RECREATION
Easy rider

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Windell Jones, a 17-year-old from Waipahu, steers his box car through a turn at the track in Pearl City. In addition to racing, aspiring drivers also can receive instruction.-

The body of the box cars is made out of wood — light enough for racing, yet solid enough for feline roosting.

American Box Car Racing International's BC Cowling, left, gives 10-year-old Savion Brackeen of Wai'anae a first-place award. "It's for anyone, but mostly it's for families to do things together and for kids to help them stay out of trouble," says Cowling. Photos by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser Inside the box WHAT: American Box Car Racing International WHERE: ABCRI Track, Acacia Road, Pearl City (behind Sam's Club) WHEN: Racing takes place one Saturday a month through November, starting at 6:45 p.m.; Open Track hours are 3-9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, 5-9 p.m. on weekends and holidays ADMISSION: Race drivers pay $10, $5 for each additional family member; cars are available for rent ($10); Open Track admission is $6 for first-timers, $4 for return visitors with track pass ALSO AVAILABLE: Reservations for private parties, youth groups or school field trips FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 947-3393, or visit ABCRI's Web site at www.boxcarracing.org

Makakilo's Allen Ramelb, 8, is a race car driver, and he don't need no stinkin' engine. He doesn't have a pit crew, either.

In fact, he doesn't even own a car.

All he has is a pair of long pants, a pair of shoes, a bicycle helmet, a few hours of practice, parental supervision and the need for speed. That, plus some volunteer work or $20, is enough for anyone to compete in American Box Car Racing International's monthly races at its track in Pearl City.

The season began on March 9, and there were winners, runners-up and also-rans. But everybody received an award, and everyone had fun, which is what ABCRI is all about.

"It's for anyone, but mostly it's for families to do things together and for kids to help them stay out of trouble," said BC Cowling, ABCRI's executive director. "It's an activity that is good, clean fun."

It also can be educational. Teachers have brought students to the track on field trips to learn about physics. And when you first see the drivers roll down a short ramp and steer their cars through a flat 600-foot asphalt maze on pure momentum, the first thought is, "How you figgah?"

"It's a really neat thing to watch," Cowling said. "We had Dr. Pui Lam, a physics professor at University of Hawai'i, design the tracks. Some (racers) start only six feet up the ramp, but with a light lube on the wheels, the cars roll terrifically through the course. The key is driving smoothly and turning the steering wheel only as much as you need to."

The cars, which are made available to anyone who doesn't have their own, are sleek and stylish but surprisingly simple in design. The wheels and axles can look like they came off a lawn mower. The chassis and floorboard are long and narrow, and the wooden body is nothing more than a rectangular ... well, box.

Throw in a braking system and small steering wheel, and you're ready to go. ABCRI sells a box car kit for $249, which includes everything you need to build your own car. It can be put together in a few hours. Paint jobs and extra work to get it ready for racing take a little longer.

"You'd have to adjust the bearings and get the wheels aligned," Cowling said. "If it's high-tuned, it'll roll much better than the stock kits. You can't take a Ford Mustang off the showroom floor and race it in NASCAR."

You also can't just show up at ABCRI's track on a Saturday night and immediately enter a box car race. The contests require participants to wear shoes, long pants and bring a bicycle helmet (or better) that fits securely. Racers also must obtain a valid track pass by driving for two hours on the Family Track.

The race cost is $10 per driver, $5 for each additional family member. Racers can drive their own cars, or rent one for $10.

Drivers who put in eight or more hours of volunteer work per month at the track, like Ramelb, race for free.

Of course, you don't have to race.

ABCRI offers open track hours from 3-9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays and 1-5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. The cost is $6 for first-timers, who are given a track pass. Return visitors can show their track pass and get in for $4.

The track also offers instruction, and reservations for family parties, youth groups or school field trips are available.

Cowling, a former mortgage company vice president, helped found ABCRI as a non-profit organization in 1996. He grew up in Evansville, Ind., where his father manufactured go-carts.

"I quit the mortgage business to do this full-time," Cowling said. "Now I'm working longer hours and making less money. But I'm having a lot more fun."

Cowling said since ABCRI's track opened, thousands of people have visited the site. The organization gets money from program fees, but also receives large amounts of sponsorship grants and materials from corporate donors.

"We're the only city in the country that has a track like this," Cowling said. "It's tremendously heart-warming to see the way the community wants a place like this here. In Akron, Ohio, where they have box car championships, they just race down a straight hill."

ABCRI's parcel in Pearl City is used by a permit through the City's Department of Parks and Recreation, and the organization is waiting for approval on plans for a new site at Central O'ahu Regional Park in Waipi'o.

The plans include four family tracks with pavilions, a championship competition track and a two-story main entrance with an observatory, snack bar, museum, race tower and press/VIP booth.

"We didn't really have a master plan when we started (in 1996)," Cowling said. "This has just taken off."

The thought of driving a motorless car may not excite older kids or adults, until they see it done in person.

"At first, I thought, 'What's so fun about that?' " said Kai Domingo, a 21-year-old from Waipi'o Gentry. "But it is fun, it's something different."

Domingo, who drives a Dodge Dakota truck when she's not working part-time for ABCRI, also learned something about cars in her job.

"You don't need a motor," she said.