Close Points Chases in All Divisions!
Irwindale, Calif. – – After fully 10 of their 20-race 2016 championship season for Irwindale Speedway’s premier Pick Your Part Late Models the points battle at the top of the chart between two young chargers is only a scant 6 points!
Agoura Hills’ Trevor Huddleston has worked hard for that points lead, winning 6 of those10 races, and finishing second in three others. Behind him, only 6 points back, Claremont’s Christian McGhee has only won two races so far in 2016, but his 6 second place finishes put him firmly and directly on Huddleston’s back bumper.
With 10 races left to go (and the last one set for September 10th paying double points) each of these events will count louder and louder and good finishes will become more and more important in the always tough, always competitive Late Models.
Drivers in the Pick Your Part Late Model division are scored against NASCAR drivers from all over the country with a national champion named by NASCAR in the early Fall.
The Seidner’s Collision Centers Irwindale Race Trucks are also at their half-way point in a 10-event season and Lucas McNeil from a nearby town with a “very familiar” name, Saugus, California has the points lead here. McNeil leads his next door neighbor Connor Cantrell (he’s from Valencia) 244 to 222 points. And 22 points in as competitive division as the SCCIRT’s are is considered by many a very BIG lead, as Duarte’s Dennis Arena, only four points back of Cantrell at 218 in third would be quick to add.
The half-way notes continue with the INEX Legend Cars. These small but mighty racers have five down and five to go as well starting with this June 11 date. And they too have points gaps that one almost needs a feeler gauge to measure. How about 240 to 236? That’s Daren Amidon (Lakeside) over Parker Steele (Peoria, AZ) with Jordon Hyland (North Hills) “waaaaaay back” at “only” 224 points in third. Legends races are always very tight, and, interestingly enough, Steele’s the only multiple (twice) winner this season so far. The Legends all look very different and colorful, but underneath, and anywhere it counts technically, they are all identical (engines, chassis, tires, weight) in other words everything but the body style and the paint job.
The above is why the track management always urges all fans and families to join all the drivers and their crew members for an insider’s look into each of the cars that are racing on a Saturday night. Starting at 5:45PM everyone in the place is invited to come down right on to the track and get a personal, close-up look at the cars and to meet the drivers. Autographs,photos, even a chance to sit in a real stock car (just ask) at Irwindale’s own “On-Track Autograph Session”.
Another great reason to get out to the racetrack early and join all the pre-race fun on the front straight are the INEX Bandoleros. The smallest race cars that run on Irwindale’s inner oval, they are also piloted by the youngest drivers (“Bando” drivers can start racing at 8 years old) … and … on Saturday, they’ve already run one race (on the night before) on the big (for them) fast (for everyone) third-mile at IEC! It is real fun to talk some of the “stars of tomorrow” at a very young age. They’re all very serious about racing, and they tell you so.
The INEX Bandoleros crossed over their series half-way point a few weeks ago and have four races to go (again, with the season finale paying double points!). Like the Legends, these cars are very strictly controlled and are identical in all technical aspects. Allison Gay from Lakeside leads the young guns by only 6 points over second place Kayla Eshelman from Fontana (194 to 188). And Madison Gay (also Lakeside) is an identical 6 points back of Eshelman. All of the above must be having a few thoughts about the young sensation from Bakersfield, Kabe McClenny, who has won the last four Bandolero races in a row. Great young people and great racing!
In the touring Racecar Factory Spec Late Models, veteran Todd Conrad from Sierra Madre with two wins in the first three races of this division’s 12-race season has 144 markers after his name. Dylan Gardner (Yorba Linda) is second with 136 and Craig Yeaton (San Dimas) stands third at 124 coming into the June 11 event.
Again (and they even have the word in their name) these locally-designed and constructed machines are “Spec” cars meaning that they were all built at the same place and that all of them use precisely the same tires, engine, transmission, and so on. The idea is that driving talent, not check-writing ability is, better served and that new drivers, can concentrate more on driving than on complicated engine and chassis changes. Paint jobs, racing numbers, and the driver’s names above the door are the only differences here.
Saturday Night June 11, Gates open at 4PM!
FAMILY DISCOUNT TICKETS AVAILABLE ON LINE 24/7 AT:
www.irwindalespeedway.com