NEWS and NOTES:
"Six former Southwest Tour champions will compete in the inaugural Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series “Race Of Champions”."
• Over thirty Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series teams are expected for this weekend’s “NTS, Inc. 125” at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, one of the largest fields in SRL history.
• The “NTS, Inc. 125” is the penultimate event of the 2009 Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series championship season. M.K. Kanke, the winningest driver in Southwest Tour Series history and his RPM Motorsports team lead the championship standings over Goleta’s Greg Voigt, 394 to 355. The final SRL event of 2009 will be the “GoLiveStream.TV Season Finale” on October 31st at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• There have been six different winner’s after eight events of the Spears SRL Southwest Tour in 2009; Kanke (3 wins-Roseville, Las Vegas and Madera), Vidovich (Madera), Ermish (Irwindale), Voigt (Stockton), Mike Mendenhall (Madera) and Pettit (Stockton).
• In a wild finish, Fremont’s Troy Ermish moved from fifth to first in the final four laps to win the Spears Manufacturing 100 on July 18th at Toyota Speedway.
• Six former Southwest Tour champions will compete in the inaugural Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series “Race Of Champions”. Championship drivers include; Craig Raudman (2001 NASCAR Southwest Tour Champion), Eddy McKean (2002 NASCAR Southwest Tour Champion) , Auggie Vidovich (2003 NASCAR Southwest Tour Champion), Dave Byrd (2007 Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series Champion), Jim Pettit II (2-time NASCAR Southwest Tour and 2008 SRL Champion) and Rip Michels (2006 NASCAR Southwest Tour Champion). The “Race of Champions” will be the first race of the evening at 7pm.
• This Saturday is Family Night at TOYOTA Speedway at Irwindale. Youngsters 15 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.Saturday is Family Night at Toyota Speedway, featuring $1 drinks and $1 hot dogs.
• SRL qualifying at 4:45pm, on-track autograph session at 5:45 to 6:20pm, first race 7pm.
• Event sponsor NTS, Inc. will be bringing their 400 employees and families to Saturday night’s event. NTS, Inc. is a construction and facilities management company based in Bakersfield, CA, specializing in oil production, natural gas and food processing.
• 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.
About the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series:
Celebrating its ninth season in 2009, the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. The series utilizes cars based on the former NASCAR Elite Division Series rulebook. www.SRLSouthwestTour.com
About SPEARS MANUFACTURING: Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Spears Manufacturing is a world leader in plastic pipe fittings and valves. SPEARS maintains over one million square feet of manufacturing facilities in four states and nine distribution centers across the USA for worldwide distribution. For more information go to www.SPEARSMFG.com.
