Valley Sportsman division returns to Merced Speedway on Saturday

The Valley Sportsman stock cars are strange-looking racers with big metal wings on the roof, fat tires and skinny bodies.

They are an endangered species. Once plentiful at tracks throughout the Central Valley, they can only be found at Merced Speedway, where they will highlight Saturday night’s program.

For drivers like Kenny Birdsong and Mike Palmberg, the cars are a link to the 1970s and ’80s – when they were the most popular cars. Today, they are an anomaly – still being raced competitively when other cars of that era are in museums.

“I jumped that fence right there to get into the speedway to watch Vic Irvan race in a Valley Sportsman car,” present-day driver Birdsong says.

Irvan’s son, Ernie, rose to NASCAR fame and was also at Merced Speedway back then to see the Valley Sportsman cars race.

Birdsong proudly proclaims he was “born and raised in Merced.” He remembers the days when there were 60 or so of the cars in the pits, vying for 24 starting positions in the feature event.

“I built my car as a tribute to Rod Poor,” Birdsong explains as he points to his car’s 1968 Pontiac Firebird body, which has been chopped and channeled the exact way Poor’s car was. “He was very popular and won lots of races.”

Birdsong recently retired from his job as an electrician. He decided to get into racing not to win money, but to have fun.

“It is a dream come true,” Birdsong says. “In high school, I built a scale model of this car. Now, I built the car.”

For fellow Mercedian Palmberg, driving a Valley Sportsman car is an honor because the division was the training ground for top drivers – like Ray Elder and Jim Reich – who rose to national fame in NASCAR.

Palmberg’s dad, Pete, raced a Valley Sportsman and gave his son a chance behind the wheel when he was 17. Palmberg will be driving his “new” Valley Sportsman car at Merced.

“It (Valley Sportsman) is no longer the premier division, but it is the most unique division of race cars anywhere today,” Palmberg says. “I’m happy we can keep the division alive. I’d like to see it build up to have more cars. There were so many cars back in the day that there had to be heats and two qualifying features to get into the main event.”

Birdsong has his son, Chris, taking the wheel of the Firebird for some races.

“These cars are fun to drive, but they can wear an old man out,” Birdsong says. “I live by the motto, ‘Do it or you’ll forget about it.’ That applies to building and racing a Valley Sportsman.”

Big weekend at local speedways

▪ Merced Speedway also will feature the IMCA SportMod, Hobby Stock and Mini Stock divisions. Merced’s Josh Hensley has a commanding 59-point lead over Mariposa’s Mark Odgers in SportMod. Odgers will need a lucky break to catch Hensley. Merced’s Darren Miguel is four points behind leader Chris Corder of Stockton in Mini Stock. Racing begins at 7 p.m. The grandstand opens at 5 p.m.

▪ Chowchilla Speedway is back in action Sunday afternoon with a 3 p.m. starting time. A great field of cars is expected as the fairgrounds oval is the only track in the state with IMCA Modifieds and SportMods racing on Sunday. The Hobby Stock and Mini Stock classes also are on the three-division card. Kevin Joaquin of Sonora is the driver to beat in Hobby Stock at both tracks.

▪ Merced Speedway is located inside the Merced County Fairgrounds, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Merced. Chowchilla Speedway is located at 1000 S. 3rd Street in Chowchilla.

Admission at both tracks is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $8 for children 6-12. A family four-pack of tickets admits two children and two adults for $32.

This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Valley Sportsman division returns to Merced Speedway on Saturday."