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VENTURA RACEWAY: THESE ROOKIES ARE REALLY YOUNG
by Lee Elder
VENTURA, Calif. (March 5, 2008) – Alexis Mann sat in a chair next to her racecar and smiled.
The occasion was a pre-season test session at Ventura Raceway. Her fellow drivers and their crews were joking around and their laughter filled the air. Some played catch with a football.
Practice was over and Alexis’ car had run well. She’s a rookie at Ventura but racing runs deep in the roots of the Mann family tree. Like racers everywhere, Alexis pulled the top part of her fireproof driving suit off to cool down. She was relaxing while Troy Mann, Alexis’ father and crew chief, checked everything over.
Alexis Mann is nine years old.
“My Dad talked me into it,” Alexis said of her decision to go racing. “When he first asked me, I said, ‘No, no, no.’ Then, when he asked again, I said ‘Okay.’ ”
Children as young as five years of age can participate in youth racing divisions at Ventura. There are four age groups and the cars the kids drive are designed with safety in mind.
Ventura Raceway’s roster of drivers probably has the widest age range of any track in the nation. Dwarf car racer Wes Harris is 77 years old, giving Ventura Raceway drivers a 72-year age range.
The area of the pits where Ventura Raceway’s youth divisions work on their cars is segregated from the adults’ cars. The youth division pits are full of life and a good dose of humor.
The cars here are splattered with nicknames such as Iceman, Rippin’ Ricky and Zack Attack. They are racing’s next generation. Troy Mann said Alexis will soon have the nickname Sunshine stickered above her car door. Her smile is infectious.
The number on Alexis Mann’s hot pink racer is 66, the same number used by her grandmother, Sandy Mann, who raced at Ascot Park in the 1960s.
Alexis Mann said she managed to drive her car into a partial broadslide during the practice session, the first sideways ride of her career. “It felt comfortable,” she said. “It felt weird, kind of.”
Alexis is an honor roll student whose favorite subject in school is math. Her hobbies include snow and water skiing. Now she likes to race.
Ventura Raceway’s youth divisions will be part of opening night Saturday, March 8. The spectator gates open at 3 p.m. and the youth classes start racing at 3:30. The adult classes get on the track at 5:30.
More information on Ventura Raceway is available at www.venturaraceway.com.
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