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Los Angeles, CA. - CRASH TOLL: The
15-car NASCAR Late Model crash in turn
two at Irwindale Speedway June 17 on lap 19 of the feature
"caused at least $100,000 in damage, probably a lot more."
So said Jeff Schrader, owner/president of Race Car Factory. His
eight-man shop builds and repairs many of the race-cars in Irwindale,
about half a mile from the IS track. On my visit to the RCF
nine-stall shop June 23 Schrader showed me four of the involved cars
in his shop for repairs. No. 24 of Craig Yeaton, who got hit in the
left rear and turned around, needed a new rear clip. No. 43 of
rookie Jason Bowles required a new front clip. No. 77 of Aaron
Staudinger needed a new rear clip, the second in two months for the
former truck racer and late model rookie. No. 09 of
Lindsey King needed a new right front after contact by a car that
veered towards the infield as she almost cleared the melee. The
17-year old Legend Cars veteran and first time late model starter
qualified 18th fastest in a 34-car field and was running 19th in her
debut aboard the ex-No. 86 Mike Mulhall RCF-built car. No. 81of
Brian Jones was the most battered car according to Schrader. It hit
and got hit everywhere and required a new front clip and a new body.
Tim Huddleston's No. 50 Monte Carlo, (RCF's 50th
chassis) in its second race, received a solid hit in the driver's
side door by the passing No. 81 Jones car. Sturdy crossbars did
their job. Huddleston received only a sore shoulder, but he declined
medical attention at the track. Huddleston's first late model, the
sixth car built by RCF, got spun tail first into the third-mile turn
one attenuator and heavily damaged during the May 20 fast heat race.
It actually was more seriously damaged according to Schrader than
the 50th chassis that received the mid-ship hit June 17. Huddleston
was bringing chassis 50 from the
June 17 crash to RCF on June 24 for repairs. "We'll have it
ready to go again before the next race July 1," Schrader told
me. Other RCF-built cars just required new parts (fenders, hoods,
windshields, suspension parts, radiators, etc). They included No. 72
(Austin Grabowski), No. 20 (Chris Johnson), No. 31 Daniel DiGiacomo)
and No. 35 (Rodney Peacher). Those teams made repairs at their own
shops. The No. 22 Brian Kelley car, which hit and turned Yeaton's
No. 24, most likely went to Todd Burns' shop for repairs according
to Schrader.
Jeff Saelid, veteran driver of the black &
yellow No. 21Dodge Intrepid NASCAR Late Model, practiced at
Irwindale's regular 5:00-9:00 p.m open practice session Friday, June
9. That evening, en route home to Oak Hills, in San Bernardino
County, Jeff became involved in an auto accident. He was
hospitalized with spinal cord injuries initially at Arrowhead
Regional Medical Center in Colton. Jeff has been moved to Queen of
the Valley Hospital. His family experienced challenging times
recently. Jeff's injuries are compounding their situation and
financial strain. As of late June, he has regained some feeling in
his extremities. Financial donations (made payable to Jeff Saelid)
may be sent to
Irwindale Speedway, 500 Speedway Drive, Irwindale, CA. 91706, Attn:
Carrie Rogers.
P. J. Chesson, a 2006 IRL Indianapolis 500
rookie, had his car eliminated
on lap two. His teammate, Jeff Bucknum, spun in the second turn and
sent P. J's car into the outer wall. For financially stressed
car owner Ron Hemelgarn, owner of both cars, that crash might have
ended his IRL career. With his No. 91and 92 cars wiped out, Ron has
not fielded a car for any of the three post-Indianapolis IRL races.
He reportedly is eyeing the new generation USAC Silver Crown cars as
a less-expensive way to go racing. Chesson may land on his feet. A
recent report indicated P.J may catch on with Eddie Cheever in
either his No. 51 or 52 cars. Chesson, the older of two racing
brothers from winged sprint car racing, became known as a character
during interviews during May at Indy. Brother James Chesson competed
in the Friday, May 26, Indy Pro Series 40-lap
race at IMS. James was in the top ten and passing cars before he
dropped out after 29 laps with a problem. James served as spotter
for P.J in the May 28 Indy 500. P.J has many tattoos on his body and
his newest one was the 90th Indy 500 logo. P.J could be nicknamed
IRL's "Wild Child" with apologies to a pair of sprint car
racers--Jac Haudenschild, of Ohio, and the 1960s-70s star Buddy
Taylor, from Albuquerque, N.M. Interestingly, there were two drivers
named P.J in the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Both P.Js-Chesson and
Jones-experienced problems. Chesson finished last 33rd and Jones
19th with 189 of 200 laps completed.
Actress Hillary Duff was among a group of
celebrities who participated during mid-June in a television
production shoot at Irwindale Speedway for a future show on MTV.
Duff and other celebrities took "hot-laps" around
Irwindale's half-mile banked oval as passengers in the Indy Racing
League's two-seater Indy Car. Former IRL driver Davey Hamilton drove
the blue and white Sinden Racing Service two-seater with "celebs"
along in the back seat. Ryan Newman, who looks a lot like MLB's LA
Angels of Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia, also appeared at Irwindale
Speedway. Ryan and his Penske No. 12 Alltel Dodge taped an Alltel TV
commercial at IS on Wednesday, May 10. Ryan raced his No. 39 USAC
Midget at Irwindale in the USAC Thanksgiving Night 100-lap Midget
Grand Prix on November 25, 1999 and finished 25th in a 34-car field.
On 11/23/00 Ryan raced the No. 30 USAC Midget in the same classic
event and finished eighth in a 32-car
field. Little did we know as we spoke to Ryan that day that he would
become one of the "young gun" stars in NASCAR's premier
Cup Series.
Speaking of rising stars, Josh Wise qualifies.
The 2005 USAC National Midget Champion also starred in the USAC
Silver Crown and National Sprint Car Series. The clean-cut,
personable 23-year old USAC open-wheel ace reminds me of fellow
open-wheeler Kasey Kahne in fast qualifying ability, racing talent,
appearance, and marketability for a prospective sponsor. Could Ray
Everhnam, an admirer of open-wheel racing driver skills, be on the
trail of Josh Wise? This year Josh, from Riverside, CA, raced
his first stock car race in an ARCA-RE/MAX 200-lap race Sunday, May
7 at the Winchester (IN) Speedway, half-mile high-banked track. He
raced 87 laps in a No 22 red/white/black Dodge and finished 31st--a
DNF with an overheating problem. Josh has other ARCA stock car
races on his 2006 schedule at Toledo, OH (Sept. 1) and at the new
track on I-70 east of Des Moines in Newton, IA (Oct. 15).
On Friday, May 26 Wise executed a sensational
pass of his Tony Stewart Racing teammate Levi Jones on the Indiana
Fairgrounds mile-dirt track in the USAC Silver Crown historic
Hoosier Hundred race. Josh, who finished second in the 2005 Hoosier
Hundred and in 2005 S/C points, led only lap 100 of 100. On May 28
Speed News on Speed Channel showed the final lap determined pass by
Wise on the outside entering the third turn. He simply was not
willing to settle for second place in the race for the second year
in a row. Last week Josh made his first start in one of the new
generation USAC Silver Crown cars in the June 24 event at the
three-quarter mile Richmond International Raceway. He set the
fastest qualifying time in a 14-car field by a third of a second.
His car owner of the No. 14 S/C car is A. J. Foyt. Josh led the
first 19 laps and stalled with a throttle linkage problem. His crew
made repairs and Josh returned to finish fifth, down seven laps, as
the final car racing at the finish. Wise is a fast-rising star
driver. Champions Stewart and Foyt know racing talent when they see
it.
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