Rainier Flat Track race promoter takes final lap

Family was the main reason Danny Cooley began D and W Racing at Rainier Flat Track.

And it’s the reason he’s leaving it.

The Puyallup resident didn’t have a local track for his son Dylan to race quads on until 2009, when Cooley and his dad, Wayne, took over operations at the one-eighth-mile dirt race track owned by the Rainier Sportsman’s Club.

But now Dylan, 16, is a six-foot-three high school sophomore who “has a basketball in his hands at all times,” according to his dad.

So it’s time for Cooley, 46, to switch from being a racing dad to a basketball dad.

“This summer, I missed five of his tournaments,” he said.

The track, which is at the town’s former rodeo grounds, has been used for motorcycle, quad and go-kart races for at least 40 years. It’s gone through several managers and had fallen in disrepair until D and W took it over. Cooley said he and his dad worked quickly to get it back into shape.

They had 67 entries for the first race of their first season, Cooley said. Last week, they had 411 entries.

They average about 360 entries for their races, which are usually every other weekend during the summer months, he said.

Many of the families arrive Friday night and camp out for the weekend.

Over the years, Cooley and his dad have organized fundraisers and helped make sure money wasn’t a barrier to racing for kids, even if that meant loaning equipment or waiving entrance fees, according to Tami Stancil, 40, of Tenino.

“They’re amazing,” said her son James White, 16. “Pretty much what they do is they make this place feel like a home. They take care of everyone.”

Cooley said he’s watched kids go from riding the smallest of motorcycles at the track to become national pro-level champions. He said he’ll miss the racing families the most.

“It’s a big family,” Cooley said. “It’s fun.”

D and W’s decision leaves the future of flat track racing in Rainier up in the air.

“There’s some talk from people who would like to take it over,” said racer Amy McCoy, 29, of Mountlake Terrace.

She said she hopes the next race promoter will run the track in the same fashion as D and W: with an emphasis on helping kids learn to race safely with family friendly events.

“They’re good people — they’re not in it for the money,” McCoy said. “(They’ve) been about creating an atmosphere for people to do what they love to do.”

Steven Walter, 31, of Pacific, said he’s sad to see Cooley and his dad leave the track. He said they’ve been generous with their time and resources.

“It’s a huge commitment for what these guys do,” he said. “We get to come out and just play. ... It’s a lot of work to run this type of place.”

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Rainier Flat Track race promoter takes final lap."