South County Profile: Rick Faeth

Rick Faeth of Anderson grew up in San Jose, living close to the San Jose raceway. Faeth became a race car mechanic in the Midget Division by age 14. He has been driving race cars for the past 13 years. When the opportunity came along, he and his family moved to Anderson two years ago to begin Faeth Motorsports, Inc. and to manage the Shasta Raceway Park. What started out as a hobby for Faeth grew into a profession.

Faeth and his wife see to the overall running of Shasta Raceway Park and their 30 weekend employees. Faeth is trying to bring in a new variety of motorsports to add to the already successful events held each weekend. There are currently five racing divisions. Faeth would like to see Shasta Raceway Park participate in part of a touring series and bring in more drivers from out of town.

Faeth has made it so that Shasta Raceway Park is family oriented and can provide inexpensive entertainment for the whole family. The park provides racing entertainment from March 29 through Oct. 5. He enjoys watching the teams that come to compete, which are mostly father-and-son teams or father-and-daughter teams.

“On any given Saturday night, we have between 400 to 600 fans in the stands viewing the races. We have 22 events scheduled for this year,” he said.

Faeth is a 1985 graduate of Leigh High School in San Jose. He then continued on to West Valley Junior College in Saratoga and then to Arizona State where he majored in history.

Name: Rick Faeth.

Born: Los Gatos, 1967

Occupation: President of Faeth Motorsports, Inc., and Shasta Raceway Park.

Marital Status: Married 10 years.

Family: Wife Mary, daughter Gwen, 5.

Pets: My wife breeds Spinone dogs. We have five of them, cats and parrots.

Worst job: Working with the portable toilets at the track.

First job: Working as a Midget (Division) race car mechanic at age 14.

In my spare time I: Go to auto races at other tracks and compete with the BCRA Midget Group.

Favorite book: 1984 by George Orwell

Favorite movie: Good Fellas

Favorite musician: Stevie Ray Vaughn

Dream car: Late ‘60s Corvette Stingray.

My friends like me because: I do impressions pretty well.

If stranded on a deserted island, I would want: Internet and a Mountain Dew.

One thing I’ve learned: When opportunity presents itself, be ready to make your moves.

Best advice from parents: Don’t ride my motorcycle without a helmet.

Most irrational act: Becoming a race track promoter.

Most valued possession: A 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750.

What I like about the North State: A whole lot less traffic than the Bay Area.

My heroes are: Those who serve this country’s defenses.

Pet peeve: Uncivilized, rude behavior.

Fantasy: To take a year and travel around the world.

If I could change one thing, I would: Be six-feet tall and weigh 170 pounds, not five-feet tall and 200.

One thing Shasta County needs: Better support for small businesses.

The most enjoyable thing about life is: My daughter’s laugh followed closely by the roar of a V-8 engine.