Karts hit the track

Rattlesnake Raceway welcomed Memorial Day weekend and summer break, Saturday, with a rare three-day weekend race.

The afternoon started with karts and youth events, as well as an evening of other races.

One of the first events of the evening races was plagued with issues. During the mini stock race, several vehicles spun out or went off the track, sometimes narrowly avoiding another vehicle.

The most dramatic incident was when the car of Fallon’s Sienna Burgess flipped into the air, over an adjacent car, before landing on its wheels facing the other way.

Burgess was unharmed, though shaken, and said her biggest concern at the time was whether her car was OK. There were no accidents as a result and only minor damage to Burgess’ car.

“That’s what roll cages are for,” she said. “I’m a little sore; I’m going to be sore tomorrow, for sure.”

The experience did nothing to sway the first-year racer’s desire to race, and she said she would be in an upcoming heat if repairs were completed in time.

The rest of the events went fairly smoothly and no more major accidents occurred.

Jerry Roseland, a board member for the Lahontan Auto Racing Association, said their car count was down for Memorial Day weekend. With the holiday, plus school letting out, many drivers were spending time with their families. Roseland said they don’t normally race on three-day weekends but made an exception.

“One of the reasons we decided to go ahead and do it on a three-day weekend is a lot of people don’t go anywhere,” he said. “So, people who stay in town, it gives them something to go out and do.”

At the time, Roseland expected it to be a quick night. He noted racers could be taking the day off or racing at other tracks.

He added the holiday wouldn’t cause issues in the drivers’ record, since they have to throw away one race of the season.

Roseland said he expected car counts and admission to go up now that schools are out for the summer, but admitted it changes all the time.

This season the Raceway has been undergoing renovations, with the LARA working on various improvements to the track. Roseland, however, said they ran into some delays, due to mechanical issues as well as preparations for Octane Fest.

“We’ve had to divert our attention to our equipment more than our facilities,” he said. “Then Octane Fest really eats up a lot of our time.”

Most of the projects are on standby at the moment, though the board expects to pick them up in the next few weeks.

Results from the races were not available at press time. Be sure to check future issues of the LVN for race results.