LAS VEGAS — Monty Bergener is a smart racer and businessman. He understands how big the Only Bulls Open Wheel Showdown is in terms of prestige and racing on a big stage.
He also realizes this is the toughest competition he will face all year long competing in winged pavement sprint car racing.
The 34-year-old Saratoga Springs, Utah driver will be one of nearly 50 competitors who will be battling it out in the $50,000-to-win 100-lap winged sprint car event at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway November 4-7. Bergener has competed in all three previous Open Wheel Showdown events.
“The last few years my schedule has been anywhere between four and six races, maybe two or three weekends,” explained Bergener. “It’s usually just Colorado and the Open Wheel Showdown. The Open Wheel Showdown is a race I look forward to.”
The third-generation driver is the last active driver from the Bergener / Wilkerson families. Both sides of his parents have deep roots in the sport, particularly in the Salt Lake City area. His brother Kyle retired a few years ago leaving Monty as the sole member of the family to carry on the family’s racing tradition.
“The love for it is what keeps me involved. It’s always been in my blood,” Bergener explained. “With my family being involved for so long, I just can’t see living without racing in my life.”
Bergener is also one of the final groups of open wheel drivers still competing who once called Rocky Mountain Raceways in West Valley, Utah home.
The track was closed after the 2018 season leaving many without a track close by to compete at. The closest pavement track to Salt Lake City is now more than three hours away in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Despite being displaced, Bergener, along with a few others, continue competing despite the obvious obstacles. Bergener and a handful of fellow Utah drivers annually migrate to the Open Wheel Showdown to compete in the sprint car and super modified events among others.
“Not having Rocky Mountain around does affect us a lot, just because we don’t have that time to go testing, or anything like that,” he said. “If we do go testing its pretty much like setting up for a race weekend because we gotta take everting with us in case anything happens.”
When asked why he thinks so many Salt Lake City racers continue to compete, he answered, “I think it’s because we’re all crazy. All of us kind of grew up around Salt Lake racing together. Our grandparents and parents raced together, now we’re racing together. It’s kind of in our blood to do it. For many of us, the Open Wheel Showdown is now the biggest race for us.”
Bergener uses the Open Wheel Showdown as a chance to unveil what his car will look like the following season, and this year will be no different.
“I always thought it would be cool to debut my following years wrap at the Open Wheel Showdown,” Bergener said. “It’s the biggest race of the year, it draws a lot me media exposer, and a lot of people talk about it. With all the media coverage, it helps my business B Graphics out as well. Leading up to the Open Wheel Showdown is the least busy time of the year so it makes it a little easier to get a new wrap on the car.
“From 2017 on, I’ve always had a black car. This year’s scheme is a little bit different. I thought it would be fun to incorporate the Utah snow. That’s why we decided to go white out with the new scheme. If you look at it closely, it’s actually a pearly sparkly white resembling snow.
“This will be my fourth appearance at the race. The first two years I made the A-main. Last year on the first lap of the B-main I got caught up in a wreck that took out almost half the field, honestly. We were moving forward pretty quickly. I think we would have made the A-main.
“My goal this year is to make the A main, so we don’t have to run the B main,” he noted. “Anything can happen in the B main. One little mistake from you or other competitors can cost you the rest of the night. If we can do that, we should be fine. Everybody is there to win. The intensity will be higher. You’ve got to be competitive and you can’t relax. The minute you relax, you might miss your spot in the A-main.”
Watch The Open Wheel Showdown live on SPEED SPORT 2.
