DON McDERMOTT MORE COLUMNS DON McDERMOTT / PVT The Death Valley Raceway sign off Highway 373 welcomes race fans to the one-third mile motorsports complex in Amargosa Valley. The opener is Feb. 9, starting at 1 p.m. Advertisement

Rick VanBuytene, the director of racing at the new Death Valley Raceway in Amargosa Valley, responded to a series of questions about the track, which is scheduled to open its inaugural season Feb. 9.

Q -- Night races are scheduled this season. When will that part of the project be completed?

A -- Bids are already coming in for the lights and we are planning installation in mid-March for the April starting night races.

Q -- Who will do the scoring?

A -- We have scorers, all with past experience from Pahrump's Speedway. The tower's construction started Friday and will be built right behind the stands. It will have an area large enough for the scorers, announcer and press.

We are negotiating with two announcers at the moment. Both with experience at the Las Vegas racetracks.

Q -- Will there be concession stands?

A -- There is a concessions stand, a beer booth and T-shirts facility located behind the score tower. Concessions will include sodas, water, coffee, hot chocolate, burgers, hot dogs, pop corn, nachos and more.

Q -- Describe the pits and track layout, including access for drivers and spectators.

A -- The layout of the whole facility allows the drivers in the pits to go through a gate to the grandstand, to take advantage of the concessions.

The track itself is a clay surface one-third mile medium banked track. Pahrump Valley Speedway fans familiar with that quarter-mile track will notice a significant difference in the speed with the not only larger track, but wider track as well.

No walls and wider space makes for faster pace racing and less accidents which keeps more racers out on the track racing. The layout of the track itself is the same as Mohave Raceway in Arizona. Like Mohave we have a front stretch wall and catch fence with the rest of the track being out in the open.

Also like Mohave, our drivers will enter in turn four and exit off the center of the back stretch along turn three. An added feature that we have is the hot pit area.

When drivers exit the track along turn three, they can enter the hot pit area without going completely into the pits and re-enter onto the track in turn four.

This area is stretched the width of the track from turn three to turn four against the pit area and allows drivers to do quick tire changes and minor repairs without taking the time to travel through the pit area.

This allows for quicker pit stops and less driving in and throughout the pits making the pit area safer as well. The Hot Pit can be compared to a pit road in NASCAR where a driver will pull in up to his awaiting crew and then later continue back on the track.

Q -- Will there be a separate entrance to the pits? What are the costs for pit passes and admission?

A -- Yes. The fans' parking area is just beyond the pits parking. Pit passes are $25 and prices for the stands are $10 for adults, $6 for seniors, $6 for children 7 thru 14 and children 6 and under will come in free.

Q -- IMCA modifieds are to compete; do you have sanctioning? Will payouts be guaranteed?

A -- Yes; we are IMCA modified-sanctioned and like the modifieds, all divisions have guaranteed payouts that increase per car count. All pre-set amounts have no surprises.

Q -- Who is the flagman and considering how remote the track location is, will emergency medial personnel be present at the track?

A -- Our flagman is Mike Suber of Pahrump. Unlike many tracks, the raceway will have a flagmans assistant as well.

We have a extremly top notch licensed safety crew.

Q -- Will the track have special promotions?

A -- As for special promotions, we will introduce a few special treats throughout the season, first being the Western Region Dwarf Car Nationals in April. Various divisions will race in various events.

Divisions fans can expect to see at Death Valley Raceway, the IMCA modifieds, V-8 sprint cars, super stocks, Dwarf cars, bombers, 250cc and 600cc winged sprints, mini stocks and more.

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As the Death Valley Raceway season approaches, there will be another session with VanBuytene, with the prime questions about which drivers will compete in the opener and what events will a typical night (or day) of competition include.