LOVE OF DIRT
FOR THE ... Trenton business working to make indoor auto racing a city tradition >>
TRENTON » A capital citybased business with a legacy already set in stone hopes its hometown becomes nationally known for more than just pork roll and violent crime.
The Sammons family, which has owned and published a weekly auto racing newspaper for 55 years, plans to make Trenton synonymous with indoor dirt racing.
“If you want to race on dirt in December, this is the only spot anywhere on the East Coast,” said Danny Sammons, production manager for the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals, which will be held at CURE Insurance Arena this weekend.
Over the course of three days, 120 drivers from throughout the East Coast will compete on a dirt track made of special clay found in Hightstown. Using Wingless Micro Sprint cars, racers can complete a lap in under 10 seconds on the Sammons’ specially designed track, equipped with banking to allow drivers to pass.
“It’s an art to put together a race track outside, no less to do it inside,” said Len Sammons, promoter of the event and publisher of the Area Auto Racing News, which has been in circulation since 1963 with an office on South Broad Street.
When the family first hosted this event last year, “people said we couldn’t run a race inside on dirt,” Len recalled. “They brought goggles because they thought it would be dusty. But later they were like, ‘Wow, this is amazing: no dust.’ And the driving was really good.”
The family searched for clay throughout the Tristate area until they found the magic piece to their puzzle.
“We took six or seven months sampling different clays,” said Davey Sammons, operations manager of racing events. “We were lucky to find a clay right here in New Jersey. We brought in 56 dump truck loads of this clay last year, and we only found two pieces of iron ore in it. There was no other contamination: no sand, no stones, no rocks. And that’s what made it successful.”
After last year’s success, interest increased and the family changed the event’s name to “make it known that it was a broader event,” Danny said. “These aren’t just local guys from the area. These drivers are coming from quite a distance away, and they’re very good at what they do.”
In addition to a few locals, drivers from New England, New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are scheduled to participate in the three-day event. The 24 top-finishing drivers will take home cash, with the grand prize being $5,000.
Since 2003, the family has hosted numerous indoor racing events throughout the northeast each year. But when talking to them, one might sense that this indoor dirt race in Trenton is their favorite event.
“This is one of only three indoor races run on dirt in the entire country,” Danny said. “To see cars going this fast on dirt in such a confined space is an entertaining event. It’s fast, family fun, and we want to grow this into an event where drivers from Florida or even the Midwest will come. It’s a unique event with a lot of challenges, but we’re fortunate to be able to do it in our hometown of Trenton.”
The East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals will be held at CURE Insurance Arena December 13-15.
Go to www. Trentonian.com to see video of The Trentonian’s interview with the Sammons family and highlights of last year’s race.