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Post by Franko10 ™ on Mar 22, 2005 13:43:52 GMT -5
Irwindale's "second" opening night this Saturday will see five diverse divisions dueling
by Doug Stokes
IRWINDALE, Calif. -- Last week's rainout, only the seventh in six full years of racing at Irwindale Speedway, has set the stage for a "second opening night" that will feature two divisions that already have a track record and three that are just getting their 2005 season revved up.
Young (16!)* Austin Grabowski from Upland upstaged a passel of heavy hitters in the Auto Club of Southern California Late Models on March 12. The former Legends phenom was almost flawless, driving well in both the chase and pursued positions on the track. Second place finisher Tim Huddleston was profuse in his praise for Grabowski's speed and style. Huddleston, who hails from Agoura Hills, made no excuses but was hampered in his work by an ill-fitting seat (which will not happen again this week, bet on it). Fallbrook's own Scott Youngren, "BK" (Brian Kelley not Burger King) from Arleta, and mountain man Sean Bennett from Crestline filled out the top five "Auto Clubbers". (Did we mention that Auto Club members - showing their card at the ticket window - get a nice 331/3 percent discount off the regular $15.00 ticket price for ANY Dodge Weekly Racing Series Race.)
The Vista Paint Super Stocks got a great start on opening night too. First time winner Victor Wu from Hesperia leads the division with a nice round 50 points. Costa Mesa's Robin Burgeois, Covina's Greg Crutcher, Jeff Grill (El Cajon) and 1999 Mini-Stock Champ Lee Ladd of Westlake Village are the top five with 48, 46, 44, and 42 points each going in to Saturday night's show.
The Speed Truck Challenge is back and once again carrying the colors of CMKXtreme.com. This is the opening round of a 14-race season that will see these "spec." racers covering the lower left coast like a blanket with multiple events in Las Vegas, Bakersfield, San Bernardino, Blythe, and even one race on a road course at the "St. John Grand Prix" in St. John, Arizona. The traveling Speed Trucks will be back for two more guest appearances at Irwindale on July 16 and October 1, at which time(s) they will be in the thick of one of their annual points battles.
This is a TV night for these trucks here at Irwindale, so watch for a whole bunch of colorfully turned out teams and machines and some super-hot racing. This show is scheduled to run on the Outdoor Channel on July 23 at PM, so set your Tivos now!
One of the fastest-growing forms of open wheel racing, the Ford Focus Midgets, will be back with us on Saturday night. This series combines a full-size USAC Midget frame with an engine that's simply popped out of a standard issue Ford Focus that has been taught to drink methanol and spit fire. These machines are the not only the fastest things going on the Irwindale third-mile, they are also one of the quickest ways to learn about car control and driving off that right rear, two talents that seem to have become pretty popular among car owners of late. Watch this one the way you watch the CIF playoffs. The talent is there for the spotting.
OK, best for last, we're going to see the first round of the Pick Your Part Figure 8's on Saturday night. You-Know-Who has been "testing" at the Speedway. We can't mention his name but his car is a MONSTER and it's probably chained in his GARAGE right now. Barefoot Billy, the Stewarts, all of the regular cast of characters of this wild and wacky world of criss-cross racing are all chomping at the bit for this one. This one is the closer Saturday night and nobody (except maybe the faint of heart) leaves early!
PRICES: NASCAR at Irwindale is still one of the great Saturday night adventure entertainment bargains. Adult tickets are still (since 1999) only $15.00, Children 6-12 are only $5.00, and the 5 and under crowd are FREE. Remember show your Auto Club card and knock a further five bucks off that adult ticket price!
TIMES: The ticket office opens at noon every Saturday and the track gates open at 4PM.
KING TACO PRE-RACE ON-TRACK AUTOGRAPH PARTY: This is the part of the "NASCAR Experience" at Irwindale that truly makes this track unique! King Taco Restaurants bring together every car, every driver (and their intrepid crews) right on the front straight of the Speedway every Saturday night. "Up close and personal" is the order of the day. Photos, hero cards, trinkets, and just plain old great personal interaction with the people who are about to put on the show. This is the first course of a NASCAR feast that just should not be missed by anyone who loves stock racing and who needs to be a little closer to the sport.
FOOD AND FUN: Irwindale has an well-earned reputation for great food and pre-race fun. Not just track dogs (although they're very good!) and 'burgers, Irwindale's got great specialty food shops that'll make you a stuffed potato, roast you an ear of corn, make you a delicious iced mocha, sell you some sweet cooked almonds, or grill you up a spicy sausage sandwich laden with a smoking stack of grilled onions.
On the fun side, we've got a face-painting clown (supposed to be for the kids, but there always seem to be a lot of adults with butterflies and car number on their faces walking around on Saturday nights.), a car club car show, the Advantage Ford "mobile showroom" (they had the first '05 Mustang convertible in the county on display on opening night what'll they have this week?). And did we mention the live music? Cool local bands are always on the bandstand, and rocking away from 5 to 7PM
by Doug Stokes
IRWINDALE, Calif. -- Last week's rainout, only the seventh in six full years of racing at Irwindale Speedway, has set the stage for a "second opening night" that will feature two divisions that already have a track record and three that are just getting their 2005 season revved up.
Young (16!)* Austin Grabowski from Upland upstaged a passel of heavy hitters in the Auto Club of Southern California Late Models on March 12. The former Legends phenom was almost flawless, driving well in both the chase and pursued positions on the track. Second place finisher Tim Huddleston was profuse in his praise for Grabowski's speed and style. Huddleston, who hails from Agoura Hills, made no excuses but was hampered in his work by an ill-fitting seat (which will not happen again this week, bet on it). Fallbrook's own Scott Youngren, "BK" (Brian Kelley not Burger King) from Arleta, and mountain man Sean Bennett from Crestline filled out the top five "Auto Clubbers". (Did we mention that Auto Club members - showing their card at the ticket window - get a nice 331/3 percent discount off the regular $15.00 ticket price for ANY Dodge Weekly Racing Series Race.)
The Vista Paint Super Stocks got a great start on opening night too. First time winner Victor Wu from Hesperia leads the division with a nice round 50 points. Costa Mesa's Robin Burgeois, Covina's Greg Crutcher, Jeff Grill (El Cajon) and 1999 Mini-Stock Champ Lee Ladd of Westlake Village are the top five with 48, 46, 44, and 42 points each going in to Saturday night's show.
The Speed Truck Challenge is back and once again carrying the colors of CMKXtreme.com. This is the opening round of a 14-race season that will see these "spec." racers covering the lower left coast like a blanket with multiple events in Las Vegas, Bakersfield, San Bernardino, Blythe, and even one race on a road course at the "St. John Grand Prix" in St. John, Arizona. The traveling Speed Trucks will be back for two more guest appearances at Irwindale on July 16 and October 1, at which time(s) they will be in the thick of one of their annual points battles.
This is a TV night for these trucks here at Irwindale, so watch for a whole bunch of colorfully turned out teams and machines and some super-hot racing. This show is scheduled to run on the Outdoor Channel on July 23 at PM, so set your Tivos now!
One of the fastest-growing forms of open wheel racing, the Ford Focus Midgets, will be back with us on Saturday night. This series combines a full-size USAC Midget frame with an engine that's simply popped out of a standard issue Ford Focus that has been taught to drink methanol and spit fire. These machines are the not only the fastest things going on the Irwindale third-mile, they are also one of the quickest ways to learn about car control and driving off that right rear, two talents that seem to have become pretty popular among car owners of late. Watch this one the way you watch the CIF playoffs. The talent is there for the spotting.
OK, best for last, we're going to see the first round of the Pick Your Part Figure 8's on Saturday night. You-Know-Who has been "testing" at the Speedway. We can't mention his name but his car is a MONSTER and it's probably chained in his GARAGE right now. Barefoot Billy, the Stewarts, all of the regular cast of characters of this wild and wacky world of criss-cross racing are all chomping at the bit for this one. This one is the closer Saturday night and nobody (except maybe the faint of heart) leaves early!
PRICES: NASCAR at Irwindale is still one of the great Saturday night adventure entertainment bargains. Adult tickets are still (since 1999) only $15.00, Children 6-12 are only $5.00, and the 5 and under crowd are FREE. Remember show your Auto Club card and knock a further five bucks off that adult ticket price!
TIMES: The ticket office opens at noon every Saturday and the track gates open at 4PM.
KING TACO PRE-RACE ON-TRACK AUTOGRAPH PARTY: This is the part of the "NASCAR Experience" at Irwindale that truly makes this track unique! King Taco Restaurants bring together every car, every driver (and their intrepid crews) right on the front straight of the Speedway every Saturday night. "Up close and personal" is the order of the day. Photos, hero cards, trinkets, and just plain old great personal interaction with the people who are about to put on the show. This is the first course of a NASCAR feast that just should not be missed by anyone who loves stock racing and who needs to be a little closer to the sport.
FOOD AND FUN: Irwindale has an well-earned reputation for great food and pre-race fun. Not just track dogs (although they're very good!) and 'burgers, Irwindale's got great specialty food shops that'll make you a stuffed potato, roast you an ear of corn, make you a delicious iced mocha, sell you some sweet cooked almonds, or grill you up a spicy sausage sandwich laden with a smoking stack of grilled onions.
On the fun side, we've got a face-painting clown (supposed to be for the kids, but there always seem to be a lot of adults with butterflies and car number on their faces walking around on Saturday nights.), a car club car show, the Advantage Ford "mobile showroom" (they had the first '05 Mustang convertible in the county on display on opening night what'll they have this week?). And did we mention the live music? Cool local bands are always on the bandstand, and rocking away from 5 to 7PM
