IRWINDALE, California — What a night this Saturday (August 8) will be at TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale! In addition to the Speedway’s schedule of NASCAR racing action, the event will include the XDL Sport Bike Freestyle competition featuring some of the best stunt bike riders and a Demolition Derby. Youngsters 12 years of age and under get in for free, students 13-18 will be admitted for $7.50 and $1.00 hot dogs and $1.00 sodas will be served at the Speedway’s food concession facilities.
Fans will be able to purchase one ticket which will admit them into the XDL Sport Bike Freestyle Championship event taking place on TOYOTA Speedway’s drag strip in the afternoon and that evening’s NASCAR event which includes the demolition derby, sport bike team battle and wheelie race on the oval track.
Saturday evening’s NASCAR Whelen All-American racing action includes an Auto Club Late Model 40-lap race and a 40-lap King Taco Super Truck race. Also scheduled is a 35-lap Legends Cars race, a 40-lap Southwest Tour Trucks race.
Entering Saturday’s Late Model race, only two points separate reigning champion and division points leader Tim Huddleston (496 points) of Agoura Hills and Nick Joanides (494 points) of Woodland Hills. In the last seven races Huddleston has accumulated five wins, one second place finish and a fifth place finish in the last race on July 25 which was won by Mike Johnson of Covina. Joanides finished sixth in that race and in his last nine races has finished in the top five seven times including a win and two runner-up finishes. After the race Johnson served noticed to Huddleston and Joanides that he will be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season. His record in the last nine races back up his words finishing out of the top three only twice.
Reigning division champion Pat Mintey Jr of Quartz Hill leads the King Taco Super Truck standings with 420 points and bolstered his hope of becoming a repeat champion by winning the last race on July 25. Mintey snapped a five-race winless streak in convincing fashion starting from the pole and led the entire race. The only time Mintey was challenged during the race was when he and Jeff Peterson of Riverside, who is in second place in the standings with 392 points encountered lapped traffic during the final laps of the race. Peterson caught up with Mintey and finished 0.199 of second behind him.
Ryan Reed’s first win of the season last Saturday night (August 1) was timely allowing him to regain the Legends Cars championship point standing’s lead from fellow Bakersfield resident Brandon Toy. Reed (460 points) has an eight point lead over Toy (452 points) with three races left in the season.
The Southwest Tour Trucks visit Toyota Speedway for the fourth time this season. Dalton Kuhn has won all three races at the Speedway this season while seventeen year old Christian Copley of Santa Ynez leads the championship standings with 1021 points.
The Demolition Derby will close out the evening’s activities.
Spectator gates for the XDL event open at 1 p.m. with competition starting at 1:30 p.m. Oval track spectator gates open at 4 p.m. The King Taco fan appreciation autograph session is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. with drivers, crews and race cars on the oval track. Late Model qualifying, NASCAR racing, the XDL team battle, wheelie race and Demolition Derby get underway at 7 p.m.
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Test and Tune drag racing takes place each Thursday evening with gates opening at 4 p.m. and competition at 5 p.m. It costs $20.00 to race and $10.00 to watch and kids five and under get in free.
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Tickets for all TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale events are available for purchase at the Speedway ticket office by calling (626) 358-1100 and online at www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.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 Saturday oval track races when they show their AAA membership card.
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 Foothill freeways in Irwindale, California. Log on to www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com for additional information including schedule and promotion details.
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For further information contact Kevin O’Brien, Marketing and Public Relations (626) 358-1100 ext. 212, kobrien@toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com.
