SAN BERNARDINO, California -- A race that was conceived as a reward for the Super Late Model drivers at Orange Show Speedway has become the track’s most anticipated event in years.
Saturday night, Oct. 14, NASCAR champion Ron Hornaday Jr. and drivers from Las Vegas, Irwindale, Perris and elsewhere will join the talented Orange Show regulars to race 100 laps on a tight quarter-mile oval for a purse that’s been increased by $2,500.
That’s a formula guaranteed to produce excitement during a racing program that also includes the season finales for the ASA Street Stocks and Sport Compacts, and the Legend Cars and Bandoleros.
Spectator gates will open at 5 p.m. and the on-track activity will get under way at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and military personnel and $2 for children 6 to 12, and tickets are available at the National Orange Show administration building, through Gate 1 off E Street, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Parking is $4, with the entrance through Gate 3 off Mill Street.
Hornaday, a two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck series champion, is using an open week in that schedule to make the trip West and return to his roots. A former Palmdale resident who began his career at Saugus Speedway, Hornaday made frequent visits to Orange Show Speedway while progressing from the short tracks to the Craftsman Truck series.
This weekend, he’ll be driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned and prepared by Yucaipa’s Gary Stockman, whose son, Danny, is a crew member on the AES-sponsored Chevrolet Hornaday drives for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
Hornaday will familiarize himself with the car during an open practice Friday evening, then prepare to take on a group of challengers that is expected to include current Orange Show points leaders Glen Cummings, Ron Overman, John Manke, Mark Shackleford, Frankie Gould and Rick Chavez, former Orange Show and Perris champion Linny White, Irwindale Speedway regulars David Ross and Brett Edwards, and Las Vegas drivers Justin Johnson, Jason Keller, Rick Constantine and others.
Russ Pennell, whose Stickshift Transmissions is one of the leading race car suppliers, said he is working extended hours this week to complete the transmissions and rear ends ordered by Super Late Model drivers, and track officials are expecting over 30 entries. The normal Super Late Model race attracts between 15 and 20 cars.
The race had been scheduled to pay an extra $1,000 and count toward the track championship. It will not. However, chief steward Mike Scheidecker said that while no points will be awarded, up to four starting positions will be reserved on a provisional basis for any of the title contenders who fail to qualify by other means.
The tentative format is for a 20-car field. The 14 fastest qualifiers will advance to the main event. The remaining six positions will be filled by provisional starters and/or transfers from the “B” main, which won’t be a race for the faint of heart.
Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Leno’s Rico Taco, Blackhawk Protection, CEC Embroidery, Golden West Tire, Lucas Oil, Soboba Casino, Budweiser, Sunoco Racing Fuel, Hoosier Racing Tires, Center Chevrolet, Pick A Part, Neff Rental, Pepsi, Loma Linda University Medical Center, J&M Trophy, Matich Corp., Lazer Radio (101.7 and 105.7 FM), La Salle Medical Associates, California Highway Patrol, KCAL radio (96.7 FM) and the San Bernardino County Sun newspaper.
