The smell of alcohol, burnt rubber and gasoline filled the air Sunday at Gainesville Raceway as about 200 competitors and 1,500 spectators showed up for the 101st Import Face-Off.
The event comes to Gainesville twice a year and hosts more than 20 events annually nationwide. And according to director Cliff Wallace, it is the only event of its kind to survive the recession.
“Every other event has gone bust,” he said. “But if they keep coming, we’ll keep doing it.”
Dwight Baldwin, co-owner of Stage 6 Motorsports in Jacksonville, blames dependency on foreign oil for the drop in attendance and prize money.
Baldwin said E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent race gas, is a viable option to cut the cost of expensive fuel.
“You can make really good power on it. The problem is it’s hard to come by,” he said.
However, he thinks it will become more readily available in the near future.
But for now, cars are an expensive hobby. People like Vic Miraflor, 42, of Orange Park, spend thousands of dollars rebuilding and modifying cars for speed.
His ’95 Honda Civic ran a 10.23 second 1/4 mile at 144 miles per hour on Sunday. To put that in perspective, Motortrend.com lists the 1/4 mile time for a Ferrari 599 as 11.3 seconds at 126.4 miles per hour.
Despite the cost, Miraflor said he loves what he does.
“When I’m stressed, I just go to the garage and start working on my car,” he said. “I focus on one thing, and everything else just goes away.”
