Pictures & words by Victor R. Martinez / El Paso Times

Joe Showers and his boys -- Corbyn, 16, and Christian, 13 -- have hauled their full-sized trailer, complete with a full workshop including air compressors, spare car parts and power strips, all across the Southwest and Western United States.

The Showers boys' mission to compete has taken them to Arizona and California to race on the finest racetracks in the country.

"We race anytime we have an opportunity," Showers said. "My son Corbyn has muscular dystrophy so this is the only hobby/sport he can do so we race as often as we can for him. He's sponsored by Associated Electronic (a car manufacturer) so we are required to make a certain amount of major events."

The designer of many of those national tracks, Joey Christensen, has left his mark in El Paso, building a 650-foot dirt track at Hal's Hobby Warehouse at 1440 Bessemer in East El Paso.

"We've raced on his tracks all over Arizona and California and he is one of the premier track builders in the United States," Showers said. "We are excited; it's a great facility."

Charlie Priemer, co-owner of Hal's Hobby Warehouse, said the track for radio-controlled cars has already attracted people from all over the Southwest.

"We built it six weeks ago and we have people coming in from out of town to race on the weekends," Priemer said. "We have six or seven guys coming in from Albuquerque, two or three from Alamogordo, Deming and all parts of Mexico. It's been extremely popular."

The dirt track is outlined with piping and includes 8 jumps and a 150-foot straightaway.

"This was all done with tractors, steamrollers and special equipment that had to be brought in," Priemer said. "This track was done by a professional racer who knows the tracks and builds tracks all around the world."

The world of remote-controlled race car driving is ever growing. Remote-controlled cars, trucks and buggies can go as fast 70 miles per hour. High quality cars and tracks can cost anywhere from $300 to $5,000.

"You can get a top-of-the-line car for about $700," Priemer said. "These cars go up to the speed of 70 miles per hour and jump 30 to 40 feet in the air. They have independent suspension, oil-filled shocks, disc brakes, everything a real car has, these cars have."

Novice racer Julian Gonzalez does not own such a remote-controlled car, but he would not mind getting one for his birthday or Christmas.

"I can't afford that kind of a toy but I would love to have one," he said. "And now with this racetrack being built here, it gives racers in El Paso a much nicer place to race."

Priemer said Hal's Hobby Raceway is built to industry specifications.

"Every track that you see is not built to spec," he said. "In other words, at some tracks your triples are not spaced according to the national spec. Or the lanes aren't wide enough so it's always an issue when other people build a track. We had this track built exactly to spec."

The remote-controlled scene in El Paso is a growing one and with the addition of this track, it should only get bigger.

"In the beginning, we didn't want to sink all this money into this racetrack because it cost a lot," Priemer said. "And now with the way the economy is, we got worried about spending $8,000 to $10,000 on something like this. But it was a good gamble."