Cooperative Living June 2022 - 13

COOPERATIVE FOCUS
that no one was injured. NASCAR
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., after seeing a
photo of the speedway in total darkness
on Twitter, tweeted, " That seems like
more than a tripped breaker. " Britt says
the culprit was never found or charged.
THE ROOKIES (SORT OF)
Layne Riggs is 19 years old, but
he's no newbie to stock car racing.
He began kart racing at age four in
Bahama, N.C., and in 2017 at the age of
14, he won his first CARS Tour race at
Dominion Raceway. " At some point, at
age 14, I was one of the youngest late
model racers in the country, " Riggs says.
" Of course, now, you have 11-year-olds
regularly racing late models. "
Formed in the fall of 2014 by owner
Jack McNelly, the CARS Tour was built
out of the remnants of the former Pro
Cup Series and was re-formed into the
dual-division CARS Tour.
Featuring both super late models and
late model stock cars competing on the
same night at the same track, the CARS
Tour is the first series of its kind to host
two premier divisions under the same
banner, at the same track and as part of
the same event.
This year, Dominion Raceway will
hold its CARS Tour race, one of the
track's biggest races of the year, on
Saturday, June 18.
Since racetracks are private property
and not public thoroughfares,
Scan this code for more
on Dominion R●●●●●●●
●ayne Riggs
government-issued driver's licenses are
not required of young drivers. However,
the minimum age for a NASCAR license
is 14, so nobody
under that age
can race on a
NASCARsanctioned
track.
But tracks without
NASCAR
sanctioning can
legally allow kids
younger than 14 to
race, and many do, seemingly without
any age restrictions. In 2014, 9-year-old
Timmy Tyrrell made national news
when he made his first Late Model start
at Shenandoah Speedway in Virginia.
REACHING NIRVANA
Regardless of age, most racers will
tell you that when they are out on the
track, the amount of concentration and
singular focus required to compete at
excessive speeds becomes very Zen-like,
and that in many cases they achieve a form
of nirvana wherein nothing else exists
outside their cockpits.
" You fire up, hit the gas, and
everything else disappears, " says Storm.
" It's liberating. You're no longer thinking
about any bills you might have to pay, any
family issues you might have to deal with,
any problems you may have with your
boss-none of that. Your concentration
and focus is totally on you and your car. "
Riggs agrees. " When you're out
Now imagine you're doing
that at a high speed, and
there are 20 other people
also doing it all around you.
That's racing. "
- Richard Storm
there racing, it's like being in another
dimension, " he says. " You're totally
focused, and your mind
is blank. You become
one with the car. Racing
may not be the most
physically demanding
sport out there, but I
think that mentally, it
takes you to one of the
highest places that any
sport can take you. "
That's not to say there is not some
physical challenge involved.
" If you are in a 150-lap race that lasts
45 minutes to an hour and you are going
110 miles an hour with one inch between
the cars in front and behind you, you
better believe there's a physical side to it, "
says Storm.
" You are using your eyes, your arms,
your legs and your butt, all nonstop for
the entire time. You can lose 6-10 pounds
of body fluid on every drive. If you
want to know what racing is
like, think about what it's like
driving a car - any car -
on an icy road, and the
concentration that's needed
for that. Now imagine you're
doing that at a high speed,
and there are 20 other people
also doing it all around you.
That's racing. " 
For more information about the Dominion
Raceway and Entertainment complex, go to
dominionraceway.com
co-opliving.com
June 2022 ● Cooperative Living ●
11
PHOTO BY JENNIFER ALLEN/SARA SPEED SHOTS
PHOTO COURTESY LAYNE RIGGS/FACEBOOK
http://www.dominionraceway.com http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living June 2022

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