No, it’s not supposed to be the Battle on the Banks, it’s instead the Battle of the Banks at Thunderbird Speedway. The race pits local bank representatives in a Crown Vic race. It’s part of the festivities for the Hayden Ross Forever 66 on June 27-28. Brady Ross promotes the event dedicated to his late son, the 2022 Sooner Late Model Series champ.
(For more on the event’s namesake, read “Hayden Ross: 2022 Champ Dies in ATV Accident.”)
“It is a creative way to get people out of the house to watch a live race,” Ross said. “We are working to fill the grandstand with some innovative promotions. We want to showcase the Hayden Ross Forever 66.”
Six banks will participate: Armstrong Bank, Arvest Bank, American Bank of Oklahoma, BancFirst, and Firstar Bank. The track supplies each bank’s representative with a Crown Vic, helmet, fire suit and gloves. The representatives must not have any racing experience.
“We began this annual event with banks because bank people usually don’t go to the races, yet everyone has a bank,” said Ross. “We’ll have banks competing one night next year, and perhaps add some other local businesses, like maybe a ‘Battle of the Barbecue Joints’ on the second night.”
The Battle of the Banks consists of two, three-lap inverted heat races. The car with the best average points finish will win the Battle of the Banks trophy, a Happy Gilmore-style check to display for the year.
In addition to the banks, Ross invited 34 local businesses to participate in the race by offering tickets to their employees as a benefit.
“It is hard for me to ask for money to sponsor a race,” Ross said. “So, I ask companies if they would like to pay for their employees to have a night at the races.”
The track records the employees who take advantage of the offer and the businesses get a list of who took up the offer, which includes admission and a food voucher. The track then charges those businesses for each signed in employee.
“It’s a win-win situation,” said Ross. “We are growing our fan base and the employer is showing appreciation for its employees with a summertime bonus.”
While these promotions attract new attendees to the races at Thunderbird Speedway, the Hayden Ross Forever 66 on June 27-28 isn’t limited to the Battle of the Banks. Late models race for $6,600 to win, with A-mods, B-mods, factory stocks, and Crown Vics also on the docket. All proceeds from the event will also go to the Hayden Ross Memorial Foundation.
(For more on the cause, read “Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation Started.”)
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
