IRWINDALE, California
The NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series makes its only appearance of the season on Irwindale Speedway’s half-mile oval. Last year’s race featured a dramatic finish when Andrew Myers of Newport Beach and Eric Holmes of Modesto engaged in a side-by-side dual in the later stages of the race with Myers taking the checkered flag, beating the 2006 Series champion to the finish line by a margin of .016 seconds.
Entering Wednesday’s 200-lap race, only 134 points separate the top five West Series drivers. Modesto’s Mike David leads the division standings with 1,218 points. Johnny Borneman of Ramona is in second with 1,136 points and Mike Duncan of Bakersfield holds down the third spot with 1,127 points. Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Jason Bowles of Ontario is in fourth place with 1,091 points and Anaheim’s Eric Hardin is in fifth with 1,084 points.
The Auto Club Late Model standings are even tighter with a four-driver logjam behind division leader Tim Huddleston (314 points) poised to challenge the Agoura Hills resident for the division lead. Teammate and rookie driver Jace Meier of Las Vegas is only 36 points behind and Aaron Staudinger of Canyon Country is in third with 272 points. Doug McComb of Thousand Oaks and Michael Wright of Yucca Valley round out the top five with 268 and 262 points respectively.
Spectator gates open at 4 p.m. The King Taco fan appreciation autograph session will take place on the track with the drivers, crew members and race cars at 5:45 p.m. The Firecracker 100 will start promptly at 7 p.m. and the green flag will wave for the start of the King Taco 200 at 8:08 p.m. The fireworks show will follow the races.
NEXT EVENT – Irwindale Speedway’s Whelen All-American NASCAR Weekly Racing series schedule will take a one week hiatus and return on July 14. On Saturday, July 7 the 7 7 7 Hot Rod Show will take place. The event will feature a hot rod and motorcycle show, drag racing, cacklefest, unique exhibits, live music and the Poorman’s Bikini Beach Summer Nationals. Spectator gates open at 4 p.m. hot road and motorcycle show begins at 5 p.m. with drag racing scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Admission is $7.00 for adults and kids 5 years and under will be admitted for free.
Tickets for all Irwindale Speedway events are available for purchase at the Speedway ticket office, by calling (626) 358-1100 and online at www.irwindalespeedway.com. Auto Club of Southern California members receive a 10% discount off of the purchase of up to four (4) adult general admission tickets for specified events when they show their AAA membership card. Auto Club members can also receive discounts on special offers at the concession and souvenir stands.
Irwindale Speedway is located at 500 Speedway Drive off of Live Oak Ave. and the I-605 freeway, between the I-10 and 210 Foothill freeways in Irwindale, California. Log on to www.irwindalespeedway.com for further information.
