The Modoc Heritage Foundation, Modoc County Fair Board and racer Donnie Richardson put together an amazing event last weekend, bringing the races back to Cedarville! According to Donnie, the event had been a collaborative effort since about January; between choosing the dates and bringing in the racers, down to actual ticket sales and finding the staff to run the event (announcer, score keeper, driver coordination, and more). The Heritage Foundation hosted the event at the Raceway and took care of things such as; ticket sales, advertising, ensuring the grandstand concessions were ready to go, and that there’s someone running the ticket booth. While Donnie coordinated bringing the racers to town, they came from all over California, Oregon and Nevada to compete.
The Tri-State Pro Stocks allowed the Extreme Summer Race in Cedarville to be included in their series, meaning points from the race were counted for each racer’s overall season scores. There were 14 Pro Stocks and 10 Hobby Stocks present, with the furthest racer (Justin Crockett) traveling from Arroyo Grande, CA, which is about a 9.5-hour drive. Despite there being other local events happening, there was still a turnout of around 500 people! The winners of the Trophy Dashes were Chris Smith from Coalinga, CA (Pro Stock) and Greg McCully from Lakeview, OR (Hobby Stock). The Main Event memorial trophy winners were Antonio Aragon from Reno, NV (Pro Stock) and Greg McCully from Lakeview, OR (Hobby Stock). The making of both the beautiful main event trophies were coordinated by Phil Delrosa, from Desert Rose Casino/A.I.R. Fuels.
The Pro Stock main event trophy was sponsored by Phil Delrosa in memory of his father, Paul Delrosa, who raced the Cedarville track in the 70’s and 80’s, according to Donnie. While the Hobby Stock main event trophy was in memory of Roland Baldwin, who raced in Cedarville and surrounding areas in the early 2000’s. Roland’s daughter, Chelsea Baldwin, helped sponsor the trophy in memory of her dad. Both trophies were incredible contributions, and huge sentiments to the community and family members of both Paul and Roland.
Rusty Stanford and his crew donated a huge amount of time and equipment to help the races happen, and according to Lisa Benner with the Modoc Heritage Foundation, “without Rusty, we wouldn’t be able to do it.” He donated the water truck, grader and hours of time preparing the track over the weeks prior, and during the race, making sure it was ready to go. Pacific Crest Credit Union donated time managing the ticket booth for the night. The Grandstand Concessions were run by the Lake City Volunteer Fire Department, which was actually a fundraiser for them and all purchases made from concessions went to the department! On top of all of this, there were numerous donation checks (some reportedly still coming in the day of the event) from business and community members from Modoc County, and from hours away. Physical and financial donations are what help allow big events like this to happen, and they’re also a part of what makes this community so special!
Saturday night was filled with fast cars and loud cheers, a great summer night and family event to enjoy in Modoc County. According to Lisa with the Heritage Foundation, they are working on bringing the races to town more frequently in the future. There is possibility for fair races again this year, and according to Donnie they are going to be working on bringing another one to two series races to the track next year. It is maintained and beautiful, the logistics (like insurance) are and can be worked out, all that’s left is finding racers and crews to come to town.
The Fair Board and Heritage Foundation are always looking for volunteers to help with these large events, and also community members with interest in being a part of the Foundation or the Fair Board to help plan and make decisions. If you are interested, call the Fair Office or reach out to either Facebook page for more information. Remember, your support helps make these events possible!
