At 3:15 in the afternoon, Santa Maria High School is a frenzy of activity as students leave campus for the day.

But while their classmates head for home, senior Bernardino Martinez and six other students in the school's drag race club are bent over a dragster in the high school's automotive shop.

The car - which is mostly frame for now - must be ready for action by February, when it will be tested to ensure its readiness for the famed pro-racing March Meet in Bakersfield.

Driver A.J. Foster will be behind the wheel, and the students will serve as Foster's crew during the course of the race.

“These kids are going to be involved with history,” said Art Foster, A.J.'s father and co-founder of Santa Maria's first drag racing team, the Dragons.

The March Meet, which brings together competitors from around the world, will celebrate its 50th year in 2008.

The Santa Maria High School Drag Race Club is co-sponsored by the local Police Activity League and is a spin-off of the program the league started at FitzGerald Community School in July.

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The club, said Officer Dan Begg of the Santa Maria Police Department, was designed to provide kids with constructive alternatives and strong adults to serve as mentors.

“We talk to the kids and they come to us with their problems,” said Begg. “If there's not an adult around, (kids) will turn to their peers for advice, and that advice might be wrong.”

The program also targets kids enamored with fast cars so they have an outlet - other than street racing - to satisfy their craving for speed, said Begg.

Though the teens will not drive in any races, they will serve as the crew team in several professional races, including the March Meet.

As crew members, the students are responsible for maintaining their team's car.

On race day, they'll also be on hand to perform any and all last-minute preparations, such as oil changes, and warming up the engine.

In order to participate, students in the drag club must be in good academic standing and have no disciplinary issues.

The school's automotive shop teacher and the drag club's advisor had initial misgivings when Begg and Foster first approached him with the project.

“They had to twist my arm a bit,” Lorin Cuthbert acknowledged with a laugh. “I was afraid students would want to get involved initially, but once they found out how much work it is, they wouldn't stick with it.”

However, Cuthbert said the students proved him wrong, and the seven or so members who serve as the club's core continue to stick with the program.

Cuthbert is not the only one impressed with the youths.

Art Foster also sung their praises.

On an overnight trip to another Bakersfield race in November, Foster said, the kids conducted themselves like adults.

“They were perfect gentlemen,” he said.

During a recent meeting, the core club members worked diligently on their vehicle.

The pungent smell of rubber and fuel filled the air of the warehouse-like building.

For Juan Mendez, being a part of the club is a preview of what may be to come.

“I want to own my own (auto) shop,” he said.

When thinking about whether he's ready to fill his role as a professional drag team crew member, Martinez said he was a little nervous, but not too much.

Experience has built his confidence in his ability to help the team create a car that can safely run at 180 miles per hour or more.

“I already work on my own car,” Martinez explained.

Oscar Gudino - also a junior - said the appeal of what, to some, might be tedious work, is simple.

“We like cars,” he said.

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santa

mariatimes.com.

January 7, 2008