34racrs_wife
07-25-2007, 09:12 AM
From The Bureau County Republican:
One of the unsung heroes of Bureau County Speedway is Jason “Vegas” Anderson of Princeton.
Anderson has been a competitor at the track for 18 years, starting when he was only 16 years old. In those days, his brother Brad and his father Rich were both racing in the Bomber division. They talked Jason into trying his hand at it so the whole family could race together. All three raced for a few years until Brad moved away. Rich retired from driving several years ago and now helps on Jason’s pit crew. Archie Burden is the other crew member.
Jason’s most thrilling moment was winning the 1996 Season Championship in the Pure Stock division. The points battle was a close one, that year, between Anderson and Steve Wetsel. Although Jason had won five or six features, Wetsel was close behind in points. Wetsel didn’t have feature wins, but he won several heat races which kept him right in the thick of the point battle. Anderson ended up winning the championship with just a two-point lead.
Jason also spent a couple of years running in the Bomber and Street Stock divisions. His scariest moment came while he was racing in the Street Stock class. He was running his father’s ‘72 Camaro while Rich was in the hospital having his spine fused following cancer treatments.
“The chassis company, M & M Racing, had been helping Dad get his car set up, and it was working really well, so I decided to drive it.” Anderson recalled. “We had been racing against Ray Carrington who had a big Ford Motor in his car, and we were doing very well. I can remember seeing the Carrington twins standing by the track gate in the grandstand rooting for their dad. They were just little kids then. Now, they race in the same class I am running in.”
Jason had his first rollover that night, completely totaling the Camaro in the process. Ironically, two laps later Kookie Wetsel rolled his car, which was also the first time he had ever rolled a car.
Anderson spent four or five years running a Sportsman, until that class was eliminated. That was when he decided to make his move up to the Modified division. He now runs a Jet Chassis which came from Nebraska. He said that the Modified is a lot easier to work on than the old full-bodied cars were.
Jason is a loyal competitor at the track, rarely missing a night of racing. Although he hasn’t had any wins this year, consistently being at the track pays off. He came out of Friday’s nights races in seventh place in the overall point standings. He plans to run a couple of more years. He still has fun racing but said it was more fun when the grandstands were full of people. He wishes there were more fans in the stands to watch the races, but realizes the economy hurts the fans attendance too.
He said, “The cost of racing can be frustrating,” Anderson said. “The economics of buying parts, tires and fuel play such a huge part in the week-to-week expenses.”
Those costs can be staggering for a local small-town racing team without sponsors. His Modified runs Methanol fuel which is basically a wood alcohol. It costs about $4 a gallon, and burns twice as fast as regular racing gasoline. In addition to the fuel, an additive called cylinder lube has to be mixed in to keep the motor from burning up. On a night like last Friday, with double Modified features and a heat race, he will expect to burn almost 30 gallons of fuel. Racing tires run around $110 and they may last about three-to-four nights, if you are lucky enough not to be involved in an accident and flatten one. Jason rotates his tires weekly which helps to economize on the tire bills.
Jason’s nickname is Vegas. He picked up that handle when he was in high school, but it certainly wasn’t because of his gambling expertise.
Jason isn’t a gambler by nature and doesn’t even buy 50/50 tickets at the track.
His biggest gamble each week is that he will have a good enough finish to help pay the weekly racing expenses.
If the expenses are too high, he knows he might have to sit out a week to be able to run the following week.
One of the unsung heroes of Bureau County Speedway is Jason “Vegas” Anderson of Princeton.
Anderson has been a competitor at the track for 18 years, starting when he was only 16 years old. In those days, his brother Brad and his father Rich were both racing in the Bomber division. They talked Jason into trying his hand at it so the whole family could race together. All three raced for a few years until Brad moved away. Rich retired from driving several years ago and now helps on Jason’s pit crew. Archie Burden is the other crew member.
Jason’s most thrilling moment was winning the 1996 Season Championship in the Pure Stock division. The points battle was a close one, that year, between Anderson and Steve Wetsel. Although Jason had won five or six features, Wetsel was close behind in points. Wetsel didn’t have feature wins, but he won several heat races which kept him right in the thick of the point battle. Anderson ended up winning the championship with just a two-point lead.
Jason also spent a couple of years running in the Bomber and Street Stock divisions. His scariest moment came while he was racing in the Street Stock class. He was running his father’s ‘72 Camaro while Rich was in the hospital having his spine fused following cancer treatments.
“The chassis company, M & M Racing, had been helping Dad get his car set up, and it was working really well, so I decided to drive it.” Anderson recalled. “We had been racing against Ray Carrington who had a big Ford Motor in his car, and we were doing very well. I can remember seeing the Carrington twins standing by the track gate in the grandstand rooting for their dad. They were just little kids then. Now, they race in the same class I am running in.”
Jason had his first rollover that night, completely totaling the Camaro in the process. Ironically, two laps later Kookie Wetsel rolled his car, which was also the first time he had ever rolled a car.
Anderson spent four or five years running a Sportsman, until that class was eliminated. That was when he decided to make his move up to the Modified division. He now runs a Jet Chassis which came from Nebraska. He said that the Modified is a lot easier to work on than the old full-bodied cars were.
Jason is a loyal competitor at the track, rarely missing a night of racing. Although he hasn’t had any wins this year, consistently being at the track pays off. He came out of Friday’s nights races in seventh place in the overall point standings. He plans to run a couple of more years. He still has fun racing but said it was more fun when the grandstands were full of people. He wishes there were more fans in the stands to watch the races, but realizes the economy hurts the fans attendance too.
He said, “The cost of racing can be frustrating,” Anderson said. “The economics of buying parts, tires and fuel play such a huge part in the week-to-week expenses.”
Those costs can be staggering for a local small-town racing team without sponsors. His Modified runs Methanol fuel which is basically a wood alcohol. It costs about $4 a gallon, and burns twice as fast as regular racing gasoline. In addition to the fuel, an additive called cylinder lube has to be mixed in to keep the motor from burning up. On a night like last Friday, with double Modified features and a heat race, he will expect to burn almost 30 gallons of fuel. Racing tires run around $110 and they may last about three-to-four nights, if you are lucky enough not to be involved in an accident and flatten one. Jason rotates his tires weekly which helps to economize on the tire bills.
Jason’s nickname is Vegas. He picked up that handle when he was in high school, but it certainly wasn’t because of his gambling expertise.
Jason isn’t a gambler by nature and doesn’t even buy 50/50 tickets at the track.
His biggest gamble each week is that he will have a good enough finish to help pay the weekly racing expenses.
If the expenses are too high, he knows he might have to sit out a week to be able to run the following week.