JOSH CHASE / SPECIAL TO THE PVT Winged sprint cars, above, and IMCA modifieds, below, were among several classes of race cars that competed Saturday afternoon at the new Death Valley Raceway in Amargosa Valley. The next event is Feb. 23. Advertisement

Saturday afternoon, the newly built Death Valley Raceway in Amargosa Valley dropped the green flag for its first official race.

The track, owned and operated by the Pike family of Pahrump, delivered to the packed grandstands racing action they hadn't seen in years.

Garnering the IMCA sanction, 25 modifieds were present for the season-opener, as well as Paul Vetter from IMCA. Twenty-five ground-pounding, heart-thumping, adrenaline-flowing, alcohol burning mods ... the largest field of modifieds I have ever seen.

Heat races started at 1 p.m. There were many classes of cars scheduled to run. In addition to the IMCA mods, super stocks, mini stocks, classic coupes, 360 winged sprints, micro sprints, modified minis and Dwarf cars filled the pits and put on one sensational show for the crowd.

The announcer (I didn't catch his name) kept the crowd informed and involved during each race. He referred to Death Valley Raceway -- The Track your Momma Warned you About" -- as a diamond in the desert.

I have to agree. I can see this track in a short period of time becoming a huge attraction on the west coast, therefore, putting Amargosa Valley on the map.

The Pike family -- Jim, Phyllis, Jason and Tanya -- have operated successful businesses in Pahrump for years.

From the stories I have heard, the love of racing started with Jim, a Pahrump racing legend in his own right. To this day he is remembered going neck to neck at the Pahrump Valley Speedway with Sam Stringer, another legend.

The limb didn't fall to far from the tree with Jason. "Racin Jason" and his 23 car were a household name when I moved to Pahrump eight years ago.

My husband Tom and I couldn't wait to watch him run; our good friends Jim and Barb couldn't say enough great things about this young man, even thought he might get a NASCAR ride -- he was that good. I know for a fact he has won several track championships and probably hundreds of races.

Eating, drinking and living the race circuit took this family to California, Arizona, Nevada and as far away as Boone, Iowa.

I am sure each track visited helped them visualize what they wanted Death Valley Raceway to be -- a diamond in the desert.

Add to that vision: years of business experience within the family and other folks involved, and you have a win-win race track and an exciting prosperous business venture.

Seeing Jason walking around the track, I stopped him briefly to introduce Josh Chase, the young man who would be covering the track for the paper.

He shook my hand and thanked me for "coming all the way out here."

All I have to say is "No, Jason, thank you and yours" for providing Nye County with a great race track, professionally run, with fantastic racing action. It's been a long time coming.

Their next race is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 1 p.m. For information on the track, visit their Web site at www.deathvalleyraceway.homestead.com or call Rick VanBuytene at 775-209-5291.