Pima County Sports Hall of Fame Award
The Hand of Carlos Serrano Gettin’ on the Gas!

Carlos Serrano Receives Legends & Heroes Award and is Inducted into Pima County Sports Hall of Fame

This past week I stopped by Serrano Motorsports to visit with a friend I hadn’t seen in a few years, Carlos Serrano.  As I came into the front of the retail store located at 4532 S. 12TH Avenue, I saw Carlos at his workbench where he was finishing up a single piston cylinder hone job for one of his customers.  My reason for stopping by was to visit and to let him know that I am involved with reviving Tucson Speedway, formerly Tucson Raceway Park.  I have always respected the spirit of competition and the dedicated focus Carlos has, to be the very best he can be at whatever he decides to do.

While we were filling in the gap of time since last visiting with one another, I learned that Carlos not only had been inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame on October 25^th of this year but also in January of this year, he received the Legends & Heroes Award at the AMA Supercross World Championship at Chase Field in Phoenix.   The Pima County Sports Hall of Fame is filled with Arizona pro athletes, Olympic Gold Medal winners, and other stars but Carlos is the first motorcycle racer to be inducted.  Carlos is very proud of both awards he received this year.  I saw the satisfaction in his eyes when he showed me the two awards and I could hear it in his speech tone when he humbly talked about what the recognition meant to him and his family.

Legends and Heroes Award

Recognizing that I would not have learned of the two distinguished awards if I hadn’t stopped in to see him,  I decided to let others know who may not be aware of the awards this accomplished Tucson Motor Sports Competitor received in 2012.
A graduate of Sunnyside High School in 1975, Carlos Serrano became a Professional Motocross Competitor after competing in seven events. His resume is filled with victories before he retired from full-time racing in 1997.  Look up to see his accomplishments at: http://serranomotorsports.com/about_us

One of Arizona’s best known and most successful motorcycle competitors, Serrano began competing in motocross during high school in the Tucson area and quickly rose to the top by capturing full factory sponsored rides. He has competed on the professional level in Motocross, Supercross, and Superbikes including competing at the International Grand Prix level. Carlos was known for his aggressive riding and for being a fierce competitor. He was also coined the “most widely traveled competitor” by Motocross Action Magazine.

Carlos Serrano has proven his diversity in racing, not only competing on two wheels, but also by having a successful career in auto racing during the NASCAR Winston Racing series and the competitive Craftsman Truck series.

In the 1990s Serrano began racing stock cars in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series and won numerous main events at Tucson Raceway Park. From 1991-94 Serrano received a number of awards from NASCAR while competing at Tucson Raceway Park, including Rookie of the Year, Team Player (three times), Best Appearing Car and Best Appearing Crew (twice).

Serrano opened his own business in Tucson in 2001 which specializes in racecar fabrication and set-up that soon expanded into dirt bike and ATV race preparation and suspension tuning.  I hope to see Carlos involved guiding and helping others to be competitive drivers and team owners at Tucson Speedway which will open in March of 2013.

Progress Continues at Tucson Speedway As we move forward with repairs and improvements at Tucson Speedway, I would like to give you an update on our progress.  Although we have been slowed down trying to get the electricity turned on at the raceway, we are still on schedule to begin tune and test dates in February.  We will begin racing in March with races scheduled on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays and will run through June 1st.
All the boards on the bleachers are over 20 years old and they are being replaced.  The replacement boards have been primed and are 80% installed.  The saw cutting of the cracks on the racing surface is complete and repair work continues.  We anticipate the repairs will be completed and the entire racing surface sealed with a double coat of a high grade quality sealer by mid January.  Remodeling to the tower areas, the VIP area, the grandstands, the restrooms, the concession areas and the office area continues.  Once the power is on we will be able to make repairs and upgrades to the Tire and Fuel Barn, the Tech Shed and to the Back Gate Registration Office.
On our website: www.tucsonspeedway.com we have begun to add drivers who have confirmed their plans to race beginning in March.  If you are planning to race and would like to be included, please email me at:  Keith@tucsonspeedway.com
Three of us attended the RPM Promoters Workshop from November 28th – December 1st in Reno, Nevada where we exchanged ideas with other promoters, met with vendors to discuss products and services for Tucson Speedway.  Many good ideas were shared and one clear message is that we are not selling racing, but rather we are selling entertainment to the entire family.  This message has reinforced our thoughts and plans at Tucson Speedway.  Another clear message we all heard loud and clear is that race tracks must begin to attract the next generation of fans and racers.  As us “baby boomers” fade away, very little is being done to recruit younger fans and racers.  We need to rethink some of our marketing efforts and activities to attract new fans.
If you have any bands you might recommend for the track have on race nights, activities you would like to see on a race night, other types of motorsports events you would like to see at the track, please send me an email with your thoughts to: Keith@TucsonSpeedway.com .