SEPTEMBER 21 LINE-UP AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY

VISTA PAINT PRESENTS: CRITICAL POINTS RACES FOR
AUTO CLUB LATE MODELS, SUPER STOCKS, MOD 4's,
GRAND AM MODIFIEDS and PICK YOUR PART FIGURE 8's SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY


Irwindale, Calif. - - With only two races (only one for the Grand Ams!) left in the 2002 season, every divisional Championship on Saturday night's card at Irwindale Speedway is still in play and up for grabs.  This has been the kind of a season that promoters dream of and racers loathe … Razor-thin points battles right down to the wire, the last race of the season, no runaways.  An "On any given Saturday night …" kind of attitude among the top 10 in every division.  Here's a quick run look at the possibilities.

GRAND AMERICAN MODIFIED: This one is for the Championship friends and neighbors.  The last race of an even dozen in a season that saw a top competitor stripped of all points and asked not to come back until next year and with a 10-point gap between first and second with third only twenty-eight points arrears.  

John Watkinson, from Canyon Country, holds that paper-thin 10-point lead going in with second generation racer Travis Thirkettle (Newhall) right on his proverbial "donkey" 456 to 446.  Charlie Wahl, who commutes from the bright lights of Las Vegas to race, at IS and has used three different cars in his 2002 chase, is way too close for comfort with his 418 points.  No one else has a mathematical chance of taking the title, but there are P-LENTY of drivers who would not mind one bit their spoiling any of the above's chances at the win in this hot division.

(AS WITH ALL DIVISIONS RUNNING FOR IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY
SEASONAL POINTS … COMPLETE RUNDOWNS OF POINTS ARE AVAILABLE
ON THE TRACK'S WEBSITE AT:  www.irwindalespeedway.com)

AUTO CLUB LATE MODELS:  This division has been the scene of some serious tumult all season long … Riverside's Todd Burns leads the show with 706 points in the bank with Agoura Hills' Tim Huddleston "only" 30 points behind and two races left on the clock.  Now in third place, solo Ford Taurus driver Kevin Wood of Saugus, cannot win the title with his 562 points, but could figure heavily in the above scrap if you know what we mean.  

(JUST FOR THE RECORD: ALL IS DIVISIONS PAY POINTS ON THE SAME SCHEDULE:  50 TO WIN, 48 FOR 2ND, 46 FOR 3RD, 44 FOR 4TH AND SO ON …
SO ITS FAIRLY EASY TO SEE WHAT IS NEEDED FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP)

VISTA PAINT SUPER STOCKS:  Let's see 588 to 540.  That's 48 points … Heck, this division is almost a darn runaway!  Sure!  All divisional points leader Darren Cheek of Phelan has to do is have a bad night to Simi Valley's Andrew Phipps' good one and the whole year changes.  This 15-race series has been a two-man battle all the way and no one expects anything any different for the last two critical races.  It's down to the "Short strokes" in Super Stock now.  Two more second generation drivers with plenty of race savvy in each of their corners, yet each very much his own man when it comes to style and racecraft.

"Rookie" (in this division anyhow) Lee Ladd is in place for a good season with his 486.  The Thousand Oaks driver/car owner (he's already "won" one division with Rip Michels clinching of the Jani-King Super Late Model Title last week) is having a fun year fielding an almost concourse quality car in an often ding-plagued division.

MODIFIED 4's:  Irwindale's econo division, yet a class where everyone is just as serious as a heart attack about each and every position on each and every lap.  Long Beach's Terry Limberopoulos leads the compact pack with his venerable Renault.  The rear-motored relic has racked up 458 points to Ojai-based Greg Tucker's 426 in his equally elderly Pinto.  Early season leader, and defending division champ, Guy Tripp (416 points) had a bit of a stumble at the last race as he was DQed for drilling Limberopoulos in the heat of battle on the Irwindale's tricky third mile oval.

PICK YOUR PART FIGURE 8's:  This one is anyone's crash-fest.  (Actually two races back, the 8's were the only division of the night to actually go their proscribed number of race laps WITHOUT a yellow or a red flag!)  Keen driving, really good brakes, heavy acceleration, super peripheral vision, and a healthy dose of old fashion chutzpah are the tools that get no rest on the crazy criss-cross course.  James Altman (Wildomar) has a skinny points lead with 264, with Chris Williamson (San Berdoo) way (way) too close for comfort, only 8 back at 256.  Below that, no one has a numerical chance to take this year's championship, but that won't stop anyone from coming to race and win at Ir-WIN-dale.

GENERALLY SPEAKING: In all of the above, winning the Championship is paramount … Failing that a top 5 is great … and a top 10 year is a high mark of honor in anyone's book.  Hard work has been the hallmark of every competitor who raced even once at Irwindale this season, putting a championship year together is an accomplishment that every team aims for but competing for it is the true test of a racer and race team.

The above nice thoughts on finishing in anything but first place aside ... Here's to the Champs!  None of them will have backed into their championships, every one of them had to work at it every week.  And that's why they'll all deserve all the praise that we plan to heap upon them.

The track gates open at 4PM on Saturday afternoon, with a hot local band playing live and in person, face-painting for the kids, and the "party atmosphere" King Taco Autograph Session right on the race track at 6PM.  Racing will start at 7PM with the singing of the national anthem.

Prizes are also awarded to lucky number holders in the track's colorful and informative weekly program.  Adding further to the program's worth is the fact that each program cover becomes a collectible mini-poster when opened and laid flat. 

Great tickets are always available on-line at www.irwindalespeedway.com <http://www.irwindalespeedway.com/>, by phone at 626-358-1100, and in person at the track's on-site box office.   Discounted group rates are availble for as few as 20 people.

Parties, track tours, racing school experiances, business luncheons, and more are also always easy to arrange at Irwindale Speedway.  

Exclusive season corporate box seats are still available with the prices pro-rated to reflect the number of races remaining in the year.  
THANK YOU