California Mid-Winter Fair shows its 'Heritage' in final race

IMPERIAL – Heritage Sports Compact Racing, a popular racing event featuring high-performance compact cars, showcased its modified sports cars at the California Mid-Winter Fair on Sunday, March 12 at the Fair's raceway, the last day of the 2023 Fair.

A high turnout of participants and spectators were eager to witness the competition and cheer on their favorite racers.

With its long history and loyal fan base, the event was funded by the Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit which endeavors to preserve and enrich the heritage of the California Mid-Winter Fair and Fiesta, its facilities, infrastructure, organizations, and ongoing youth programs.

Greg Jackson, President of the Mid-Winter Fair Heritage Foundation, talked about the history of the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation was formed about 12 years ago in response to the State of California cutting funding for a lot of the state’s fairs.

The Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit and funded via use of membership, Jackson said.

"We collect funds from members, and we use the money we collect to do improvements to the fairgrounds,” he said.

With over 230 members, the Foundation has taken on other projects such as improving the race track. in Imperial.

Because of the track’s tremendous history, the Foundation asked the community about bringing back racing to the Imperial Valley. Jackson said last year was the first year racing was brought back thanks to community volunteers providing the necessary equipment. Caution lights were donated to make the track safer, as well as a timing loop for better accuracy.

Beginning last year, the Foundation also started a mentorship program for children that wanted to participate in livestock projects. The program financed their project and helped them learn everything they needed to know about raising their animal. Jackson said it was a tremendous success last year, as well as in 2023.

Jackson said the “heritage” of the community is the Fair and that "children are its future."

“It’s very humbling to see this community step up like they have, to support in bringing racing back,” he said.