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Racing enthusiasts find their
By Wilma Jandoc
thrills at Hawaii Motor Speedway,
where families always win
Star-BulletinRacing stock cars on a quarter-mile dirt oval is a noisy, dirty and sometimes dangerous sport.
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But for the Ilae family of Waianae, it's good family fun.
The Ilaes' playground on most Saturday nights is the Hawaii Motor Speedway. The speedway is part of a complex of racing venues near Campbell Industrial Park.
The "winter" season for stock cars and "open-wheel" cars at the speedway begins today. The speedway was closed for a year and reopened March 4 under the ownership of Paul Giovanetti and Harry "Skip" Silva.
The new owners are promoting their track as a great place for a family outing, adding such features as bike races for kids during car-racing intermissions.
Ronald Ilae Sr.'s family doesn't need new reasons to be at the track. His 8-year-old daughter and five grandchildren are always in the stands when he and his sons race their cars.
"We have our own cheering section," he says.
Ilae's pit crew consists of: his wife, Barbara; eldest son, Jonathan, 30; and a cousin, Peter Rivera.Jonathan Ilae and Rivera are the mechanics for Ronald Ilae's No. 33 modified, which has the body of a '32 Ford, checking tires, air pressure, fuel and a dozen other things before the 15-minute race. His wife cleans the car and takes care of Ilae's safety helmet.
Other family members are a few feet away.
Ilae's second-eldest son, Ronald Jr., takes care of his own car, which is entered in the mini-stock class. Ilae's nephew, Paul Belford, races number 63 against his uncle in the modifieds.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
As the races start at sunset, support crews for the
cars line the fenced oval track; white pants are
worn for safety and visibility reasons.
This particular night, June 10, is championship night for the speedway's Summer Sizzle season. It's also the Ilaes' 28th wedding anniversary. They celebrate, typically, with a night at the races. Track co-owner Giovanetti presents them with leis.Ronald Ilae Sr. got the racing bug in 1971. Just out of the Navy, he went to a stock-car race at the newly opened dirt oval at Hawaii Raceway Park.
"I decided that I'd like to try that," he says.
While the Ilaes had young children in the 70s, he stopped racing for awhile. But they still attended the weekly Saturday races, and his love for the sport grew with the rest of his family. Now, his sons race cars and motorcycle sport quads.
Drivers at the speedway come from all walks of life, says Jeb Onweiler, Hawaii Motor Speedway general manager. "Plumbers, electricians, accountants ... mostly blue collar, but some white collar." Ilae himself is a supervisor for Makaha Valley Towers.
Speed, noise and dirt
"Racing is all about having fun," Onweiler says. "It's a release. Some guys like to go fishing, some like to go racing."But drivers are also competitors. "Hawaii (drivers are) very aggressive,'' says Onweiler, who was raised in Idaho.
Up to 1,000 spectators -- many of them friends and family of the amateur racers -- watch races from wooden grandstands on a given night.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
In the car pits, William Cambra inspects an engine part
as Gilbert Garcia and son Kawika make last-minute
engine adjustments on their super modified car.
About 10 cars roar around the track per race. A typical Saturday night has seven races. Though the dirt track is sprayed with a mixture of soap and water and packed down, dust is everywhere.The fastest cars on the oval go nearly 90 mph. The other thing you notice is the noise. The cars' open-exhaust engines make such a racket that spectators have to shout to converse with the person sitting next to them.
The noise is loudest from the pits, divided from the track by a chain-link fence. Cars skid around 90-foot-wide, semi-banked turns and zoom down 85-foot-wide straightaways, their engines screaming. Ear plugs make the noise bearable. Hard chunks of mud fly up and hit the pit crews, who are watching the races either standing right against the fence, or sitting in grandstands just 10 feet away.
But the noise and dirt don't stifle the family theme. Onweiler emphasizes family, and he says he's strict about drivers' behavior and ending races on time.
Overhauled facilities
Onweiler says he has received many positive comments about changes the new owners made with the raceway. The grandstands, tower and restrooms were rebuilt. The fencing and walls surrounding the dirt oval are new, built during the one-year closure. The oval's turns and straightaways were widened.Onweiler says their biggest hit is the bike races.
"A lot of moms have come up to me and say they really appreciate what we've done," he says.Ronald Ilae says he noticed the difference. "The races are more together, more friendly. We really like it."
The success of these changes is reflected in attendance. Onweiler says about 200 fans came out that first Saturday. Now, the number has swelled to about 1,000.
Although races normally end by 10:30 p.m., the championship race ends after 11:00. In the modifieds, Ilae overcomes a broken fuel pump to win third place overall.
"My son rigged the car however he could. But at least we made it," Ilae says. "You can't win 'em all."
During the recent two-week break in racing, staff members have put a fresh coat of paint on the grandstands and tower. The walls around the track have been painted white with red stripes, making them easier for drivers to see.Ilae has been resting physically, but mentally gearing up for the "Winter Heat" season.
"(I've been) dreaming about what we're going to do to the car to get better," Ilae says. "You're never satisfied, you're always looking for what you can do to go faster, do better."
Hawaii Motor Speedway
Location: Campbell Industrial Park in Kapolei, south of Hawaii Raceway Park. From H-1 westbound, take exit 1. Go south on Kalaeloa Boulevard and turn left on Malakole Street. Follow the signs to the speedway.
