BIG BEAR CITY, California -- The waiting game has begun for the Conklin Brothers Racing team.
"We’ll come down and race and finish out the season, then see what the rules are for next year and decide what I’m going to do."— Jim Conklin
They are waiting first of all for the final night of the California Speed Jams season at Orange Show Speedway Oct. 22. That’s when Jim will complete another Late Model campaign in the top five in the point standings and join younger brother Cliff in pursuing the $4,000 winner’s share of 1-800LoanMart’s $15,000 Street Stock Shootout.
The Conklins will have three cars in that event – Chevrolet Camaros for Jim and Cliff and Jim’s title-winning Chevrolet Monte Carlo for John Gibbons of Timberline Spas, one of the team’s major sponsors.
Conklin said the Shootout, which is scheduled for 65 laps with a break at the halfway point, is “going to be fun, going to be interesting,” especially if the entry list is as large as anticipated. In fact, Jim is rethinking his decision to drive in the race because “it might be a lot more fun to watch it than be in it.”
The Conklins will drive, though, right after Jim puts the final brushstroke on his 10-race Late Model season. He is assured of being at least fourth in the point standings after his fourth-place finish in the most recent race Oct. 1. But he is waiting to see what lies ahead for the historic quarter-mile oval track and the Late Model class so he can chart his own future.
A winner of two Late Model championships and a Street Stock title, Conklin continues to advocate combining the Late Model and Super Late Model classes and reviving the Pro Stock class. He said “it it was up to me, that’s what I would do. But I don’t know what the track’s thoughts are on it. I want to talk to the officials and see what they’re going to do.
“We’ll come down and race and finish out the season, then see what the rules are for next year and decide what I’m going to do.”
His preference would be to race in the Pro Stock class “if there are enough older cars that are stock stub front or leaf spring rear.
“There are some cars out there that would fit the Pro Stock rules,” he said, mentioning four that raced Oct. 1 and another handful that have been parked in recent seasons. “Whether there are enough of them or not, I don’t know.”
He’ll have to wait and see.
Conklin Racing is sponsored by MyIrishPride.com, Alpine Slide, Timberline Spas, Conklin Hot Rods, Azteca Grill and Restaurant, Conklin Paints, Domino’s Pizza, VoMar Starfire, Mark Dolan Realty Executives and SND Construction.
For more information, visit www.conklinracing.com or contact Jim Conklin at 909-866-5747.
