Trevor Williams

It was time for me to walk the walk, or in driving terms, go wheel-to-wheel.

After profiling Wanda Hopkins, a senior duty officer for the Denton police, and her dirt-track racing career at Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., I was invited by promoter Ronny Gould to take a spin during the track’s media day last Saturday.

I got a crash course on dirt-track driving from Hopkins, as I would be driving her 1994 Saturn SL1 against four members of the local media and an out-of-town police officer in a charity race.

Hopkins explained the rules of the 3/8-mile dirt track and racing techniques. Since the track gets watered down before racing begins, her trick was to look for the drier groove, usually in the middle of the track.

“Going into turns, you want to let a little bit off the accelerator,” Hopkins said. “You don’t want to go completely off the gas and lose traction. And you don’t want to hit the brakes.”

There are a few differences between her modified Saturn and a street car. The car doesn’t have mirrors or a windshield. It uses a large, removable steering wheel — about the size used in 18-wheel trucks — but it doesn’t affect handling. A racing seat and five-point harness have been installed to keep the driver firmly in place. And a driver wears a helmet and neck brace.

During driver introductions, I could tell the Ardmore radio and newspaper personalities had a much better idea of what was in store than I did. However, I thought Calera, Okla., reserve police officer Stacy Hodge would be the man to beat in the eight-lap race.

I was given the inside position on the front row. We had a rolling start and then began racing. Very quickly, the local members of the media jumped ahead. As one car came down in front of me, I knew I was headed for a collision but remembered Hopkins told me not to brake. So instead, I let completely off the accelerator but made contact with the opposing car, punching a hole in Hopkins’ hood.

I thought to myself, “I hope there will be some of Wanda’s car left by the end of this.”

Slowing down as a result, I fell back to fourth and would spend the rest of the race battling, much to my surprise, Hodge to stay out of the fifth and final place.

I found out very quickly that the key to successful dirt-track racing is going into turns with the right amount of handling. I started off with too much oversteer, causing the car to fishtail instead of settling into a groove. It wasn’t until near the end of the race that I found that right mixture of turning and acceleration to hold my line as I went through turns.

Lake Country Speedway/Debra Hix

Assistant sports editor Trevor Williams, left, makes a pass Aug. 2 at Lake Country Speedway in Ardmore, Okla.

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While the race was eight laps, it felt more like eight seconds. Time only slowed down when I went too hard into a turn, causing a partial spin. With Hodge behind me, he had to slam on his brakes to prevent his car from ramming into my car. And on one straightaway, Hodge and I traded some paint, leaving a large scrape on the right side of Hopkins’ car.

As the race was going on, all drivers had to deal with mud pelting us. Hopkins’ helmet had tearaway strips so I could easily clear my vision when a piece of mud covered up the left side of my face shield.

Remembering to pay attention to the flagman, I suddenly realized there was one lap to go. Hodge and I battled back and forth. Somehow, I managed to stay ahead of him for fourth place. 

“You and Stacy were having a race of your own,” Gould said. “You and him were racing to stay out of last while the other three were racing for the lead.”

Even though Hodge has been involved in high-speed chases as a police officer, he found dirt-track racing a “totally different world” due to the cars and surface. He and I agreed that the race went by very fast and we were trying not to tear each other up since they weren’t our cars.

He pointed to the irony of Hopkins’ tagline on the back of her car: “Faster than a speeding ticket.”

Hopkins told me I had done well for my first dirt-track race, explaining that I got a better handle on turns as the race progressed and I was fast on straightaways, being able to make passes early and late in the race.

“At least you didn’t finish last!” Hopkins said.

And that was some consolation, considering how “easy” it looks when I watch other people race. There’s no doubt that talent and skill are needed to get the best performance. No one can come out of the cold and expect success.

Even though I finished second to last, there’s no doubt the experience was second to none.

TREVOR WILLIAMS can be reached at 940-566-6874. His e-mail address is twilliams@dentonrc.com.