COMING UP AT IRWINDALE ... SATURDAY NIGHT MAY 28
3M NIGHT AT IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY - MAY 28 AKA: “THE NIGHT BEFORE The 500 and The 600” Irwindale, Calif. - - Two words, no really one word and a number, TWIN 50's … TWIN 50's … Roll it around in your head … Now say it out loud … TWIN 50's. And now link that concept with the LUCAS OIL SUPER LATE MODELS, the Speedway's fastest, most competitive, and most closely-watched divisions and see what you've got. Wanna talk love/hate relationships? Twin 50 races are the place. With 100 points at stake, and only 100 laps (50 miles) in two 50-lap bursts to get 'em; drivers, crews, and car owners all tend to loose some sleep over these critical sprints. Get well if you win both, or perhaps blow the whole season before its half over if you double fault here. But that's how we like it in Saturday Night Short Track (aka: NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing)! Todd Southwell, after a remarkable comeback in the May 14 race (last to third!) keeps his lead in the Lucas Oil -backed Supers. The San Marcos resident has a slim 18-point lead over Harbor City's Mike Price who won his first Super Late Model main two weeks ago. Price has been knocking on the door for quite a while and his win over veteran Rod Johnson was a popular one. Johnson, with his string of solid top 10 placings, is in third place in the points and calls Canyon Country his home. Another Canyon Country resident, John Watkinson, will lead the “Grand Ams” into Irwindale on Saturday night. The over-powered and under-tired GRAND AMERICAN MODIFIEDS, though relatively few in number, always put on a great show getting way sideways on the half mile. Making it a Canyon Country tri-fecta, Cory Fancy (from guess where?) has the points lead in the DODGE SUPER TRUCKS points chase. Its only 8, but many annual championships at Irwindale have been won by less! Kevin Bernhardt is NOT from Canyon Country … He's from that little town with the track that many call a scaled-up version of Irwindale Speedway, Fontana. After four race he's got a (thin is in) two-point lead in the scrappy MINI-STOCKS. ADD THIS … USAC OPEN WHEELERS BACK ON THE IRWINDALE OVAL: On the strength of three straight victories in USAC California Ford Focus Pavement Midget Car Series action, Alex Harris of Simi Valley, Calif. leads the division to the Speedway where he has already visited Victory Lane twice this season. Harris, now third in the series' points standings, led the opening 24 laps and the final one at the Stockton 99 Speedway, beating Chase Barber, Matt Triplett, Benny Moon and series leader Audra Sasselli. Harris, driving the No. 54 West Valley Grinding/Quality Community Homes TCR/Ford Focus, retook the lead from Robbie Whitchurch on the final lap after Whitchurch, who passed Harris on lap 25, spun. Moon was the event's fast qualifier Harris, now with three California pavement wins and a dirt victory at Ventura, Calif., has won both Irwindale shows this season, while Triplett is the only other winner on the circuit. Sasselli now leads Barber by 14 points heading into Saturday's 20-lapper on the fast 1/3-mile paved oval. CALIFORNIA FORD FOCUS PAVEMENT MIDGET CAR SERIES STANDINGS 1. Audra Sasselli 236 2. Chase Barber 222 3. Alex Harris 200 4. Robbie Whitchurch 183 5. Steve Davis 174 6. Matt Triplett 161 7. Benny Moon 154 8. J.R. Williams 147 9. Darrell Herzog 143 10. Chris Veach 130 Fans are encouraged to get out to the track early so that they can enjoy the King Taco On-Track Autograph Session before the races, meeting the drivers and crews right on the front straightaway of the half-mile. PLEASE NOTE: The originally scheduled West Coast Pro Trucks will not run on Saturday night and will be rescheduled. FOR MORE MEDIA INFO. Doug Stokes (626) 358-1100 THANKS! -STOKES