LOXLEY, Ala. — The car front is an ‘08 Monte Carlo. The rest of the car is by “MasterSbilt.” The drive is experienced, and the engine is … tuned. That’s the car Nathan Ingersoll of Robertsdale shepherds around the high banked red clay oval of the Deep South Speedway in Loxley.

“The whole thing is hand built,” says Ingersoll with pride as his “pit crew” consisting of his brother, Bobby, a Summerdale resident, and the car’s owner and several others looked on. The car, Ingersoll added is sponsored by Schoen Heating and Air Conditioning of Foley and by the NAPPA Auto Parts store in Foley. The car bearing number “10” races in the GM Performance Late Model division.

While both Ingersolls are happy to discuss the car, but what powers it, the gas, “is top secret,” says Nathan.

“I can tell you it’s a racing gas, and right now goes for $8 a gallon,” he said.

That makes us regular drivers who are complaining about gas nosing around the $4 mark go “ouch.” When the Ingersoll’s horses are running, the car goes through about 10 gallons of that pricey gas each night.

But, we don’t fly around a .4-mile clay oval for fun, and maybe some profit, either.

“My dad, the late Bob Ingersoll raced,” explained Nathan. “He started racing before I was born, and we went to the races as kids. That’s how I caught the racing bug.” He added that his father had the number “10” on his car, and the Ingersoll brothers keep it on their cars in his honor.

Nathan is 47 now, and says he plans to race “another 10-15 years.”

The family has seen some success, Nathan adds.

“We’ve won six championships,” Nathan said, raising his voice to be heard over the “Stinger” engines that were “tuning up” next door.

Crashes (Nathan estimates, “That would be in the hundreds” ) are a fact of life, and in fact, the passenger’s side of the Ingersolls’ car shows dents and scrapes where the car hit something. Or something hit the car. Does it much matter at 100-plus mph?

When he’s not racing, Nathan works in the area as a heavy equipment mechanic.

“I’ve been racing since I was 10 years old,” said Bobby, 51, adding that in those days, “You had to get your own car.”

He does not race now. “If something happened, it would not be safe,” he said.

Safety is a big concern at Deep South, and at most tracks round the country, says Ozzie Altman, the track’s announcer and events manager. He says he’s the the voice of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., the NASCAR event announcer at Atlanta Motor Speedway and serves on the board of directors for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. One of the things he credits new owners, Bill and Karen Webb of Pensacola, Fla., with doing is updating the facility, which features wide, comfy-for-a family earth and concrete “bleachers,” and a snack bar that features some different treats — including shrimp po-boys strawberry shortcake — that you might not expect to find at a race track.

It helps that the owners are in the business of racing themselves.

“Bill and Karen are also the team owner of a Super Late Model race team which campaigns throughout the region of Tennessee, Kentucky, Northern Alabama, North Georgia and the Carolinas. The Warrior Racecar is sponsored by BKW Inc. and is driven by Knoxville, Tenn., veteran Rick Rogers who is the current championship points leader of the Advance Auto Parts Thunder Series. The Webbs’ prior experience and successes in ownership of racetracks came when Bill took the reins of Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, Tenn., during a four-year tenure from 2001-2005,” said Altman in an e-mail.

But it is caring for that red clay oval that takes the most effort.

“We spend a lot of time, money and manpower nurturing the racing surface,” said Altman.

But the track, wide enough for three vehicles to run side by side gives “plenty of side-by-side action,” Altman said, adding that seeing the cars and drivers work the challenging track was exciting for the fans.

“This is a good race track, conducive to a lot of passing, which makes for a lot of excitement,” said Altman.

The track is also trying an experiment of sorts — Thursday night racing.

“It does not make any sense to have the track sitting there with nothing on it,” said Altman.

The Thursday night bill of fare can be eclectic — anything from a “powder puff” race in the small “stinger” race cars, to pros looking to “tune up” before a bigger race. On the weekends, Altman estimates the crowd to be around 1,200 people.

“It’s only $5 (admission) on Thursdays and under 12 is free,” said Altman.

Most weekends, admission is $12 for adults, $5 for youngsters 6-12 years of age and under 5 is free. Admission does change with events, so it’s best to contact Deep South at 964-6953.

“My favorite thing is to see people come out here and have a good time. This is a track for the working racer.”

That’s just fine with the Gentry family of Loxley. Mom Cathy was at the track with her husband, Tim, and their sons, who are 8 and 16. Cathy’s nephew, Gary Watson already drives the “Stinger” class of car, and Curtis has a few races under his belt.

“It’s nice, and it feels good (to race) and it’s fun. I’d like to make a career of it, but if I can’t drive, I plan to be a mechanic,” said Curtis.

“We just bought a “Limited Sportsman“ car,” said Cathy. “Now we have another driver.”

The car, Cathy said finished in the money often enough to “pay its own way.”