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Everything You Ever Wanted to
Know About Auto Racing
Dominic Dobson, owner of Dobson Motorsports and a resume a mile long for action on the race track, was the BBRC guest speaker Friday. He brought some examples of the suits and other equipment race drivers wear for protection.
 He is president of Cavallino Holdings, the company that owns a stable of vintage cars. Dominic participated in seven consecutive Indy 500 races, as well as racing at Daytona and LeMans. He now serves on the board of Rourke O’Brien’s Indy Racing Indoor Karting.
Dominic is a Western Washington native whose father introduced him to racing. “My Dad had great interest in the sport as he was into Cart racing in the late 50’s and early 60’s. I met lots of drivers who became my heroes. We went to tracks all over Washington and Oregon. It became a family thing. Soon, Dad and our family began racing. It really helped our family to stay together.”
Dominic said the best race car is owned by someone else. Getting serious about this racing thing, he moved to California and became a racing instructor. He taught for five years in Northern California. His first opportunity to go to Indy came with A. J. Watson, his first owner. “He’s a crusty old guy, still around. This was in 1984. He used to tell me that in the old days, one car would kill two or three drivers during a race. Nowadays, two or three drivers kill one car!”
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BBRC member Kelly Dykstra talks with Dominic Dobson after Friday’s meeting.
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Dominic did other sports car racing …he even raced at LeMans in France, where his car’s speeds were 240-248 MPH. It was the only race for Dominic in Europe. He went to Indy in 1988 and became the fastest rookie that year and raced until 1994. “At the end of my active racing career, I met Bruce McCaw, and we formed PacWest Racing Group.”
At this point, Dominic showed a video of his exploits in his rookie year at Indy.
Dominic now manages a world-class collection of vintage cars. “They look better and are worth a lot more than me!” he exclaimed.
A question from the audience:
“What happens physically when you drive a long race?“
Answer: Drivers consider themselves athletes. There are safety issues. We’ve lost many great drivers over the years. Racing safety has improved dramatically in the past decade. Cars are designed to come apart to save the driver. NASCAR cars are not built to come apart, thus a terrific amount of stress falls on the driver in case of an accident. This was the case in the tragic death of Dale Earnhart.
Dominic also commented on the IRL-CART disagreement that pervades racing today. “There is a lack of sponsoring groups to support two separate organizations.” He hinted at some sort of merging in the future.
For his program, Dominic was given a certificate showing that a donation of 600 pounds of food for Rotary First Harvest had been given in his name.
Thanks to Rourke O’Brien for his introduction.
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