Coloradans return to some normalcy as IMCA racing gets 2021 rocking at the raceway
Michael Cost – CALHAN, Colo. (May 8, 2021) — With some sense of normalcy returning to most of America, dirt-track racing walks a fine line between the cutting edge, and the traditional. Auto racing is part of America’s pastime, and yet gathering in crowds to enjoy an event as a community is seen as risqué in some states still. The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) in Colorado is ready to get back to America’s roots and sling some dirt in the air behind their racecars, and this was on display in Calhan, Colorado, this past weekend at El Paso County Raceway.
Under a brisk Eastern Colorado sky, IMCA races kicked off just after 5PM, and although some rain did fall, the crowd mostly stayed in the stands to watch the action. It is still very early in the 2021 season, so the drivers were out there for points and to put on a show for the dedicated race fans which made their way to the track on Saturday evening. Not only were the typical IMCA classes there, but there was also vintage classes of racecars out there, bringing a feeling of time travel back to a traditional time as these vintage racers went around the track.
Colorado Vintage Oval Racers (CVOR) club were out at the track for the fans to enjoy, and the teams which made up each vehicle were excited to be out there as well; they seemed to revel in the history of owning and driving one of these vintage racers. Donny McAmis and his family came about an opportunity to purchase a vintage racecar when the Land family, an old Colorado dirt-track-veteran-family, sold Bob Land’s old 1932 Ford model racecar to the McAmis family after Bob passed-away. Three generations of McAmis’s were out there at the track as a team to display the vintage car and whip it around the track a few more times.
“Some people enjoy golfing, some people enjoy cycling, our family has already enjoyed the
racetrack,” said Donny McAmis as he smiled at his son Dan. Behind them in the race trailer were Donny’s wife Debby and his granddaughter Emma, both of whom are heavily involved in this vintage race team. Debby McAmis will be driving the upcoming asphalt courses, and she said she is “crazy excited” to get out there and drive. Emma McAmis set up and runs their team social media pages, and she handles the GoPro video footage they get from their car going around the track. Dan McAmis, whom is Donny’s son and Emma’s father, drives the original 1932 Ford racecar for the team. “It’s all about family and community,” said Donny with a nostalgic look in his eye. It was clear this family was happy to be at the racetrack, and happy to seem some sense of normalcy. CVOR has 11 scheduled events throughout the 2021 season around Colorado racetracks, so be sure to try to catch the historical aspect of these racecars if possible.
