IRWINDALE, California — TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale promises a 4th of July celebration that will not disappoint fans attending this Saturday’s event. Fireworks will be flying on and off the track with two exciting feature races scheduled including the King Taco 200 NASCAR Camping World Series West 200 lap race, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Auto Club Late Model Firecracker 75 lap race followed by a spectacular fireworks show.
The new Langers Juice S2 division will debut by conducting a 12-lap exhibition race during Saturday night’s event. The new division is a low cost turn-key economy spec stock car series. Also making its debut is TOYOTA Speedway’s new pace car, a Toyota Camry Hybrid which will be utilized to pace the races.
Saturday’s race marks the eighth event of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series West season with five races remaining. Eric Holmes of Escalon, Calif. leads the series standings with 1,190 points but hometown driver Jason Bowles of Ontario, Calif. comes into the event with momentum after winning the last race on June 20 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Bowles trails Holmes by only 24 points and hopes to duplicate last year’s July 4th scenario in which he won in Sonoma and followed it up by qualifying on the pole and winning at Irwindale, which was his first oval track victory.
Entering Saturday night’s Auto Club Late Model division race, Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills, Calif. leads the standings with 406 points but reigning division champion Tim Huddleston of Agoura Hills, Calif. trails by only two points having closed the gap by winning four of the last five races including a win in last Saturday’s race. Mike Johnson of Covina, Calif. is in third place with 370 points.
Fans are advised to arrive early at the Speedway to partake in and view a variety of scheduled activities and interactive displays. Facility sponsor Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and the Southern California Toyota Dealers Association will have their NASCAR Motorsports display present which includes the Kyle Busch #18 M&M’s / Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry and the Joey Logano #20 The Home Depot / Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup show cars. Fans will be able to get their picture taken while sitting behind the wheel of the cars.
During the King Taco on track fan appreciation autograph session which gets underway at 5:45 p.m., Commander Chuck Street who is the “eye-in-the-sky” traffic reporter for 102.7 KISS FM radio will land his Diet Pepsi turbine-powered Jet Ranger 1 helicopter on the Speedway infield. He will be chauffeuring the winner of the KISS FM VIP contest who will serve as the honorary starter of the King Taco 200.
Bass Pro Shops and Thompson Building Materials will be conducting enter-to-win contests at their displays where fans will have a chance to win some great prizes.
Fans attending the event will be able to watch TNT’s live broadcast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola from Daytona International Raceway on large flat screen televisions situated in a special viewing area.
Spectator gates open and qualifying begins at 4 p.m. The King Taco fan appreciation autograph session with drivers, crews and cars will take place on the track beginning at 5:45 p.m. Green flag racing action begins at 7 p.m. followed by the fireworks show.
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Tickets for all TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale events including the King Taco 200 event are available for purchase at the Speedway ticket office, by calling (626) 358-1100 and online at www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com. Ticket prices for the July 4th event are: Adult general admission, $15.00; seniors, $12.00; Youngsters (6-12), $7.50; Kids (5 and under), free (free ticket is required); reserved seats, $25.00. Auto Club of Southern California members receive a 10% discount off of the purchase of up to four (4) adult general admission tickets for Saturday oval track races when they show their AAA membership card. Restrictions may apply.
TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale is located at 500 Speedway Drive off of Live Oak Ave. and the I-605 freeway, between the I-10 and 210 freeways in Irwindale, Calif. Log on to www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com for information and schedules.
