Full Throttle

All American Speedway located in Roseville California may be producing more candidates for Drive for Diversity Program than any other track in the nation.

A grass-roots effort has Galt (CA.) Juan Pitta headed to Virginia, where he’ll take part in the upcoming NASCAR Drive for Diversity combine.

With the help of the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican-American Hall of Fame Sports Association, the young Latino driver is following his NASCAR dream. Instead of a traditional sponsorship package, Pitta raised funds through such efforts as a carnitas dinner.

Out of hundreds of applicants nationwide, Pitta earned one of 24 slots at the combine, which will choose eight drivers for next year’s program. The winners receive a one-year contract, national publicity and a significant leg up the NASCAR ladder.

“It’s awesome,” Pitta said. “This is the third or fourth year I’ve tried to get in, but I didn’t have a lot of stock car experience.”

With a loan, Pitta and his family purchased a Chevrolet Monte Carlo last year, and the former karting champion got busy. His stepfather, David Esparza, and a cousin serve as his crew.

Pitta, 25, enjoyed his most successful season so far this year at All American Speedway. Competing for his own one-car JP Racing, he earned 15 top-10 finishes in 17 starts, including eight top 5s, to finish fifth in the overall standings.

“We ran our team out of our garage,” Pitta said. “Our whole budget was (less than) $20,000. We’re probably the lowest-funded team to do well at All American this season. I’m definitely an underdog.”

A July benefit dinner at the Towe Auto Museum raised enough money for Pitta to finish the season. A mechanic for the Elk Grove Unified School District, Pitta works full time in addition to his racing career. When he’s not working on vehicles, he studies them.

“I don’t have a crew chief,” he said. “I’ve had to learn everything myself. … But I’ve always wanted to go full-bore with racing.”

More Diversity candidates

Five other local drivers also made this first cut for the combine, including current Drive for Diversity participants Paulie Harraka and Kristin Bumbera, who both competed at All American this season. With 11 victories for Antelope’s Bill McAnally Racing, Harraka, 18, won the Roseville late-model track championship.

Also invited to the combine, to be held Oct. 13-14 at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway, are Laura Hayes of Wilton, Jason Romero of Cameron Park and Mackena Bell of Carson City, Nev. All three are regulars in All American late-model races.

Hayes, 18, and Bumbera, who turns 21 on Oct. 5, both drove – and won – this season for Roseville’s Golden State Racing. They finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the final standings. Bumbera also set the late-model track record for the one-third-mile oval. Bell, 18, finished ninth in the standings in a car she also owns. Romero, 24, finished 11th in the overall standings.

FT’s Quote of the Day is related to the Diversity Program and comes from Harry Davis, father of raising NASCAR star Marc Davis: “This whole diversity issue — I don’t know what’s real and what’s not real. I just know that for Marc and me, it’s never been about race. It’s always been about passion.”

The quote is from an excellent ESPN bio-piece on Marc and Harry that also becomes my read of the day and is highly recommended.