Russell created the SCCT during a season of turmoil and discontent among the region‘s 360 teams. A rival travelling series, many believed, shortchanged racers and had troubled relationships with promoters.
Russell‘s ability to see things from the racers‘ and promoters‘ perspective went a long way toward creating a format and payout that satisfied everyone.
“I‘m a hands-on person and I wanted to make things better,” he said. “I‘m the one who steers the ship but there are lots of people behind the scenes that make things work.”
Now in its sixth year, the SCCT “is a good thing going and running strong,” says Russell. “It works for the promoters, the sponsors are happy and we have strong car counts,” which included 51 cars for the opening round of the 16-race series at Placerville.
With its distinctive iron-rich red clay, Placerville Speedway is a classic bullring, created out of what was once a football field. As a result, turns three and four are carved from the side of hill that also runs alongside the backstretch, with the pits on level but higher ground above the racing surface.
Eight-time track champion Andy Forsberg, who is by far Placerville‘s all-time race winner, describes it as “a miniature Bristol, carved into the side of a hill. As soon as you come out of one corner you are into the next one.”
Kyle Larson, who drove his first sprint car race at Placerville when he was 14 years old and won the Hangtown 100 in 2019, believes “there is no other track like it. All the California tracks are bullrings, but this place is smaller. The racing is tight, and you have to be aggressive here.”
Christopher Bell, who has since joined Larson in NASCAR, raced at Placerville early in his career and remembers it as “a cross between Little Rock and Putnamville, with the way it‘s shaped and it‘s unique because of the hill next to the backstretch.”
A veteran of the World of Outlaws and the All Star Circuit of Champions, Paul McMahan grew up in Northern California and drove some of his first races at Placerville.
“It‘s one of the coolest tracks in the country and unique with that hill,” he said. “If you can finesse it, you can actually use the hill to set yourself up for the entry into turn three.”
The track has stock car and mini-truck support classes, but open-wheel sprint cars and midgets are the main attraction at Placerville.
In addition to a 15-race track championship for winged 360s, the schedule includes a couple of annual appearances of the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, the winged 410s of the Northern Auto Racing Club/Fujitsu series, the non-winged Joe Hunt Magneto Series and an occasional race for the BCRA and USAC Western midgets.
But since its inaugural run in 2019, the Hangtown 100 — a title that plays on the town‘s reputation for frontier justice during the Gold Rush — has become Placerville‘s signature event. Russell is quick to credit Matt Wood, owner of Elk Grove Ford and well-known for his love of midgets, for creating the three-day, high-paying event.
“We talked about it for three years,” Russell said. “He called me up one day and thought he could tell me how dumb it was to hold a midget race in the middle of the week.”
After the first race was held midweek, it was moved to a weekend date in 2021.
“I thought this is a perfect race track for midgets and could be a big date on the calendar forever,” said Russell, “but I knew Kami and I couldn‘t do it ourselves.”
Even with Wood as co-promoter, Russell studied the race from every angle before committing to it. It was only after getting assurances from Keith Kunz that engines could easily withstand 100 laps that Russell finally said yes.
Adding to the schedule this year is a four-race series between Placerville and Merced speedways with a special championship fund for the top three overall finishers, another step toward strengthening midget racing in Northern California.
And Labor Day weekend brings the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws to the tiny foothills track for the first time since 2019.
Three-time WoO champion Brad Sweet, who lives just five minutes away, says Placerville is so much different than other California bullrings.
“It‘s unique and a super small race track that keeps everybody close,” he said. “It‘s always smooth and slick and not many tracks in California are like that.”