FRI. SEPT. 4 & TWO RACES SAT. SEPT. 5
Plus!:
SATURDAY NIGHT LOONYNESS:
“NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION” SAT. SEPT 5
BACKGROUND: Saturday, July 18’s “unseasonable” rainout of that night’s racing sent the Irwindale track staff into a set of serious meetings aimed at getting that evening’s two lost Seidner’s Collision Centers Late Model races back into the schedule before NASCAR’s September 19 cut-off for the 2015 national championship points chase … It was not easy.
DATE SENSITIVE: Already running “twin” races (two per race meeting), squeezing two more Late Model races into the remaining five race nights before the set-in-concrete NASCAR cut-off date was not an easy task.
DOING THE SCHEDULING SHUFFLE: Here’s how they added the two lost races back in: This Friday night, September 4, the Speedway will run a single, 50-lap Late Model race, the first of three that weekend.
FRIDAY NIGHT RACING ON THE NASCAR OVAL:
This weekend fans are invited to come out for a rare Friday night race and to take in the event from a new perspective: the Irwindale pit grandstands. (PLEASE NOTE: the track’s main grandstands and SkyBox Suites will not be in use on Friday night). The fan’s view from the unique location is almost head-on as the cars come down the front straight and then streak through turns one and two right in front of them.
GO WEST ALL FANS: Gates will open at 4p.m. on Friday and parking will be free that night. Admission will be $5.00 and tickets will be sold at the Pit Credential Building on the Western end of the property. The pit concession stand will be open for food and refreshments.
ONLY ONE RACE, BUT A DARN GOOD ONE: On Friday night practice will start at 5 p.m. with qualifying at 6 p.m. The Seidner’s Late Model race will start at 7:00 p.m. with the pit area opening to the public directly after the race.
EARLY START: On Saturday, September 5, the second makeup race will fire off VERY early when the Late Models run their first event of the evening at 5 p.m. Right, that’s 5p.m.. The night’s Autograph Session, usually held on the race track will be held right in the pits directly after the Late Model’s early-bird special. The “insider” fan event will close at 6:30 p.m. with the fans heading back to the main grandstands for 6:45 p.m. Opening Ceremonies.
RACE THREE IN TWO DAYS: At about 7:00 p.m. Saturday night the third (and previously scheduled) Late Model race of the Labor Day weekend will see the green flag and we’ll be all caught up on Seidner’s Collision Centers races and 150 points closer to the 2015 championship.
CRAZED CONNIPTIONS AND CONTRAPTIONS ABOUND: It should be well-noted that all of the (Saturday stuff) above will be presented as part of one of Irwindale Speedway’s signature (and certifiably crazed) “Nights of Destruction”!
THE NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION (logically) presented by Pick Your Part INCLUDES: a Compact Car Demolition Derby, the world-famous Seidner’s Collision Centers Skid Plate Cars, an Enduro Race and, just for good measure, a Trailer Race. Debris aplenty is the order of the day
FRIDAY ATTENDANCE SAVES SATURDAY MONEY: EACHFriday night’s GA $5.00 admission ticket, will also serve as a $5.00 Off coupon for an adult admission at the NASCAR races on Saturday night when presented at the ticket window!
HISTORIC: Friday and Saturday’s trio of points-paying Late Model races are a first for the seventeen year-old track. Never before, even on a double points weekend, have there been one hundred and fifty (150!) precious 2015 points available for a clean sweep in the Seidner’s Collision Centers-sponsored Late Models.
TWO TO TANGLE: The fight at the top of the Late Models results sheet has featured two names, a young man from the West Valley and a young woman from the Inland Empire. Between them they’ve won 11 of the 13 SCC Late Model races run so far in 2015. Trevor Huddleston (from Agoura Hills) has four and Toni McCray (from Highland) has seven and both of these two racers are second-generation drivers with multi-champion dads (Tim Huddleston and Rick McCray). Huddleston will start the night on Friday with 612 points to McCray’s 566.
LOOK OUT BEHIND: And third in points, going in to the “triple” weekend there’s Covina’s Mike Johnson. No wins but a string of very good finishes sees the veteran driver only 26 scant points behind McCray at 540. Bakersfield’s Blaine Perkins is the only other Late Model driver in the “5’s” with 526, he too has made a habit out of being there at the end of the race and his points package bears that out.
DOWN TO THE SHORT STROKES: There are only six races left in the 2015 championship for Irwindale’s championship division and fully three of them are this weekend at the Speedway. And one of them will be run on a very rare Friday night. This is where top Seidner’s Late Model teams will really dig in and continue to do all of the things that got them this far. …Three races in two days? No problem! Game faces in place, everything calm, ordered, one race at a time, all hands on deck, everyone ready for anything and hoping for everything to go right (when we know that it rarely does in championship NASCAR).
(All points for all NASCAR divisions that compete at Irwindale are always updated and available 24/7 on the track’s website at: www.irwindaleeventcenter.com .)
SUPER STOCK POINTS JAM: Also on the clock for Saturday night, the Pick Your Part Super Stocks will race with Long Beach’s own Zack Green leading them in at 246 points. He’ll be followed closely by Gary Frankovich (from Apple Valley) with 230 points and Greg Crutcher (Covina) with 224 division markers. That’s only 22 points first to third and (as with all of Irwindale’s NASCAR divisions) the 2015 season grows short for the scrappy Super Stockers.
YOU ARE CORRECT: Friday’s Late Model race at 7 p.m. is an anomaly. So, how about the “early call” that the division has on Saturday night? Five O’clock … yes, you read that right, 5p.m. a twilight doubleheader if you will.
SATURDAY PITSIDE AUTOGRAPH SESSION: So what happens to the On Track Autograph Session at 5:45? Even that has a bit of twist, this week only the fans will be invited right into the pits for autographs and a close-up look at what car prep looks like from “pit crew” level. From there it’ll be everyone back up to the grandstands to watch some great NASCAR racing capped off by Irwindale’s wild, nutty, funny, wacky, hold-your-breath, did-you-see-that(?) NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION.
PLEASE REMEMBER (AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS TOO): each Friday night adult ticket (only $5.00) is good for a $5.00 discount on a ticket for Saturday night’s full show! And FREE PARKING on Friday night!
Alright, alright, alright … That’s a whole lot of changing stuff brought on by a little bit of mid-July rainfall and Friday night’s 50-lapper looks to be a unique “insider’s” viewing opportunity for many fans … Let’s race