Jimmy Waters Motorsports Has Success

By Greg James | [email protected]

Any summer night at the Rocky Mountain Raceway super oval you’re bound to find Jimmy Waters strapped into one of his five racecars competing for a championship. His “Raging” nickname follows his passion on the track and in the stands.

 “Some of the drivers that race out there are nuts,” Rocky Mountain Raceway track announcer Patrick Bowman said. “Jimmy Waters, Lynn Hardy and Dan McCoy—these guys are nuts.”.

 Waters races in five different classes on the oval. He also owns several of his competitors’ cars. His race team from West Jordan has become a big part of Rocky Mountain Raceway.

 His style of racing has found him many fans and haters at the track. Some despise his success, but without his contributions, the raceway might not have the number of competitors it has.

 “He is like the used car dealer at the track,” Ron Duncombe said.

 The car counts at the race track have increased. In the first race of the season, June 4, the modified division fielded 18 cars. The winged sprints started 24 cars in the main event on Memorial Day.

2016 Maverick Modified Points Standings

(As of 6-12)

Lynn Hardy   94

Jimmy Waters 92

Michael Haddenham 90

Dan McCoy 86

Mark Ith Jr 85

 Waters has attracted several drivers into his cars. Current point’s leader in the sprint car crate division Tim Powell was enjoying his time driving one of his four double-decker cars when Waters approached him about driving a sprint car.

 “I was a little tentative at first,” Powell said. “It is fast and I am learning how it works still.”

 Waters leads the points in the late model division by 26 points over Chris Fenton after two races. He also competes in the winged sprint, modified, midget and double decker divisions.

 Each car drives differently on the oval track. The sprint cars weigh approximately 1,600 pounds and a modifieds can weigh no less than 2,500 pounds. The weight difference alone affects the handling of the racecar.

 “The fans in the stands do not always see how the cars change,” Duncombe said. “They can change dramatically during the race. They are an animal. You can have the best car one Saturday and not touch anything all week, and it changes the next time on the track. That is the challenge.”

 Waters won his first Salt Lake Valley Racing Association sprint car title in 2000. Last season, he won the midget and sprint car titles and finished third in the modifieds.

 “Half the field could win on any given night. It is like the lottery and you just need to be patient,” Duncombe said.

 The hours spent with the race car during the week changing wheel bearings, tires and tuning the engines can be overwhelming. Racing at the track is not typically a full-time job. Racing is a hobby to a majority of local drivers.

 Rocky Mountain Raceway holds races on the oval track typically every Saturday night. More information can be found on its website, www.rmracing.com.