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ONE LAST RACE AT PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY
FOR TOBEY SAMPSON!
By Scott
Daloisio
(Perris, CA, June 25, 2019)
When the Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars hit
the track at Perris Auto Speedway this
Saturday night, June 29th, all the usual
stars will be on hand including six-time
champion Damion Gardner, Brody Roa, Jake
Swanson, Austin Williams and R.J. Johnson.
However, much of the spotlight will be on
Senior Sprint Car driver Tobey Sampson who
will start his last race at The PAS before
moving back to his native Moore, Oklahoma
on Sunday.
Sampson’s
twisted journey to Southern California
began in February 1995 when he left
Oklahoma and moved to Indiana to further
his racing career. Nearly two years later
he followed that up by heading west to
Southern California. It ended up being a
change that would see the
second-generation racer stay in So Cal for
almost 23 years.
“The main
thing I came to California for was to
build sprint cars,” the now longtime
Torrance resident said to Michele Spencer
and Dave Stall on last Sunday’s “Racer
Radio Show.” “I left Indiana after two
years and came out here to work for Clark
Drake. I got to chase my dream of building
cars. I have lived here in Torrance at
Rickie Gaunt’s old house for 20 years and
have been fixing sprint cars here in the
garage. It has been good.”
Sampson
started his own company, Okie Racecars,
building racecars after his move to So
Cal. However, he may have become more
famous for fixing cars as he mentioned
above. He became known as the go-to guy to
straighten bent sprint car and midget
chassis’ for drivers from one end of
California to the other. The best part of
all was the price the man known
affectionately as the “Smokin’ Okie”
charged. It was usually as he says, “beer
money.” A small handful of dollars and a
six-pack of his favorite barley beverage.
Good news for drivers in Oklahoma is the
fact he plans on doing the same when he
gets back home.
“All my
buddies back in Oklahoma have been asking
me if I am going to repair their cars when
I get back there,” he laughed. “Yeah, why
would I quit? The main reason I always
wanted to do it (straighten bent cars) was
for the vintage cars. The vintage thing
back there has been taking off pretty
good. I have already got guys back there
who have asked me to do some restoration
stuff. I am really excited to get to do
that.”
The car
Sampson will be driving on Saturday is the
last one he repaired for Cory Kruseman.
Sampson specifically wanted to be in that
one for his bon voyage race on Saturday.
“My friend
Rickie Gaunt stopped by the other day and
told me Kruseman called him,” Sampson
laughed. “He said Kruseman told him he has
eight sprint cars ready to go in the shop
and he (Sampson) wants to race the one
that isn’t ready. It is actually the last
car I fixed for Cory. It is the biggest
fat boy car he has got cockpit wise. I
said, “I fixed it and that is the car I
want to drive. Get er’ done.”
After his last
race at The PAS on Saturday, Sampson and
his son Tyler, a past football player at
Torrance North High School, will hop in
his truck and begin their journey to their
new Midwest digs. His daughter Hailey, who
graduated from Torrance South High School
earlier this month, will be staying in
Southern California and will attend El
Camino College in the fall.
While his
legion of friends in California are happy
that he will be going back home, it is
going to be very hard for them to see him
go.
“It is going
to be very strange on sprint car nights
not to see Tobey in the pits,” promoter
Don Kazarian said. “Everybody loves him
and his kids. It is not a stretch to say
he is probably the most popular person
down there. You start smiling when you see
him, because you know he is going to say
something to make you laugh. We really
hate to see him go and everybody is going
to miss him.”
While Sampson
is excited to be going back home, he is
sad about leaving all the friends he has
made over the past 23-years in California.
Those who know him well, could hear it in
his voice as Sunday’s radio interview came
to an end. And, for once, he almost seemed
to be at a little loss for words.
“Saturday at
Perris is going to be a bittersweet
night,” Sampson slowly said at the end of
the interview. “It has been my home track
for 23-years now. You know Donnie and Kim
(promoter Don Kazarian and his wife) and
the whole gang out there. I love em.’ It
is going to be an emotional night for me.”
Not only will
it be an emotional night for Sampson, but
it will also be a highly emotional night
for all his friends. Dirt will be flying
during the races, but when the motors go
quiet after the final race, tears will be
flowing freely in the pits.
Spectator
gates for Saturday’s race will open at
5:00 P.M. and the first race will take the
green flag at 7:00.
Tickets are
$25.00 for adults. Seniors 65 and over get
in for $20.00. For active military with
proper id and their spouse or date, it is
$5.00 each. Teens 13-18 with their school
id and kids 6-12 get in for $5.00.
Children 5 and under are free. Parking on
the fairgrounds is $8.00.
Camping on the
fairgrounds opens at noon on Friday.
Tailgating on the grassy area outside of
turn four begins at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday.
Advance
tickets for all Perris Auto Speedway
events are available 24-hours a day online
at https://bit.ly/2Aa50Lj or by calling
1-800-595-4849. If you do not wish to buy
tickets in advance for any race, there
will be plenty of tickets for everyone at
the ticket window on race night.
Perris Auto
Speedway is conveniently located on the
SoCal Fair and Event Center (home of
October’s Southern California Fair),
approximately one hour east of Los Angeles
and one-hour North of San Diego. To get to
the track, take the 215 freeway, on the
Ramona Expressway and go three miles east
to the fairgrounds. For directions on
MapQuest, the address to enter is: 18700
Lake Perris Drive and the zip code is
92571.
Perris Auto
Speedway wants to thank its corporate
partners for the 2019 season. All Coast
Construction, Austin Hutchinson Realtor,
Battery Systems, Brass and Bass Firearms &
Fishing Supplies, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire
Pro, Chris’ Hauling, City of Perris,
Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet
Proof Driveshaft, Flowdynamics, HD
Industries, Hoosier Tires, Inland Rigging,
K2 Displays, Living Water’s Hospice, LKQ
Pick Your Part, Luke’s Transmission,
Pepsi-Cola, Pole Position, PrintItNow.com,
Rainbow Bolt & Supply, Shaver Specialties,
Square H, Sunoco Race Fuels, Sunstate
Equipment, Trench Shoring, Varner
Construction, VIA RV Service and Vista
Paint.
To keep up
with all the latest Perris Auto Speedway
news, photos, gossip and receive special
offers, please use the following links:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480?ref=hl
Twitter:
Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/perrisautospeedway/
Website:
http://perrisautospeedway.com/
Video and DVD
productions of all racing sprint cars
events at Perris Auto Speedway are
available from Loudpedal Productions. For
more information on these productions you
can contact them by calling (805)
844-3854, E-mailing
mailto:trtruex@gmail.com or you can visit
the website LoudPedal Productions.
DVD’s of all
the PASSCAR/IMCA racing and Nights of
Destruction at The PAS are available from
Fourvideos. For more information call
(714) 225-9500.
racesatthepas@aol.com is the only
authorized Internet address to issue
official media news released from The
Perris Auto Speedway or Oval
Entertainment.
2019 Perris
Perris Auto Speedway 2019 Schedule
June 29th
Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars, PAS Senior
Sprints and PAS Young Gun Sprints
July 4th
FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR LKQ Pick Your Part
Presents Night of Destruction IV: Demo
Cross, Figure 8’s, Trailer Figure 8’s,
Mini Stocks, Double Deckers, American
Cancer Society Night Benefiting the “Up
Down ‘n Dirty 4 a Cure Mud Run
July 13th
Amsoil USAC/CRA & USAC Southwest Sprint
Cars, PAS Senior Sprints and PAS Young Gun
Sprints
July 20th
PASSCAR Super Stocks, Street Stocks,
American Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
July 27th LKQ
Pick Your Part Presents Night of
Destruction V: Demo Cross, Figure 8’s,
Trailer Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks, Double
Deckers,
August 17th
“California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night”
Amsoil USAC/CRA & USAC Southwest Sprint
Cars, PAS Senior Sprints and PAS Young Gun
Sprints
August 24th
PASSCAR Super Stocks, Street Stocks,
American Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
August 31st
LKQ Pick Your Part Presents Night of
Destruction VI: Demo Cross, Figure 8’s,
Trailer Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks, Double
Deckers
September 14th
PASSCAR Super Stocks, Street Stocks,
American Factory Stocks and IMCA Modifieds
September 21st
“Glenn Howard Classic” Amsoil USAC/CRA
Sprint Cars, PAS Senior Sprints and PAS
Young Gun Sprints
September 28th
LKQ Pick Your Part Presents Night of
Destruction VII: Demo Cross, Figure 8’s,
Trailer Figure 8’s, Mini Stocks, Double
Deckers
November 6th
Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All
Coast Construction Practice Session
November 7th
Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All
Coast Construction USAC National, CRA and
Southwest Sprint Cars
November 8th
Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All
Coast Construction USAC National, CRA and
Southwest Sprint Cars
November 9th
Budweiser Oval Nationals Presented by All
Coast Construction USAC National, CRA and
Southwest Sprint Cars
November 16th
“Champions Night” PASSCAR Super Stocks,
Street Stocks, American Factory Stocks and
PAS Modifieds
*** Schedule
Subject to Change |
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