Friends Rally And Make Certain Spanaway Gets Back On Track -- Drivers, Sponsors, Fans Help Owners After Fire

Dick Boness couldn't have been more startled if Dale Earnhardt had shown up at the back gate.

Instead of Earnhardt, or some other racing legend, it was all the race-car drivers, car owners, sponsors and fans who showed up at Spanaway Speedway that "shocked me to death," said Boness who, with his wife, Wanda, are in their 35th - and final - year of operating the quarter-mile racing fixture south of Tacoma.

While embers from the fire that destroyed the First Turn restaurant/concession area and a section of the grandstand at Spanaway still were smoldering last Sunday, supporters of the track began showing up, prepared to do whatever they could to put things in order so the three-nights-a-week racing schedule could be maintained.

"Just people," Boness said in describing the group that grew to about 500 people by Monday.

"In 48 hours we had things cleaned up, the grandstand section was replaced and a power source restored," Boness said. "Sure, we raced Wednesday night. Had a pretty good crowd, too."

And there will be racing as usual tonight and tomorrow night at Spanaway, which has provided Dick, 61, and Wanda, 63, a livelihood since they built the track in the Tacoma suburb 34 years ago. The track's longevity is considered unusual because so many other motor-racing facilities have met developmental and environmental fates.

Spanaway, said Dick Boness, has survived in large part because of the support it has received from the Spanaway Chamber of Commerce. An estimated $9 million in economic benefits is derived from the track's 80-race season, involving 400 cars.

Last weekend's fire caused more than $200,000 in damage to the building, Boness said. The total figure will depend on the cost of replacing the restaurant equipment destroyed in the blaze.

Fire department officials have said it was arson. A $7,500 reward has been posted.

When this season ends in October, Dick and Wanda have agreed to sell the track to a group headed by Marty Dinsmore of Tacoma. Boness said it remains to be negotiated how the loss of the restaurant will be factored into the sale price. The loss wasn't covered by insurance.

BUTLER AT SONOMA

-- The last time Tobey Butler appeared in a televised auto race - in the Copper Classic earlier this year - he stole the show by almost winning the stock-car portion of the motor-racing smorgasbord at Phoenix.

Butler, of Kirkland, hopes to do the same - steal the show - and win, too, when he competes in the NASCAR Southwest Tour road race at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The 200-kilometer event is a prelude to Sunday's 300-kilometer Winston Cup race over the same circuit.

As usual when NASCAR's big guns race on the West Coast, Winston West drivers will be included in the field for what will amount to a race within a race. Mike Chase of Bakersfield, winner of the both Winston West races this season (at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe and at Bakersfield) will lead the West Coast contingent.

ENGLISH NOTCHES VICTORY

-- After 20 attempts, Monte English of Port Angeles scored his first NASCAR Northwest Tour victory when he won at East Wenatchee last Saturday.

The triumph helped him increase his points lead over Tobey Butler of Kirkland in the race for the season championship. The next event is a 125-lap race at Portland June 15. ------------------------------

EVENTS AREA -- Weekly shows - Evergreen Speedway, Monroe; Spanaway Speedway; Skagit Speedway, Alger; South Sound Speedway, Tenino. -- Special event - International Conference of Sports Car Clubs road race, Seattle International Raceway, Kent, qualifying tomorrow, six 30-minute races Sunday, noon to 4:30 p.m. MAJOR CIRCUITS Sunday -- NASCAR Winston Cup - 300-kilometer road race, Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, Calif., noon (ESPN). -- NHRA drag racing - Springnationals, Columbus, Ohio (no TV)