced the very first Mexican 1000 in 1967, and began driving for Ford in 1968 with the very first Bronco’s. In fact I can’t be more excited for the new Bronco, they are only making 7,000 of them. A 10 speed transmission, an Atlas Transfer Case, lockers front and rear including beadlocks!” As he continued rattling off the specs, we could hear Tim Allen’s signature grunt in our heads ARGH ARGH ARGH! “In fact, I am getting VIN number 20 when they begin rolling off the assembly line.” Minor continued with a huge grin. We mentioned it was nice to see Kevin Williams lining up to compete this weekend, as he came out of retirement just for this event. Minor replied, “Yes! It’s great to get Kevin out here, that old dog!” We were happy to thank Minor for his contributions to the sport, and for the brief chat as he drove off in his decked out golf cart, God Bless him.
As the day went on, some of the bigger vehicles began to enter the starting line. You’ve read all the recaps, and heard the results – so why not enjoy some photos!
The Adamson boys consisting of father Chris, and sons Jeff and Justin also came out swingin’ with their beautiful rigs!
The local law enforcement even came out to catch a glimpse of some raw horsepower, but seemed a bit preoccupied. Ha!
One rig that grabbed our attention was this beaut! We were not able to track down the owner to get some insight on it, but it surely stood out in a crowd of incredible vehicles.
“The support for this race was greater than we could have anticipated! I want to thank all of the staff, volunteers, and sponsors for making our first race back after a year’s hiatus a truly memorable one. We can’t wait to see everyone back September 24th-26th” – Mike Gazzeny (SCSDA CEO)
Saturday’s day of racing was surely a day to remember. It was amazing to see the racers, families, spectators, and everyone else involved having a great time. Just like old times. When sadly the “Old Times” were only a year ago. As our nation begins to move forward, more events will continue to happen!
A special thanks to the crew of SCSDA, and World Sand Drag News for inviting us to join as their special guests. Like many events, the hard work of the crew that puts these events on goes unoticed. Thank you for making us feel so welcome.
For more info on SCSDA visit: http://www.socalsanddrags.com/index.php
And to stay in touch with the most up to date news visit: World San Drags News
