Area Tracks Rumble With The Excitement Of Auto Racing

One after another, the muscled-up Mustangs, souped-up Corvettes and stripped-down Camaros wheel into position at Seattle International Raceway. The deafening scream of their burning tires leaves a cloud of acrid smoke and a patch of hot rubber. And all the while, the unmuffled engines roar nonstop in an ear-warping monologue.

In the steep bleacher seats at the popular raceway southeast of Kent, 6-year-old Bailey Kobuke of Edmonds holds her small hands over her ears. "Too loud!" she hollers to her dad. But she can't keep her eyes off the cars as they blast down the quarter-mile track at speeds sometimes topping 135 mph.

Her 12-year-old cousin, Michael Aikens, visiting from Nova Scotia, has no interest in plugging his ears.

"It's cool!" he yells over the din. "I like the noise they make. I'm betting on the red car, but I hope the white one wins."

Contrary to some notions, auto racing is not just a sport for guys with muscle shirts and grease under their fingernails. The thousands of people who pour into SIR and many other tracks around Western Washington every weekend come from all walks of life, all ages, all sizes.

Some enjoy studying the hot rods and stock cars like a science, comparing engine sizes and debating exhaust systems. Others admire the workmanship of restored classics and the engineering of new models. Still others, like Kobuke and her cousin, just get a kick out of watching cars go really, really fast.

Whatever the motivation, they're helping to make auto racing the fastest- growing spectator sport in the country.

"It really is a family sport," said Mickey Beadle, president of Evergreen Speedway in Monroe. "At first it's just the novelty of the sport, the colors and the sights and the sounds. Then you start getting into the cars and the drivers. Fans start to follow them. Just like any sport, you have your heroes. It's entertainment."

Nationally, auto racing has been taking off, especially in the Southeast. Attendance at NASCAR races has climbed 60 percent since 1990. By comparison, NBA basketball crowds have grown only 12 percent.Cable-television ratings are also up (40 percent since 1993), and retail sales of NASCAR paraphernalia - T-shirts, hats, toy cars, for example - have skyrocketed.

"It's a fun, clean sport," said Zeta Smith, publisher of NASCAR Racing for Teens Magazine, which has 15,000 subscribers, 38 percent of them girls. "It offers a different dimension than your stick-and-ball sports."

Evergreen Speedway records about 3,000 spectators on an average weekend evening and as many as 15,000 for national NASCAR events. At SIR, an average Friday night drag race may attract only a few hundred fans, but three-day national championship races this summer drew 80,000 people.

And no matter what type of racing people want to watch, there's a track to host it.

Evergreen Speedway features oval-track stock-car racing, figure-eight racing with plenty of bumps and crashes, drag races occasionally and the sporadic demolition derby.

SIR is famous for its drag racing, but car clubs hold European-style road races some weekends and motocross racers compete there.

Dirt-track fans go to Skagit Speedway north of Burlington. In Rochester, Thurston County, the South Sound Speedway hosts NASCAR racing on a sloped oval course. There are also tracks in Spanaway, Bremerton and Elma.

Sometimes a fan's choice of racing depends largely on tradition. Other times, some parents admit, there are ulterior, if harmless, motives.

At SIR, Bailey Kobuke's dad, Alan Kobuke, a computer engineer, said he used to drag-race in high school and wanted to introduce Bailey and her 4-year-old sister, Katelin, to the sport at an early age.

"I figure if I can get them out here a couple more times, they'll get used to it," he said. "If I can get my little girls into it, maybe I can get back into racing."

TIPS Pack a picnic: Most race tracks have concessions, but prices can be steep. At SIR, for example, a minuscule hot dog costs $2, burgers are $3.50 and a regular-size soda is $2. And bring ear plugs for everyone.

WHERE TO GO Seattle International Raceway: MOPAR American car show and drags 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. $12 adults, $5 kids. Nostalgia National pre-1972 car show and drags 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Adult admission $15, kids $5. 31001 144th Ave. S.E., Kent. Take I-5 to Exit 142A, follow Highway 18 east to 304th Street exit, then follow signs to the track. (253-631-1550)

Evergreen Speedway: NASCAR racing, full-contact figure-eight races and other events tonight. Demolition derby and fireworks show tomorrow. Amateur stock-car races Monday. Gates open at 4 p.m. Races 5 to 10 p.m. Adults $11, teens/seniors $7, kids $3.50. Evergreen State Fairgrounds, at junction of Highways 2 and 522, Monroe. (360-794-5917)

Bremerton Raceway: Stock-car racing today and tomorrow. Gates open at 7 a.m., time trials at 9, racing at 1 p.m. Behind Bremerton Airport. From Highway 16 take the Tremont exit, turn left on Old Clifton Road to Sunnyslope Road, then right again on Old Clifton Road to speedway. $8 for adults, $6 for teens and seniors, kids under 12 free. (360-674-2280)

Spanaway Speedway: Stock cars, vintage cars and "outlaw compacts" race tonight. Demolition derby and fireworks show tomorrow. Figure-eights and drag races Wednesday nights. Street-stock cars race Friday nights. Admission varies by event, $4 to $13. Family discounts. From I-5, follow Highway 512 east to Parkland-Spanaway exit, turn right onto Pacific Highway, turn left on 159th Street, go two miles to 22nd Avenue. 6413 22nd Ave. E., Spanaway. (253-537-7551)

South Sound Speedway: Stock cars and small pickups race tonight and tomorrow. Gates open at 5 p.m., racing at 7 p.m. Adult admission $10, teens/seniors $7, kids $3, under 5 free. I-5 to Exit 88, go east two miles. 3730 183rd Ave. S.W., near Rochester. (360-273-6420)

Skagit Speedway: Dirt-track sprint-car racing tonight. Time trials at 6:30 p.m., races at 7:30 p.m. Adults $10, kids/seniors $7, under 7 free. From I-5, take Exit 232 at Burlington, turn right, then turn left on Old Highway 99 and go 8 miles. 476 Old Highway 99, Burlington. (360-724-3567)