Tracks: High car count at Irwindale breaks old record
17 April 2000
IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY RACE EVENT SYNOPSIS 04.15.00 One hundred and seventy cars, yes you heard that correctly, a record one-hundred- and-seventy-one cars* entered five divisions of racing at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday night, April 15. Bettering the old entry record by almost 40 cars, the pits were filled with cars and crews and the fans were anticipating some close racing. They got it. In all, there were 225 laps of main events run making the average AFCPMEL (adult fan cost per main event lap) a minuscule .06 cents each! (That's based on the regular event $15.00 adult admission). Looking at the evening on a per minute's cost, the price was (strangely enough) .06 cents as well! Fans that were at Irwindale on Saturday night April 15 have much more to remember than just the fact that they were at the Speedway when a new car-count record was set … Anyway that one calculated the entertainment value of a Saturday evening of racing at Irwindale Speedway, folks really seemed to have received their money's worth on "Tax Day 2000". The feature race of the evening was a strongly-contested affair with North Hill's Ben Walker taking top honors by leading 39 of 75 hard-fought laps proving conclusively that Irwindale's NASCAR Super Late Models have truly become a premier regional weekly class. The quality of the division's staunch fields runs deep and the fans have become aware that they're seeing some very high-test racing. Walker and Bakersfield driver Dan Holtz, who had come into the race tied for second place in the standings, duked it out for virtually all 75 laps of the main, with points leader Greg Viogt (of Goleta) right behind waiting for a slip from either that never came. Tim Woods III was fourth (and closing), giving the Chino driver his best-ever SLM main event finish. Woods was driving a brand-new car after a (not his fault) accident wiped out his original car two weeks earlier at Irwindale. "Drive of the Race" honors (if there was such a thing) should most rightly go to Saugus's A.J. DiMarzo. Starting from deep in the eighth row, the aptly-named "A.J." picked up places on what seemed like every other lap to finish fifth overall well ahead of many who had timed-in faster that night. And … There's much more to come at Irwindale with the great Super Lates. New sponsorship and increased regional promotion of the division will assure even greater participation and recognition in the weeks and months to come. Does any know what the "TK" in TK Karvasek stands for any way? "Too Kool?" "The King?" … What ever it is, the North Hills driver lived up to it this time. Coming from behind and running the low line to absolute perfection, Karvasek beat out a tenacious Jeff Green (Long Beach) who, at times seemed chained to back bumper of TK's car. Never more than few feet apart during the entire 40 laps of the NASCAR Super Stocks main event, "two for the show" was never a better truism. Steve Gilmore from Granada Hills was third, Yagel Berkovitz from Burbank was fourth and 1999 divisional Champ (check out his new driving suit with that moniker prominently embroidered thereon) Mike Price of San Pedro finished fifth. Legends Cars on the third mile at Irwindale are always a treat, and this night's race was no exception. 30 fast laps of all-out racing saw local lad Jon Zernikow of Monrovia victorious. Finishing close behind him was a veritable "United Nations" of Legends Cars drivers from all over southern California. 2) Gary Scheuerll, Temecula, 3) Tom Landreth, Alta Loma, 4) Don Pinkus, Victorville, and 5) Harold Grafton, Jamul. As competitive as they were colorful, the feisty Legends Cars held up their part of the night's promised "5-ring circus" with customary gusto. Rip Michels from Mission Hills won the NASCAR Grand American Modified race by less that a second and half over Covina's Jimmy White. Roger Carufel Jr. (Saugus), Travis Thirkettle (Sylmar) and John Watkinson (Canyon Country) made up the top five in the exciting 30-lap main. The always-competitive Ultra Wheel Spec Trucks were the final race of the evening and their 50 laps was icing on the cake of competitiveness for the fans in attendance. Joe Herold of Poway won the 26-car main over Jon Campbell of Laguna Hills by a scant 3/10ths of a second. Third though fifth in the equally-prepared small trucks were: second-fastest qualifier Bill Helgeson from Riverside, Dave Blankenship from Stevenson Ranch, and Jim McGill from Temecula. -DS *For the numbers-minded among us the divisional entry breakdown was as follows: Division: Total Entries 04.15.00 Super Late Model 37 Super Stock 39 Grand American Modified 23 Spec Trucks 39 Legends Cars 33