Pocono Record Writer
cmagnotta@poconorecord.com
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| Race cars line
up behind the pace car at Pocono International Raceway Sunday.
Kristie Guldner/Pocono Record |
Next month, NASCAR stars will line up behind the pace car at Pocono International Raceway to vie for money and prestige in the Pocono 500. The crowds will roar louder than the engines.
But on Sunday, the track belonged to the members of the Northern New Jersey Region Sports Car Club of America.
No one was in the stands waiting for autographs, and that's just fine with these velocity enthusiasts.
"People get addicted to it, because it's an adrenaline rush," Tom Lynch, assistant regional executive for the club and a former racer, said as he slowed the saffron-colored Volvo station wagon pace car to about 90 miles per hour on a lap for fun between races.
"It takes up so much time. It becomes such a passion," the Wayne, N.J., graphics artist said. "A lot of people get so caught up in it that it becomes a major part of their lives."
But the constant rain and the Mother's Day holiday kept many of the Northern Jersey drivers out of the race, Lynch said.
As the cars whir by sounding like a swarm of bees, water sprays onto the unlucky one behind them.
"Oh, God," said Bill Hughes, when asked about the conditions Sunday for the qualifying race. "All I saw was water."
During that race he saw a strip of color whizz by. That car, another Mazda, spun out in front of him.
But he doesn't let that faze him.
Lap after lap, he focuses on one thing: "How do I pass this guy?"
A Hardwick, N.J., resident who spends most of his days as an electrical engineer for the Army, Hughes hops Dukes-of-Hazard style into the bright green 1984 Mazda RX-7.
He used to tool around on the streets with the car but little by little, he brought the car up to speed. A large number 4 was painted in white on the hood along with the names of his sponsors. The radio, the cup holder and all of the other conveniences have been pulled out. The ignition has been moved to below the dashboard.
He added padded bars to protect him during a wreck and replaced the standard steering wheel with an easily removable one. In an emergency, Hughes would have to push a button and pull out the steering wheel to get out. A fire extinguisher took the spot of the arm rest.
The windshield, still cracked from Hughes' first race several years ago, has a special substance applied to it to try to repel the perpetual raindrops.
Strapped tightly into his seat with a helmet belted to his chin, he can now reach speeds of up to 130 miles an hour on the race track — safe from the watchful eyes of police officers aiming their radar guns in his direction. Driving his suped-up Mazda on the road now would be illegal, Hughes said.
And with his blue and white fire-resistant racing suit, protective leather shoes, and other safety equipment, Hughes said he actually feels safer on the race track than he does on Interstate 80 or any other highway.
But all of the enhancements have put a strain on Hughes' wallet.
"Don't ask for a number. I try not to think about it," he said when asked how much his hobby cost. "I like to not let my wife know."
Hughes and the estimated 60,000 Sports Car Club of America members have to buy safety equipment and a trailer to tug their cars. The cars are uninsurable, so repairs have to come out of their pockets, too. And the cars themselves can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000.
Stroudsburg's Bryan Zukawski eases some of the cost by doing all of the work on his yellow BMW himself.
"That was an added challenge: To do everything myself and do the best I can," the Terra Greens golf course superintendent said.
Some of the other costs are defrayed by the sponsorship he gets from Matthew's Outdoor Advertising.
Zukawski makes ends meet by mowing the greens and fixing golf carts at the Stroudsburg golf course.
Five weekends a year, he puts the pedal to the metal and hugs the curves of a race track.
"I do it for fun."
One of the main things separating Dale Earnhardt and Michael Andretti from the Bill Hughes and Bryan Zukawskis of the world is money. Neither can afford to pursue their passion as a profession.
The stars of the racing world have corporate sponsors all too happy to bankroll the cost of the pit crews and equipment for the privilege of having their name or logo on the steel machines that fly by eager fans and television cameras at nearly 200 miles per hour.
But the amateurs do take a few more risks than the professionals.
The course for the Winston Cup series at Long Pond is a tri-oval, while Zukawski and Hughes face a curvier course. And there were no rain delays for these guys.
"They're wimps. They don't even go out there in the rain," Hughes joked of the professional drivers.
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