Unity Raceway kicks off ’94 with Pepsi 100 Late Model Sportsmen

UNITY — Life has been quiet in Unity this winter, but that’s all about to change.

The cry of “gentlemen, start your engines” will resound across Unity at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 1, as the Pepsi 100 Late Model Sportsmen Race starts at Unity Raceway.

“We expect a big turnout for that race,” said Donna Whitney who, with her husband Dick, leases the 1/3-mile oval track from Ralph and Nancy Nason. “And we will run all the classes that day, too.

“We’re going to have a best-looking car contest in each class also,” she said. “I have judges who will be on the track and who will look the cars over and pick out the best-looking one in the bunch and present the driver with a trophy.

“The drivers get a little excited about this contest,” Whitney commented. “They want their cars to look good, even if it’s for only the one day.”

Unity Raceway remains unplowed during the winter, so as soon as spring melt permitted, the Whitneys re-entered the track. “We’re down there working all the time, cleaning and painting and scrubbing, like a spring housecleaning,” Whitney chuckled. “Guess it’s a big house. We’ll be ready for opening day.”

The Whitneys run six classes: sportsmen, six-cylinder, limited, sport four, super street, and wildcat. The last is designed for entry-level drivers, young people who don’t know if they’re really interested in racing.

The wildcat division “has gone over tremendously,” Whitney said. “This year, I wonder where we are going to be packing them all. A lot of youngsters turn out for it. I know they’re calling every day for numbers to put on their cars. One or two young women have just signed up. Others might just show up.”

Most Unity drivers “are from central Maine,” she noted. “Last year, we were averaging 120-125 drivers each race day. We have one Sunday race (opening day), and then we go with Saturday night. We end the season on a Sunday, too.”

The track will run Sunday races on May 1, June 5, Aug. 28, and Oct. 1, the last racing date. Sunday races in June and August are tied to ACT-affiliated weekends: a 150-lap ACT on June 5 and the 100-lap ACT Regionals on Aug. 28.

“On (Wednesday) June 22, we have a 100-lap ACT regional race; that’s in conjunction with Oxford Plains and Beech Ridge. On June 25, we have an Oxford 250 qualifier. Whoever wins the race here qualifies for the race at Oxford,” Whitney said.

Various businesses sponsor races at Unity. For example, Dutch Chevrolet on Route 3 in Belfast will sponsor regular racing on Saturday, Aug. 20, and Unity Insurance will sponsor a 50-lap limited race on Saturday, July 9. Pepsi-Cola will sponsor the regular racing on Saturday, July 2, the same evening that the track will hold its annual fireworks display.

Racing fans are already planning what dates they can come to Unity. Bigger races usually attract larger crowds, Whitney said, but she and her husband do not really know how many people will turn out for a particular race.

“Business has been beautiful,” she said. “We have six classes of racers, and that helps. If you give the people what they want to see, they’re there.

“We try to promote it as a family track. We do things for the children. We have a Junior Fan Club run by Barbara Doyan,” Whitney noted. “She has things for the children to do. She keeps them entertained.

“Every week, one child is chosen as the Trophy Girl or Boy and goes out on the track after each race and presents the trophy to the winning driver,” she said. “This helps get the youngsters interested in racing. They see that it can be fun.”

Unity promotes other activities for children like a BMX bicycle race before the start times on Saturday, May 28, and Saturday, July 30, plus a Big Wheel Race for the truly young set on Saturday, June 11. Making the track and sport interesting to children also attracts their parents, Whitney said, “because a lot of people want to be able to bring their families here. We urge them to do so.

“We have a good crowd. We have two concession stands, one underneath the grandstand and one outside the grandstand, plus one in the pit. You won’t go hungry here,” she said.

Speaking of concessions, the Whitneys decided to mollify their neighbors this season by eliminating potential complaints about engine noise. “We went with mufflers this year,” Donna Whitney said. “Every car that races must have a muffler on it.

“Using a muffler won’t reduce the performance (of a car) any. We’ve had one or two complaints about noise (in the past), so we decided to do something about it. You have to keep the townspeople happy.”