Just over one hundred and fifty drivers, hailing from as close as next door, to as far as a continent and a half away, took part in seven different racing series during the 2014 competition year on the twin oval half and third-mile tracks of Irwindale Speedway.
Beginning on March 22 with a K&N Pro Series West race and ending on October 18 with the coronation of five new track champions at the final NASCAR race of the season. In all more than seventy-five races were run over seventeen exciting NASCAR Home Track Saturday nights in 2014.
True to its well-earned nickname, “LA’s Half-Mile Superspeedway” each and every night of NASCAR at Irwindale featured some of the best short track racing anywhere in the country; fans always headed home after a night at the races with tales about the action and adventure that they were witness to.
Irwindale has some of the very best, most knowledgeable fans on the planet and boasts a pit area brimming with great drivers, teams, and team owners who put on the show each week. We salute and thank all of them for their patronage and efforts; and we thank all of the hard-working track officials for keeping the show running on time and safe.
That said, these are your 2014 Irwindale Oval Track Champions:
RYAN VARGAS:
In the Universal Studios Hollywood™ Bandoleros, Ryan Vargas, 14 from La Mirada put up a 10-race winning streak that ran from April to September, up to that point winning every “Bando” race on the schedule. He was only beaten to the checkered flag one time (on 10/17) and that was by Allison Gay from Lakeside by just half a second. Vargas rallied to win the twelfth and final race of the season and put up 648 points (out of a total of 650 possible) doing it. In the meantime, Gay’s win put her and McKenzie Eshleman (Twin Peaks) into a tie at 594 points and the two very quick young ladies made up the season’s final podium with Gay’s better finishing record (that single win) putting her in to second place on the year. Seventeen very young drivers raced in the slippery little INEX Bandoleros this year at Irwindale.
BRENT SCHEIDEMANTLE:
The INEX Legend Cars at Irwindale always put on a great show every time they hit Irwindale’s tricky third-mile, and 2014 was certainly no exception. Brent Scheidemantle, 21, from Alta Loma (who won half of the 10-race series and had four second places) is the 2014 champ, but his final race of the year on October 18 was a tough one as he was involved in a three-car mix up only a few laps from the end that put him out of contention for the night’s win. However, the 64 points that he got for carrying on were enough to give him the 2014 series championship, with Studio City’s Aaron Wells and Chad Schug (Oak Hills) finishing the season in second and third place at 462 and 446 points respectively. Thirty-one drivers raced the feisty-little Legend Cars at Irwindale in 2014.
GARRETT GREEN:
Even though it sometimes seems almost like a new track, Irwindale Speedway has already been around long enough to be seeing a whole crop of second-generation racers, and 21-year-old Garrett Green from Long Beach is one of them. He’s also the 2014 Seidner’s Collision Centers Mini-Stock champion with a point total of 402 to just edge Covina’s Dusty Morgan (400 points) for the title. Robby Harryman (390 points) from Anaheim, who won two races early in the season, finished third in the final tally. There were 16 drivers who competed in the Mini-Stocks over the course of the 2014 season.
ZACK GREEN:
Cue the déjà vu music, for yet another second-gen racer and yet another Green from the Harbor area … the aforementioned Garrett’s older brother Zack is your 2014 Irwindale Super Stock winner. The 24-year-old is also from Long Beach and won six of ten S/S races this season with 514 points. Hot on his heels, Henry Miles, from Palmdale put up a string of good finishes (including two out right wins) to end up only 12 points back and second on our imaginary podium with Apple Valley’s Gary Frankovich filling out the third step with 492 clicks on the season. Fourteen different drivers took part in Irwindale’s Super Stockers this season, and they put on some spirited racing.
RYAN PARTRIDGE:
For all but one of the ten races that the Irwindale Race Trucks ran in 2014 there was one name that dominated the lap charts and the points lists … Twenty-six year old Ryan Partridge from Rancho Cucamonga. Partridge won the first six races right out of the box and his final three finishes (a win, and two third places) were good enough to see him to a 56-point advantage over Claremont’s Christian McGhee on the year. Joey Licata, Jr. won three races (including the 100-point finale) and finished second four times for 438 points and his podium finish on the year. A grand total of twenty-seven drivers challenged each other and the Irwindale oval in the IRT’s in 2014.
LINNY WHITE:
In their final race of the year, and after six rounds of Pick Your Part Super Late Model racing, first and second place were tied in points (274-274) and third place was only two points (272) back of them in the 2014 championship. Thirty -six year old Linny White only won a single race in 2014, but it was the 100-points-to win finale October 18 that gave the Colton resident the 2014 title by two scant points. Corona’s Jason Patison (370 points) won four races during the year and ended up a very close second in the series with Toni McCray showing third (358) in Super Late points for 2014. She too had one win on the year. Twenty-six drivers (including the grandfather, father, and son team of Butch, David, and Todd Gilliland) took part in the 2014 series.
ALL DRIVER PHOTOS: MARV KELLER … THANKS!
RYAN PARTRIDGE:
Irwindale’s feature division, the Lucas Oil Late Models, was also the track’s most popular by number of entries … Thirty-two outstanding drivers raced in Lucas’ Late Model division in 2014. When the smoke from the 19 races finally cleared, Ryan Partridge had claimed his second 2014 title and the NASCAR state championship. A third-generation racer, Partridge won eight races and finished second or third six times for 950 points. Andrew Porter had an up and down year, but the La Verne resident was able to notch a respectable second place in the year-end points (824) with rookie Christian McGhee (Claremont) only ten clicks back of Porter at 814 for third.
SUMMING IT ALL UP:
NASCAR fans felt like they got their money’s worth and then some during the 2014 season at Irwindale Speedway. All of the championship chases came down almost to the last race (heck, a couple of the contests went right down to the last lap!), the weather was reasonable (no rain-outs) and the concession food was as good as ever.
Fans flocked to the track’s signature pre-race On-Track Autograph Sessions each Saturday where they felt like they were almost part of the race crew; standing on the front straight of the banked oval and rubbing elbows with the driving talent and the wrenches, whether they were Bando kids or Super Late Model driving stars. Fans love racers and the feeling is mutual at Irwindale.
Of course Irwindale Speedway will be back next season with the same blend of action, excitement, seriously friendly competition, and fan fun. Stay tuned for the announcement of opening day 2015 … We’ll see you here!