SAN BERNARDINO, California — One of the first pledges Rick McCray made to the stock car drivers who race at Orange Show Speedway was that there will be consistency in the officiating this season.
One of the first things McCray did after signing a five-year lease on the historic quarter-mile race track was take a major step toward that consistency by moving California’s oldest motor sports facility into the electronic age.
This season, for the first time, all timing and scoring will be done with transponders. These are small, rechargeable electronic transmitters that are mounted in a specified location on each car’s chassis. Each transponder has a unique identifying code, and as a car crosses the start-finish line a wire embedded in the track transmits a signal from the transponder to a timing and scoring computer that displays each car’s lap time and position in the field.
The system is more accurate and much faster than a manual scoring system and eliminates any questions or complaints about human error or preferential treatment. It also will help in achieving another of McCray’s goals and getting the racing program over by about 10 p.m. each Saturday.
The transponders have been ordered and are expected to be available for use at the open practice March 7. They can be rented for $25 per race or purchased for $300.
It still will be up to individuals to write and enforce the rules and impose penalties when necessary, but McCray said in that process everyone will be treated the same.
“We’ll be consistent in everything we do,” McCray said. “We’re going to be consistent in the calls that we make and they’re going to be for everybody. It’s not going to be (a case of) one guy’s going to get away with something and the other guy’s not. Whatever the call is, it’s for everybody
“I think once the rules are in place and people realize that if you take somebody out, you’re going to the back, I think you’re going to see the racing clean up and the drivers have more fun and the spectators see the show that they’re paying to see.”
Those shows will begin March 28 with the Super Late Models in the spotlight. A tentative schedule shows 22 nights of racing in a season that would conclude Oct. 17. In addition, the track will continue to host the annual Route 66 Burnout Contest Sept. 19.
For information on sponsorship and promotional opportunities and for answers to questions regarding competition rules and requirements, please contact Best in the West Racing by telephone at 909-885-9000 or by e-mail at McCrayEnt@mccray.com.
