East Kaua‘i Lions Club help Junior Dragsters

LIHU‘E — A majority of drag racers in the Garden Isle Junior Dragsters program are not old enough to be eligible for a driver’s license.

But these youngsters take to the track at the monthly Garden Isle Racing Association drag races at Kaua‘i Raceway Park in Mana to participate and compete for trophies just as the more veteran racers do under guidelines for safety and competition established by the National Hot Rod Racing Association.

Generally, these youngsters power scaled-down versions of dragsters through an one-eighth mile (compared with the one-quarter mile driven by veteran racers) stretch, reaching speeds of 80-plus miles per hour.

These facts were presented to the East Kaua‘i Lions Club on Thursday night, when the EK Lions Club donated $500 to the Garden Isle Junior Dragsters that was accepted by the club’s president Traci Sakamoto and club treasurer Junie Lawrence.

The Junior Dragsters are coming out of the pandemic when fundraising efforts were severely curtailed due to the shutdown, and expenses continued to maintain the vehicles’ health.

The Junior Dragsters will also be in action on April 1 when the GIRA presents its High School Challenge at Kaua‘i Raceway Park. Racing is open to all high schoolers, who are interested in racing. They should contact Rob Nelson at 808-497-2115 for more information or registration. There are just limited spaces available.

Advance tickets for the event are $15 through The Foat Ticketing with children 11 and under being admitted free.

Tickets at the gate are available for $20 cash only. To purchase tickets online, visit tickets.thefoat.com/GardenIsle.

Gates to the High School Challenge open at 8 a.m. with qualifying to start at 1 p.m., Competition starts at 6:30 p.m.

Anyone interested in joining the East Kaua‘i Lions in service can drop in on the club’s meetings held on the first and third Thursdays at the Lihu‘e Neighborhood Center starting at 6:30 p.m.