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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| HOT LAPS WITH NORM
BOGAN #11 (6/30/03) by Norm Bogan |
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The weekend before the fourth of July offered some different alternatives to my usual fare of racing. Both of my regular choices, SCRA and VRA were dark. The Bandits (360 non-wing sprints) were running at Santa Maria, but a trip up there would have challenged my austere budget. Ventura was running Vintage Flat Track Motorcycles, which had my interest. Decisions, decisions, why not go to the closest track, a forty-five minute jaunt to Irwindale. Granted the dirt-racing surface appears much harder than
the other venues, in fact some claim it is asphalt! At Irwindale, you get to see two tracks for the price of one,
as the show splits the program between the banked half-mile oval and the lesser
one-third mile track on the inside. For
this night’s program, the Jani-King Super Late Models, Ultra Wheels Super
Trucks and the West Coast Pro Trucks competed on the large oval, while the King
Taco Legend Cars and the USAC Ford Focus Midgets took to the smaller track. All the racecars at Irwindale have transponders attached, which are used for qualifying and scoring during races. Each week the featured class will actually go against the clock for their time, while other classes utilize the European style of qualifying. Early in the afternoon after practice, the competitors go onto the track in groups of about six cars and turn six laps with each lap clocked by the transponder. The fastest lap for each car is their official qualifying time for the feature. A pill draw determines the amount of inversion for the feature and there are no heat races, due to the multiple classes racing each night. The features are longer, allowing the cars starting back in the field an opportunity to move to the front. Irwindale has instituted a policy for fans to have a period of time each week to meet and greet all the local heroes. Once the qualifying is completed, all the racers on that evening’s program line up their cars on the front straightaway. The fans are then allowed to venture from the stands onto the track and spend time with their favorites, getting autographs, taking pictures and accumulating collectibles that the drivers might offer. This has become a very popular segment of the racing evening. Often, there is a special guest in the house that evening, which will join the regular racers for the autograph session. On this particular night, Robby Gordon put in an appearance, coming off his recent Winston Cup victory at Sonoma. More tracks and associations should look into this idea as a way to increase interest in the various series and the individual racers. Tonights show led off with twenty-eight Legend cars on the short track for thirty-five laps. This feature was completed in just over fourteen minutes. Moving right along, eighteen Focus Midgets queued up on the short track for their twenty-lap feature and completed their race in a little more than five minutes. Now the action shifted to the big track with thirty-two Ultra Wheel Super Trucks going fifty laps. In less than twenty-seven minutes, this feature was completed. Next the featured division of the night, the Jani-King Super Late Models are racing for seventy-five laps. This class is making their third appearance in as many weeks and the field was a little short with only eighteen cars. Even with several caution flags, the race was completed in less than twenty-eight minutes. The final event of the program was the West Coast Pro Trucks, with twenty-nine trucks going fifty laps. The race was completed in less than thirty minutes and within the curfew limitations of ten o’clock. Since the fans had arrived in the late afternoon, they had witnessed the qualifying efforts of the competitors, and then went onto the track to collect autographs and pictures, with the added attraction of Robby Gordon. Returning to their seats, they were treated to five features of different types of racing vehicles and were still able to head toward home just past ten p.m. Attendance tonight was just under five thousand; so racing is healthy in southern California. While Irwindale is off the beaten track for many dirt track purists, I always enjoy the visit. I have gotten to know a number of the drivers over the years. It is always fun to meet with the regular photographers and writers, who have become friends during my visits to Irwindale. Media Maven, Doug Stokes is always very accommodating and usually we have a few moments to reminisce about years gone by. Irwindale works hard to please the fans, by trying new innovations, which make the experience of a Saturday night more pleasurable. I always feel welcome at this facility. |
