Young quarter-midget racers return to Rio Linda track

Kendra McKee, a 5-year-old from Woodland, sat behind the wheel of her quarter-midget race car Sunday, ready for the main event at the Roy Hayer Memorial Speedway in Rio Linda.

Generations of girls and boys, ages 5 to 15, have competed at the dirt oval since the 1950s. NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon, a Vallejo native, got his start there as a young child.

The speedway was slated to close last October after the county acquired it and said it didn't fit with its native-habitat plans for the Dry Creek Parkway.

But Sacramento County supervisors granted it a last-minute reprieve, renewing the track's lease for a year while county planners negotiate with Rio Linda parks officials to take it over.

On Saturday and Sunday, after taking a break for the rainy season, racers and their families were able to enjoy their first days at the speedway in months without facing the threat of closure.

"This racetrack is part of our history," said Doug Wilson, 47, vice president of the Capitol Quarter Midget Association. "We're so grateful to the supervisors for their decision."

Sunday's races started at 9 a.m. and went all day, with the final contests for each group, divided by age, starting after lunch.

The first up were the youngest racers – 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds learning the ropes and driving cars with speeds of 10 to 15 mph.

Kendra's car was pink, with white flames painted on its hood and an image of Tweety Bird on its side. She wore a black-and-white fireproof suit and gloves. A silver helmet framed her auburn locks and green eyes.

The other racers were lined up around her, waiting for the national anthem and the starter's flag.

Kendra's mother, Michele McKee, 30, who herself had raced midget cars as a child, squatted next to her daughter's car and whispered a quick pep talk.

"Go fast; turn left," she told her daughter.

Then she gave Kendra's car a running push start, and the kindergartner was on her own for 20 counterclockwise laps. Her mother and grandparents called out encouragement from the sidelines.

"Don't be afraid to pass," her mother shouted.

The cars, called quarter midgets, are kid-size versions of adult race cars. Powered by engines from electrical generators, they can travel at speeds of up to 40 mph on a quarter-mile track.

The young drivers are protected by five-point restraint systems, safety cages and roll bars, as well as fire-proof clothing and helmets.

Adults supervise the races and quickly intervene if there's an accident. The cars are small enough that they can be hauled out of the way by hand.

Roy Hayer, a local rancher, established the dirt track in a field next to tree-lined Dry Creek in 1954. It sits at the end of G Street near the Rio Linda Airport.

Families arrive on race day in RVs or pickups towing trailers, and arrange barbecue grills and chairs on the grass.

As a child, Ken Loveless Jr., 35, raced at the Hayer track against Jeff Gordon.

Loveless' sons – Kyle, 8, and Andrew, 6 – are fourth-generation racers. Both started at age 5.

Loveless said quarter-midget racing, with its safety precautions and slow pace for beginners, is just like Little League baseball, soccer or other youth sports.

Parents worry, especially at first, and children can get hurt and cry. But the sport is a family activity that teaches valuable lessons, he said.

"Sometimes there are tears," he said. "It's part of building character. You have to get back on the horse."

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