A shipping mistake is to blame for the cancellation of the Big Island Auto Club’s July points meet, which was supposed to be held July 13-14 at the Hilo Drag Strip.
The group’s board of directors decided last week that they could not hold this weekend’s events because of a shortage of a chemical compound called VHT, a petroleum based compound that is mixed with methanol, that is sprayed on the track the day before the event to create a safe race track for all drivers. A recent order of the products, which comes in large barrels, was recently found to be on “sitting on the docks in Long Beach,” said Bear Barrilleaux, one of the members of the board.
The auto club does have a small supply that could be used, but with only 20-25 racers entered to compete, an unknown time frame on when the next shipment would arrive in Hilo, and the amount of money needed to put a race weekend together, it was decided that the best decision would be to call off the races.
“We tried to make a decision that was not going to cost us a bunch of money,” said Barrilleax. He noted the costs of having security guards and insurance to cover the event as factors.
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All remaining dates are still on pace to happen, including the August points meet scheduled for August 3-4. Make-up dates will likely come into play in November and December as long as the weather holds up.
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