IRT Twin races, SRL S2 Tour, Legends,
& Bandoleros on Saturday, June 27th Card
KTLA5 Reporter Christina Pascucci: Event Grand Marshal
PEP Express Parts Vendor Trade Show/Car Show – 4PM
Irwindale, Calif. – – One the West’s most exciting short track touring series is all set to return to Irwindale Speedway for their only appearance of the year. The Lucas Oil Modifieds will be here on Saturday to contest the BILSTEIN Shocks Super Fast 75 Presented by Five Star Body.
And that impressive event name means 75 laps of blindingly fast modified action on the half-mile track where “three wide!” something that happens just about every lap on both ends of the oval. “This track has really earned its national reputation as ‘LA’s Half-Mile Super Speedway’,” said Lucas series director, Greg Scheidecker. “We love racing at Irwindale, its wide, fast, and the fans there are always enthusiastic … our drivers can’t wait!”
And they won’t have to wait long for the 27th to roll in! After the first four rounds of the series Scott Winters from Tracy leads the way in the quick Modifieds points with 274 points and $21,500 won so far this year. Young Taylor Miinch from El Cajon has second place only 12 clicks back at 262, with Escondido driver Austin Barnes not all that far behind at 255.
Jim Mardis and 2014 LOM Champ Dylan Capello are only one point apart in fourth and fifth place (252 to 251). Barnes, is from Escondido and Capello hails from Peoria, Arizona. Even without a calculator that pencils out to be a scant 23 points separating first from fifth place in this highly-competitive Lucas Oil-backed touring series. This race will be shot “live to tape” for presentation later in the month on the MAVTV network. (please, check your local listings … or head over to: www.mavtv.com.)
The Spears S2 Tour will be making a stop at Irwindale on Saturday night with local favorite Johnny Butler (Arcadia) on the top of the 2014 points pile with 850. Bakersfield driver Cory Elliot is second in points (836) and “local”, Todd Cameron from Sierra Madre, is not far behind at 758 points in the very closely controlled “spec” class where every car is technically identical.
Saturday night will mark a rare “twin” race night for the Irwindale Race Trucks. Running two full races, on the same night, and each for precious series championship points is something that these teams must really strategize about.
There are 100 points on the table on Saturday night, this race is precisely the half-way point in the IRT 2015 championship season, and the top five drivers here are only 30 points apart. And there are two 50-point-paying races run to be run. The competition will ensure that you’ll need to run hard in the first race but be sure to have a raceable truck for the second half of the agenda. Lawndale’s Ken Michaelian leads the IRT contingent with 214, he’s shadowed at 210 by the kid phenom from Las Vegas, Riley Herbst; and Lucas McNeil from Saugus comes to the line in third place with 206 points.
On Saturday night, when fans pour onto the racing surface during the 5:45 p.m. On-Track Autograph Session some might ask Chad Schug what kind of a season he’s been having so far, the lad from Oak Hills will most likely tell them that he’s having a “pretty good year” with two wins so far in the INEX Legends series that has so far run two of nine scheduled in the 2015 season at Irwindale. Only 10 points behind, Jordan Hyland from North Hills and Darren Amidon are tied for second with 90 points each in this very competitive division .
The (factually) youngest of all the “young guns” that race at Irwindale, the Universal Studios Hollywood Bandoleros will run two races over the weekend, one on Friday night and one on Saturday. McKenzie Eshleman, from Twin Peaks has 98 in first place with Zack St. Onge (Upland) and Allison Gay (Lakeside) right on her heels at 92 and 90 points respectively.
SPECIAL FAN NOTE: With every Championship closer than close, racing in “all of the above” divisions should be very enthusiastic.
WHEN: Gates open for this exiting and widely-varied night of racing at 4 p.m. and the track’s very popular On-Track Autograph Session featuring all of the cars, drivers, and crews right down on the racetrack to meet and greet, begins at 5:45. Racing starts at 7p.m. sharp.
LATE BRAKEING NEWS: KTLA Reporter CHRISTINA PASCUCCI Named Event Grand Marshal … KTLA5’s Christina Pascucci is an award-winning journalist and a native Angeleno. Pascucci studied entrepreneurship and international business, Spanish, and broadcast journalism while at the University of Southern California. A school trip to China with her global management class inspired Christina to take on learning Mandarin Chinese. She is also fluent in Spanish after living with a family in Spain.
Pascucci is also a pilot, certified scuba diver and adrenaline junkie. She has traveled to dozens of countries and especially loved diving with great white sharks at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and watching the world’s best athletes compete at the 2012 London Olympics.
She is passionate about helping the environment, an active Rotarian, and a “Big Sister” in the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters (CBBBS) program. Not only does she help with mentoring her “Little Sister”, Joselin, but she is an active member of CBBBS’ Junior Partners program that acts as an outreach and fundraising arm for the organization. (for more information on CBBBS please contact: rdelgadillo@catholicbigbrothers.org)
MAVTV’s own DAVE DESPAIN is also scheduled to join the fun at Irwindale on Saturday night. The veteran motorsports announcer will already have had a pretty full day of racing when he gets to Irwindale, having served as the Grand Marshal of the MAVTV 500 IndyCar race at Auto Club Speedway earlier in the afternoon.
Despain is one of the sport’s most respected and honored on-air journalists. His popular motorsports interview show on MAVTV returns for a new season on July 12 (Once again: please check your local listings for air times).
BUT WAIT … There’s also the PEP Express Parts Vendor Trade Show – Customer Appreciation Night at the Races that starts at 4:00 p.m. featuring Hot Rods, Show Cars, the Pick Your Parts Jet Truck along with a special guest appearance by the three biggest names in the auto parts business: Manny, Moe, and Jack. There’ll be raffles, prizes, and lots of fun for the whole family!
DISCOUNT TICKETS FOR THIS ONE ARE ON-LINE NOW: www.irwindaleeventcenter.com