King Taco 200 - K&N Pro Series - FIREWORKS

KING TACO 200 TOYOTA SPEEDWAY – JULY 3
K&N PRO SERIES + AUTO CLUB LATE MODELS
FIREWORKS ON THE TRACK AND IN THE SKY!

Irwindale, Calif. - - Toyota Speedway’s annual Independence Day Celebration has become one of the most-anticipated events of the year, a supercharged fireworks show, always the most spectacular in the Valley, and “smokin’ hot” NASCAR racing to match the skyshow.

This year the King Taco 200 for the K&N Pro Series takes center stage, that’s a full 100 miles of door-to-door, two-and-three (and every few laps four!) wide racing by the top NASCAR pros in the Western United States.

Eric Holmes leads the touring into the progressively-banked Irwindale oval with a “consistent” record that has seen him score well (2 second places and 4 top 5’s) for 803 points and a 24-point lead over David Mayhew who has won one race and also has 4 top fives in the first five races of the 2010 season.

Paulie Harraka also has one in the win column but only 3 top fives for 700 points. Jonathon Gomez (693), Moses Smith (676), Todd Souza* (669), Greg Pursley (664), Luis Martinez, Jr.*, (657), Michael Self* (656), and Blake Koch (618) round out the top ten, and the guys with the asterisks next to their names are ROOKIES.

Each of the above and about 25 of their NASCAR driver “friends” will all be here and all looking for points and prize money in the sixth event of the 12-race series that visits seven Western states in its run for its 2010 championship.

Also on the card that evening are the always entertaining Auto Club Late Models. And then, there’s the opportunity to celebrate July the 4th a day early (not to mention giving fans a great chance to double up on observing America’s birthday).

2009 series champ Nick Joanides, from Woodland Hills leads the Late Models with three wins and 342 points with rookie Rod Johnson, Jr. from Canyon Country owning 3 wins himself and 336 points, and Bakersfield’s Chris Holloway is well-slotted in third at 332. Close? Stay tuned for this one.

Leading up to Saturday night’s race more than twenty huge NASCAR haulers will parade down Route 66 some 12 miles from Arcadia to Irwindale early on Friday evening July 2nd to help celebrate America’s birthday and to announce the fact that the NASCAR K&N touring pros are in town and ready to race in the King Taco 200 on Saturday night July 3rd.

Decked out in not only in team colors, but also the red, white, and blue of the annual Independence Day celebration, the giant eighteen-wheelers will gather in the parking lot at Santa Anita at 5:30PM, form up and then head out at 6:15 for the estimated 45-minute drive* that will take the top teams through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Azusa, and Irwindale en route to the Speedway.

“A parade like this has become a real tradition at a number of major NASCAR races around the country, and we felt that we should celebrate one of our biggest NASCAR races of the year with our own hauler parade,” said track GM Bob DeFazio. “I hope that all of our local fans will turn out to give these teams a wave and a cheer as they come down Route 66 on Friday night.”

And … Once they get to the track they begin the work of unloading and setting up for Saturday night, July third’s colossal show.

GATED OPEN AT 4PM ON SATURDAY AND FANS ARE INVITED TO THE KING TACO ON-TRACK AUTOGRAPH SESSION AT 5:45 … MEET THE DRIVERS, SEE THESE AWESOME MACHINES UP CLOSE … AND BECOME A REAL NASCAR INSIDER! HAPPY 3RD OF JULY!