Beyond the thrill of high-speed competition, Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW) thrives on the diverse and vibrant community of people who make it truly special. From seasoned racers to enthusiastic fans, families, and the media – each individual contributes a unique piece to the tapestry of this exhilarating event.
I have gone to this event every year since it started in 2015, when I was only 14 years old. I think the reason that I always continued to go back was solely because of the people. A lot of the racers that continue to participate in RMRW have been there since early on. These are some of the kindest and most supporting people you would ever meet.
One person that I met in 2015 is Adam Dorey, who is now the voice of RMRW. I spoke to Adam briefly at MoKan and this is what he had to say about the people that make Race week what it is.
“The people that are involved with Rocky Mountain Race Week are some of the best people in the entire world. Like, Matt and June, who put the event on, are the salt of the earth people, it’s the racer for racers by racers kind of a setup out here. And, they put their money where their mouth is for sure. They’re around checking on people in the pits, they’re offering water – they offer I think eighteen hundred bottles of water this week so far in this triple digit heat, and those are all for free.
“This is just such a family-oriented event, and it’s always been that Rocky Mountain Race Week has been in June and July because your kids are out of school, and you can bring your kids out here with you and make it into an entire family event.
“It’s just such a different event that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world because of the people. Like, the people are what make this event what it is. Everyone can drag race and everyone can go to a drag race and go to a track and do their thing, But if they come to one of these, you’re all the sudden in the family. It’s like a fraternity. I call them low maintenance friends. You cannot see them for an entire year and you pick up right where you left off. And it’s a thing that again, doesn’t exist really anywhere else in the entire world. It has a feeling that you just can’t really explain. And it’s a tough thing until you come out and do it to really know what the experience is like. You don’t get it till you’re here.
“I mean I’m here with Cole Reynolds himself. Like, man, Cole, who’s writing this article right now. I met him when he was, like, fourteen years old, riding in his mom’s car, Ethyl, a Sixty six Bel Air wagon. And, I mean, he was a little short, dirty, fourteen year old kid, and, you know, he was stuck in his shell a little bit. Like, kind of maybe a little introverted, not really interested in kinda talking to people. I was like, hey. What’s your name? And he was like, Cole. And from there forward, it was cool because we got to watch Cole grow up into Cole adult, And you know, do all his stuff and start his racing career and start his media career. And just so many stories just like that.
“I’m excited to be a part of it. I’m excited to have Stevie involved with it as well, my fiancé. I brought her into this. She had no idea what she was in for. And all of a sudden, on day one she was hooked immediately. It’s something that you don’t really know about until you actually do it. And once you do it, you are absolutely hooked for the rest of your life,” concluded Dorey.
Adam summed it up pretty perfectly. If you haven’t been on a Drag and Drive… you need to go!
This story was originally published on July 1, 2024.