LAS VEGAS — Event promoter Davey Hamilton Jr. will be wearing many hats when the second annual BITNILE.com Open Wheel Showdown kicks off Thursday at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The 27-year-old will wear the hat as promoter, competitor, fan and everything in between. It’s no easy task putting on an event with more than 120 cars at a venue more than 2,300 miles from his Tampa, Fla., home. Logistics alone creates a unique challenge.
What was once a dream for Hamilton is now a full-time job. Hamilton had always dreamed of having a winged pavement sprint car race that paid $50,000 to win and featured the richest purse in all of pavement sprint car racing.
Last year’s race was such a resounding success that he decided he wanted to do this again. He has taken it seriously. He hired an assistant and opened the Open Wheel Showdown office in Tampa.
Besides his involvement in the promotion of the event, he is also a competitor. He finished third last year and he would like nothing better than to keep the 50K this year.
“Last year was one of those ironic perfect deals where I was able to balance everything and be competitive on the track,” explained Hamiton. “This year there is a lot more stress and moving parts. The event continues to grow. This isn’t just a special race or a hobby. This is a job, and a 24-hour job all year long. This has turned into an event you work all year on, making it the biggest pavement sprint car event of the year.
“There’s probably gonna be 115-plus cars in the pit area. We had over 130 entries, but some people fell out of course. This year I’m a little bit ahead of the game,” Hamilton added. “We moved the walls around. It’s gonna be a little different pit area than were used to. It’s learning. I have 150 plus sponsors that I need to make happy. You gotta do what you gotta do there. There are a lot of moving parts. I’m excited about Thursday so I can put on my helmet and focus on driving.”
Hamiton was asked about what needs to happen to make this year’s event bigger than the inaugural event.
“I’m a huge fan of midget racing. I was gonna race one this year. I think our decision to change a class to the open-wheel modifieds is really gonna help us draw some of the local crowd,” Hamilton said. “We have modifieds coming from all over the country, but the locals are familiar with modifieds. Last year we didn’t have a fireworks show. This year we are. We have a better understanding of how the event is gonna go this year.”
Sprint cars headline the show, but supermodifieds are also on the card.
“We’ve got 71 sprint cars entered. But we have the best supermodified field that has been seen across the country, and that includes the Budweiser Classic at Oswego,” Hamilton said proudly. “They just had a race in North Carolina, and they only had 22 cars. We have 28 supers entered. Twenty-six are for sure and on their way here. That is huge. I wasn’t expecting that. Nobody was. That makes it entertaining and next year they will have more opportunities. We’ll try to help them better their purse.”
Hamilton will also be a fan. His father Davey Sr. and grandfather Ken Hamilton will compete in the supermodified division.
“I’m definitely watching the super race. Last year I was getting into my car knowing my dad was leading the race with a handful of laps to go,” Hamilton said. “When they threw the yellow, I got out of my car to see what was going on. Unfortunately, it was my dad wrecking. This year it’s gonna be cool to see my dad and grandpa running identical cars. It’s gonna be great for all of us competing on the same night.”