Williams Grove ‘Outlaw’ race draws plenty of Trump fans, but few face masks

Pennlive ^ | 3 October A.D. 2020 | John Luciew

[lightman]

Fall was definitely in the air. But apparently, COVID-19 wasn’t.

At least not judging by all the face-mask-free race fans jamming into the erector-set-like stands too crowded for social distancing at Saturday night’s sprint car finale at Williams Grove Speedway.

An estimated 9,000-plus race fans were expected for the season’s biggest dirt track event, dubbed the ‘World of Outlaws.’

Grass parking lost surrounding the Mechanicsburg area speedway became a small town teeming with people playing cornhole, pitching picnics and rolling out tailgating from elaborate RVs.

There were license plates from a plethora of states, including some on Pennsylvania’s quarantine list.

Clearly, Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus crowd-cap, currently the subject of a federal court fight, was not being observed, either. A reporter who visited the speedway office to ask about the social-distancing and mask policy for the race was refused an interview Saturday.

By the looks of long lines of fans snaking along both sides of the speedway entrances, about 1 in 100 fans were donning face masks. They packed loaded coolers and bulky blankets for a chilly fall evening of racing, instead.

Trump flags far outnumbered the face masks in packed parking lots, as fans sipped beer, downed shots, tossed bean bags and tended barbecues.

In short, there was scant evidence of any second thoughts about the COVID-19 threat -- despite the fact that the president many fans here say they’ll vote to re-elect has been hospitalized with the virus.

“Nah, there’s no concerns,” one fan scoffed in front of an RV decorated with a “Trump 2020” flag. “Tell them, there’s nothing to worry about.”

The World of Outlaws drew drivers from as far away as Australia and fans from up and down the eastern seaboard. What the coronavirus-concerned might see as a potential super-spreader event, race fans flocked to as a must-attend attraction.

“This is the biggest dirt track race of the year in the United States,” gushed fan Rich Hockenberry.

“There are people here from everywhere,” added Trent Schaar of Perry County.

“I hope it’s as many as we can get in here,” Rod Harmon of Carlisle said of the expected near-capacity crowd that would leave little room for social distancing in the stands.

Despite being a nine-time bronchitis battler, this prospect didn’t worry Harmon a whit.

“I have underlying health conditions, but I am not living my life in fear,” he said.

In fact, when Harmon came down with another bout of bronchitis this spring, the doctor wanted him to take a COVID test. He refused.

“I told him, ‘I got bronchitis.’ I know what it feels like.”

As for coronavirus?

“If I’m going to get it; I’m going to get it. If I die, I die,” Harmon said.

Asked what percentage of race fans would be wearing masks in the stands, a group of fans answered in unison: none.

“We don’t care,” one of them shouted.

And if a fan does pull his shirt over his nose or dons a bandana, it’s not due to COVID, they said. It’ll be because of all the dust kicked up by sprint cars thundering along the dirt track.

“Define mask,” Harmon began. “Are we going to wear a mask because we’re afraid of coronavirus? I may actually take mine and pull it up over my nose for dust -- not because I’m afraid of the coronavirus.”

Actually, a few fans were wearing masks. And not just to prevent dust, either.

“Well, I do what the CDC tells me to, or what my local health department says,” answered Steven Benedict, 56, of Corning, NY, where big gatherings like this remain verboten.

With so many mask-less fans surrounding him here, Benedict admitted being somewhat concerned.

“It kind of does, tonight, because it’s such a big event,” he said.

Not enough to miss the big race, however.

Despite the deep field of star drivers, the pandemic and its latest victim – President Trump – dominated conversations ahead of the checkered flag. The parking lot was a petri dish of politics, with more than a few fans lamenting the pain of the economic shutdown far more than any afflictions from COVID.

“If you shut the country down, you are shutting down the world,” said Todd Kline, who never halted his Cumberland County landscaping business amid the pandemic. “China wanted to bring it here. They said, if we’re going through it; you’re going through it.”

“We’re where the money is,” Harmon said. “If you hurt us, you hurt our economy.”

As for Trump and his now very personal coronavirus battle, the fans expect him to conquer COVID, bounce back even stronger and go on to win the election.

But his biggest victory just might be over America’s fear of the virus, itself, one Trump supporter said.

“All you see is Trump flags,” marveled Hockenberry, estimating that 98 percent of fans would be voting for the president. “He’s 74. He’s at risk. The coronavirus shut his country down. What happens when he beats it? It’s going to downplay (the pandemic) even more. It’s going to be great. In my opinion, this is what we needed. This is exactly what we needed. Don’t you think we’re going to figure more stuff out with Donald Trump having it?”

The alternative – a Biden victory and a shutdown second act, they say – amounts to their worst nightmare.

“If we didn’t have Trump right now, we’d be screwed,” Kline said. "If the Democrats were in power, we’d be shut down for a year.

Instead, these fans were anxiously awaiting racers to start their engines. And with no masks covering their faces, they’re free to smell the fragrant sprint car exhaust as it carries on the crisp fall air.

For one October evening outside of Mechanicsburg, their lives would seem back to normal.

Well, almost.

[The Iceman Cometh]

Dubbed 'World of Outlaws'?

What a friggin' moron this guy is. The author makes this event sound like a one-off event only attended by rebels.

How does this clown not know The World of Outlaws is the top touring dirt series in the country? But, I guess that would require some research which is beyond most reporters these days.