MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Arguably the biggest win of Davey Hamilton Jr.’s racing career was his promotion of the inaugural RiskOn 360 Open Wheel Showdown. It was Hamilton’s first attempt at promoting a race of any kind, and he knocked it out of the park.
Run Dec. 1-2 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the event showcased three divisions of open-wheel race cars — winged sprint cars, supermodifieds and midgets — that filled the expansive paddock.
It was a cold December weekend in the desert, so Hamilton and his team wisely adjusted the schedule, limiting the length of time fans had to sit in the grandstands once the sun went down.
The competition was compelling, highlighted by the 100-lap winged sprint car feature that paid $50,000 to Canadian winner Aaron Willison.
What was already a strong field should be even stronger for the second running of the Open Wheel Showdown as many drivers and team owners indicated via text that they are interested in participating in next year’s event.
Hamilton hopes to announce a date and location soon as officials from other race tracks have courted him in hopes of hosting the event. His preference, however, is to keep it in Vegas around the same time of year.
Hamilton is also considering a fourth division. His idea is to possibly add a Ford Focus Midget style category to get younger drivers involved. A different style of modified is also being considered.
Even though the event is called the Open Wheel Showdown, there is interest in a super late model division that could run earlier in the weekend.
Ultimately, Hamilton’s dream of a renewed Copper World Classic was a huge hit, and SPEED SPORT was thrilled to be the broadcast partner for the RiskOn 360 Open Wheel Showdown.
■ The annual Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis was buzzing with energy again this year. The racing industry’s traditional end-of-the-season was packed with insiders, championship-winning drivers and car owners looking to put that one deal together that will secure a successful 2024.
For me, it began by once again hosting the Grand Opening Breakfast with 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan. Kanaan captivated the 3,000 attendees with stories of how he fought to achieve his dream of a professional racing career, as well as making good on a promise to his dying dad to win the Indy 500.
One of his best stories was about his early days as a teenager racing in Italy. He had no money and wasn’t old enough to drive. The team he was driving for would lock him in their race shop at night. Then, the next morning they would bring him breakfast and let him out.
SPEED SPORT stepped up its PRI booth display with a massive video wall, which constantly played highlights of the thousands of hours of content we broadcast during the 2023 racing season on SPEED SPORT1 and SPEEDSPORT.tv.
We also hosted numerous live guest interviews on our stage. Racing dignitaries such as Donny Schatz, Rico Abreu, Bob Sargent, Doug Boles, Kody Swanson, Ryan Newman and many others stopped by for a chat.
■ Congratulations to Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson on being named the recipient of this year’s Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Bob Russo Heritage Award. Snyder-Ellingson, a motorsports philanthropist and NHRA sportsman competitor, is the owner and president of In-N-Out Burger.
She is being honored for her efforts to help preserve the future of drag racing in the United States. She will formally receive her award in March.
■ If you are a regular reader of this column, you know I love books about racing – all kinds of books about all kinds of racing. One that recently landed on my desk is titled simply “Superbike an Illustrated Early History.”
Written by Kevin Cameron with outstanding photography from John Owens, it is without question the definitive book on the early years of Superbike road racing in the United States. It was a highly competitive era of motorcycle road racing that continues today as this country’s premier motorcycle road racing championship.
Cameron is the sport’s No. 1 wordsmith and Owens is the best at capturing images of the beauty, speed and intensity of the bar-to-bar racing. Put them together and this hardcover coffee-table book is one that will be enjoyed over and over.
Future world champions Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Fred Merkel all became stars due to their Superbike success at venues such as Daytona, Pocono and Laguna Seca. Those wins and championships led to factory rides in Europe and made them international stars.
It’s all documented in “Superbikes.” Order your copy at Superbikebook.com.
