Posted Mar 1, 2011:
The Spring Thaw at Junction Motor Speedway has been canceled this weekend due to the weather. Looks like they are going to try and try and reschedule the race for June 3 & 4.
Posted Mar 1, 2011:
Three Cruiser Cars were at that the 81 Speedway Car Show Feb 26 & 27. 81 Speedway will be open every Sunday during March for Open Practice from 1:00pm to 5:00pm. The first Cruiser race will be Saturday, April 9th. Cruisers, Hornets, & a Demo Derby will be featured that night.
49A Outlaw Cruiser Gary & Brian Wonders, Newton, KS
102 Stock Cruiser Dustin & Austin Prewitt
63J Stock Cruiser Henry Vaughn & James Armstrong
Posted Feb 12, 2011:
The first Cruiser Race of the 2011 Season will be at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, NE on Friday, March 4th & Saturday, March 5th. The USMTS boys and Open Stock Cars will also be featured for the event.
Posted Feb 12, 2011:
The 81 Speedway car show will be Saturday, Feb 26 & Sunday, Feb 27 at the Towne West Mall in Wichita. I know Gary & Brian Wonders will be there with their 49A Outlaw Cruiser. 81 Speedway says they have 70+ cars lined up to be in the show. Flyer's will be avaliable for the Cruiser Nationals event.
Posted Feb 1, 2011:
My name is Travis Colibert (Chop Jr.) and I am proud to announce that 81 Speedway and myself are organizing the 1st Annual Kansas Cruiser Nationals on Saturday, October 15, 2011. I hope to use this website as a resource for drivers and fans alike to get new and updated information as this event draws closer. I will continue to update this website as we get more sponsors on board, payout updates, and a place to answer any questions people may have regarding the event.
I began racing Cruiser Cars in the summer of 1998. My dad (Porkchop) and his friend, Randy Johnson, began racing that summer. I would fill in occasionally for Randy when he was unable to race. And as I am sure many of you were, once I got the taste of doing it, I wanted to continue to do it. My friend from high school, Frank Carson, and I built our first car that summer. With the help of Pig In, Pig Out BBQ, we built the #75 Cruiser Car. It was a 1975 Chrysler New Yorker. Of course with Pig In, Pig Out on board as a sponsor, we painted their pig logo on the hood of our car. And of course they wanted the car to be painted pink. But all we wanted to do was race. I am sure we wouldn’t have cared if they wanted us to wear pink fire suits, we were ready to get out to the track and go Cruiser Car racing!
During the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Cruiser Car racing was at its peak at 81 Speedway. 100+ cars would often turn out on Thursday nights to race in the Thirsty Thursday Cruiser Car races. A through F Features would often be held. Some of the best times I’ve had racing were during those years. Some of the feature cars I can remember racing against were the Shipman’s and their whole clan of cars, the Yoder boys, the 4AC car, the Stoner clan of cars, and Harold Bennett and Gary Kirk in their big ol Caddy to name just a few. A lot of good friends have come along the way in this many years of racing.
After my dad and I competed several summer racing against each other, in the early 2000’s we teamed up to race together. At this time we got introduced to Outlaw Cruiser racing. There were several local Cruiser teams that built cars and were taking the to places like Wakeeney, Salina, and into Nebraska to Beatrice and Thayer. These tracks were putting on special shows where the rules were loosened up and allowed guys to put some more effort into their motors and suspensions in their cars. The competition was tough and the racing was a blast. These races were drawing in cars from surrounding states for their chance to compete in these special shows.
I continue to race in the Cruiser division today at 81 Speedway. My dad and I are also running our Outlaw Cruiser Car at Junction Motor Speedway in McCool Junction, Nebraska. There are several race teams in the Wichita and Great Bend area that have these cars and travel to Nebraska to race as well. These special Open Cruiser shows at JMS are run 5 to 6 times a year. I organized this event for a few specific reasons. I wanted to create another place that these Outlaw Cruisers could come and compete. What better place to hold another event than 81 Speedway, the founding track of Cruiser Car racing. I also wanted to create an event for the other local “Stock Cruisers” that compete at 81 Speedway and Hutchinson Raceway Park could have a special payout, season ending special event. I also hope to see some of the guys who got their start in the Cruiser class and have since moved to other classes get a car put together over the summer and come out and compete with the rest of us. It is sure to be a fun time.
I will continue to update this website as the event draws closer. Check out the other links on this website to see specific rules for each of the two classes racing in October. If you have any questions at all regarding this event, feel free to call me at 316-765-3318 or email me at kansascruisernationals@cox.net.
Travis
