SAN BERNARDINO, California — The temperature isn’t the only thing heating up these days. So is the racing at Orange Show Speedway, and in the next 10 weeks the historic quarter-mile oval once again will become the place to be for fun and family entertainment on a Saturday night.
The process begins this Saturday (July 11), when the Lucas Oil SuperClean Modifieds join the ASA Late Models, Pick-A-Part Street Stocks and Stock Cars USA to kick off the most sustained period of activity for the season.
There will be nine nights of racing in the next 10 weeks, and in that period the track’s regular competitors will be joined by the USAC Western Midgets, USAC Ford Focus Midgets, SouthWest Tour Trucks, Old Farts Car Show and another round of the SuperClean Modifieds touring series.
It’s a varied menu with something for every taste, and this week’s program is a good example. The powerful SuperClean Modifieds will run a 75-lap main event, the ultra-competitive Late Models will have a 50-lap feature, and the Street Stocks and Stock Cars USA will compete in 35-lap races. The Modifieds also might run a B main to help determine their starting lineup if more than 22 cars are entered.
Spectator gates will open at 4 p.m., with an on-track autograph session from 6 to 6:40 p.m. and the first race at 7 p.m.
Tickets are priced at $10 for general admission, $8 for seniors (60 and older), students 11 to 18 and military personnel with valid identification. Children 10 and under are admitted free. A Family Pack, which includes admission for four plus a hot dog and small soft drink for each person, is priced at $40. Parking is $5, with entry through Gate 4 off Mill Street.
This week also there is a coupon at www.BestInTheWestRacing.com that can be printed and presented at the box office to get one general admission ticket at half-price with the purchase of one at the full price.
Saturday’s race will be the fourth of the eight-race season for the Modifieds, who will return to ASA-sanctioned Orange Show Speedway on Sept. 5. Chris Gerchman of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., won the opener March 28 at his hometown Havasu 95 Speedway, 2008 champion Jimmy Dickerson took round two at Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway in Blythe April 18 and Andrew Phipps of Simi Valley was the winner May 16 at Las Vegas.
Gerchman, with a win, a third and a second, leads the standings by 6 points over Phipps, who has two fourths to go with his victory. Jim Mardis, Orange Show’s 2006 Pony Stock champion, has finished third, sixth and fourth and is third in the points, 14 behind Gerchman.
Two weeks ago, Toni McCray became the first woman to win a main event in one of the speedway’s premier divisions when she captured the 50-lap ASA Late Model main event. She was the fifth different winner in as many races for the class. She also has two seconds and a fourth in her four starts and is fourth in the standings despite missing the opening race.
Yucaipa train conductor Kevin James is the points leader by 6 over May 2 winner Ryan Daniel and 14 over April 4 winner Jim Conklin. Logan Mainella and Dan DiGiammarino won the other two races.
In the Pick-A-Part Street Stock class, which has had four different winners in as many races, five-time champion Johnny Russo of Big Bear City is 2 points ahead of reigning champion Kyle Meyer of Highland and 12 up on Cliff Conklin of Big Bear Lake.
Lake Elsinore’s Tom Whitson has won two of the three races in the Stock Cars USA division and tops the standings by 2 points over Jimmy Rouse Jr. and 4 over Dave Foster.
For information on sponsorship and promotional opportunities, please contact Best in the West Racing by telephone at 909-885-9000 or visit the new web site at www.BestInTheWestRacing.com.
For all other information, please contact Jim Short by telephone at 951-203-2649 or by e-mail at jimshort65@sbcglobal.net.
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As an American Speed Association (ASA)-sanctioned track, Orange Show Speedway is part of the ASA Member Track National Championship.
The goal of the ASA Short Track National Championship is to activate a measuring system which takes into account many variables – such as field size, inversion, wins and number of races in a season – and create a level playing field to determine who is the ‘best-of-the-best’ of the ASA Member Track Champions nationwide.
The ASA Joe Gibbs Driven National Member Track Champion Award was designed to give the National Champion exposure with one of the top teams in racing – Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Driven Oil, a division of Joe Gibbs Racing, sells the actual oil products developed and used by Joe Gibbs Racing to racers at all levels.
The ASA Member Track program is comprised of a network of short tracks around the United States, as well as a variety of regional and national touring series.
