Just a few years ago, the once-famed paved raceway just outside of downtown Clearfield seemed forgotten, neglected and overcome with nature.
For years, whether it was dirt or asphalt, the speedway would have full grandstands and hillsides to witness racing. But for most of the decade, it stayed silent.
However, Saturday night, a two-year process to revive the once mecca of racing in the area saw a new form of racing come to town, and give fans a reason to come back to the pavement.
What was once Central PA Speedway has become the new UMI Motorsports Park, and for the first time in nearly two years, the lights were turned on for a different kind of Saturday night shootout.
UMI hosted the inaugural King of the Mountain Shootout for some of the top autocross drivers in the country, and by the looks of the crowd turnout, they knew they would have success on the asphalt, but had no idea how successful it would be from the spectator side.
UMI owner Ryan Kirkwood held the driver’s meeting before the show, addressing the 32-driver field that came out from as far as California to take on the biggest prize ever offered in autocross.
The winner-take-all $10,000 prize for winning the racing bracket meant they had to make six runs on the unique 5/8ths-mile road course that went from the infield of the speedway, through some tight corners, around penalty cones and onto the actual oval race course.
The Shootout field gave a classic, four-wide salute to start the night. (Photo by Dustin Parks)
Everyone wondered what the moment would be that Kirkwood and the drivers knew this event would be successful. That moment came when the UMI Camaro pace car rolled onto the track, and then all 32 cars came out on the course to do pace laps.
But, as an ode to the years this facility ran on the dirt, the cars lined up four-wide in front of a capacity hillside of fans, plus those that elected to sit on the front stretch.
“When we saw the four-wide coming around, myself and Alicia, who works with us, we had tears in our eyes. It was like for two years, all of our hard work paid off. It was just unbelievable,” Kirkwood said with a smile.
The racing itself was different for everyone in the area, because no longer were there street stocks, pure stocks or late models slinging dirt, nor asphalt stock cars hugging the corners.
Instead, it was powerful Camaros, Chevelles, imports, Mustangs and even the most unique competing car of them all, a shortened Volkswagen bus, taking on a fast track.
As the night wore on, it was clear that anyone driving a Corvette seemed to be having an advantage. Teams also had to deal with keeping heat in their tires all evening to improve grip.
Many came out with aluminum heat shields, similar to what one would use to cover their windshield in the summer to keep heat out of their vehicles, instead were being wrapped around the vehicles with the engine running. This meant the exhaust heat was keeping the tires warm, and ensured the grip would be at a premium.
Kirkwood himself wasn’t sure if fans would take a liking to the new form of racing, but he admitted as the runs progressed, the crowd was picking favorites to win.
“Autocross is a hard sport to watch, but I think we were able to change that. It was so cool to see that hillside full. I don’t think there’s a parking spot left on that hill,” he said. “People didn’t leave. It was amazing to see that.”
The lone delay on the night came when one of those Corvettes came out of the final chicane and slid around the finish line, side-slapping the inside guardrail, and destroying the rear suspension.
But, once the tractor got the wounded moved back to the pits, the brackets continued with times coming down for the early runs, but also staying consistent.
With every driver looking on, the final two cars that came out were on complete opposite ends of the car world. On one side, a high-horsepower sports car that Chevrolet is always proud of.
Although the new generation has a rear-engine setup, the Corvette will forever be a classic that is powerful and handles like a dream.
The opposition, a full-electric, quiet sounding, Tesla that had the crowd confused and some drivers laughing to the point they were joking about if it won, they’d say they weren’t there, even if videos proved otherwise.
Prior to the final race, the timing scoreboard that remained on from the qualifying sessions up to the end of the semi-finals, meaning neither driver would know who had the faster time until both pulled into the pit lane.
Both cars hammered the track with everything they could, and when all was said and done, the times were literally so close, the track crew was stunned.
It was eight one-thousandths of a second, about two inches if this were side-by-side racing, that made the difference.
The inaugural King of the Mountain Shootout went to Jeremy Swenson in his hot red #3 Corvette that took home the biggest prize ever offered in the sport of autocross.
Afterwards, he couldn’t put into words what it meant to be victorious, barely able to speak of the sponsors that allow him to run his Chevrolet, nor his team that helped keep his car running at its peak.
But he was able to speak of his Kumho tires, because Kirkwood asked him if he’d do a victory lap and a burnout. “These tires are pretty sticky, but I’m gonna try,” Swenson replied.
After a victory lap around the speedway with the checkered flag in hand, Swenson downshifted on the front stretch and successfully smoked the tires in a set of donuts and a burnout that left a permanent mark on the track. Afterwards, Kirkwood came over with the check, and the celebration was on.
The success of the overall weekend for UMI Motorsports Park already begged the question of what was upcoming. Kirkwood wouldn’t give details, but made it clear things are just starting.
“We have plans for 2020. It’s going to be hard to top this, but I can tell you we have plans for 2020, so stay tuned,” Kirkwood said.
