Oakshade Research Paper

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Melissa Jones Bartelt English 111-020 Where The FASTEST Meet To Race Oakshade raceway is a small 3/8 mile dirt track located just forty-five minutes outside of Toledo. Established in 1977, Oakshade is a family operated race track. The track doesn’t boast fancy facilities, have high-dollar luxury suites, or use big name corporate sponsors. Instead, it does what a race track should; offer top notch side-by-side racing, a well-run program with a dependable reputation, and all for an affordable price for plenty of family fun. Oakshade offers a total of five different classes of race cars. Beginning with the late models, some of the regulations to name a few are; there is an open engine rule, which means anything can apply that’s…show more content…
Near Toledo, there are three major dirt tracks; Attica, Oakshade, and Fremont. With a lot of competition to compete with, Oakshade typically will house anywhere from 30-50 late model drivers in attendance. By far, this is the race track to be at on Saturday night in the area. They attract and will accommodate the big names in the dirt track racing industry. There is a huge following of fans from all over that come to attend the big races. The biggest race that they have is the Birthday Race. It signifies the end of the summer national late model tour, which is like the super bowl compared to football, in dirt track racing. Additionally, it is a $10,000 payout to the winner. Racers will be sure to attend this race because points are still being awarded for the championship. If one would miss this race, it could mean the difference between thousands of dollars in payouts at the end of the season. The stakes are very high at this point in the season. Racers are out for blood and will do whatever it takes to get ahead of all of the cars that are in their way. You might even see “4 car wide” racing as racers will not give up there solid “line” to back out of a straight away or turn. It is also not uncommon to see some heavy pile ups because frequent damages to the cars are…show more content…
Many of the Hendricks’ family members support each and every operation at the track. From the admission gates, to the concession stands, to the payout booth for drivers, the announcers, the track maintenance men, and even the track official; the oldest daughter Chrissy, is out at the track each and every Saturday. Being compassionate about running a race track is something they have all taken pride in. Some nights can be very stressful because some may try to bend the rules and argue decisions that she has made. But being consistent and making it fair for everyone is important and needed to uphold there reputation among the drivers. If Chrissy were to bend the rules for one, she would have to bend the rules for everyone. Knowing that she will uphold the fairness for everyone, alleviates the stresses of playing favorites. Also remaining consistent with their rules and regulations is respectful to the drivers. As a racer, this makes the transition from one class to another a little less complicated. Although wrenching on your cars day in and day out can be tedious and time-consuming, knowing the rules on tire size, cubic inches in the motors, and the weight of your car will remain the same each year, makes all the guidelines understood to the drivers. With that said, racers are able to go out and do what they love most of all, race. Yes, its lots and lots of money to build and maintain a race care, but the heart,

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