Race cars come roaring through Comanche

Ed Kroening digs through a small trailer hitched onto the back of his car until he finds what he needs. He then goes and gives it to another car owner. It’s not just any car owner. It’s actually his competition.

But that is the way of the Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW) drag racers.

“Everybody helps everybody,” Kroening, a Colorado resident, said during a pit stop in Comanche last week. “He put out a call on Facebook that he needed a part. I was a few minutes behind him and I stopped and helped him out.”

There were four race cars in the Family Dollar parking lot, but there were many others around town, stopping in convenience stores or getting a bite to eat at Thirsty’s.

They are not professional racers in the traditional sense of Richard Petty, Al Unser, Jr. or John Force. It is everyday people who take part of their summer to go around to different tracks to drag race.

It is a six-city stop with Tulsa the start and the end of the series. Last Wednesday, they were on their way to Noble to race.

Due to the heat, stopping in Comanche was a much-needed break even for the cars.

“This heat is really bad on them,” Kroening said.

They have certain routes they have to take and have to take pictures along the way to prove they took the correct route.

“We have to go here next, it’s our next check-in,” Kroening said, showing a picture of the Chickasha Leg Lamp.

Racers have to check-in within the alloted time or they are eliminated.

The racers come from all over. Three of the ones stopped at Family Dollar were from Colorado, while the other one was from Georgia. The race courses this year take them through Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri.

Kroening was traveling with his son, a recent high school graduate.

“This is our last year racing,” Kroening said. “We’ve raced the past four years, but now he’s fixing to go into the Army and join the Airborne. It’s been great being able to spend time together. Sometimes my wife joins us along the race route.”

For the first five races, they race against the clock. On the sixth and final race, they race head-to-head against each other in the pro street, limited street, unlimited and hot rod classes.

For more information, visit www.rockymountainraceweek.com.