"Spears Mfg 100" for the Southwest Tour Cars: Saturday Night
“SPEARS MANUFACTURING 100” And MUCH More on July 17, 2010: Irwindale, Calif. - - The top west coast pros of the Southwest Tour Series are all heading to the track that has been called “LA’s Half-Mile Superspeedway for just over a decade now … Toyota Speedway in Irwindale welcomes the “Spears Manufacturing 100”, race six in the ten-race west coast short track championship that sees competitors racing at a number of legendary California venues that all loosely fit under the heading of “short track” and that all have reps. for biting anyone who thinks that a track has to be a mile or so long to be a challenge. All-American, Madera, Orange Show, Stockton 99, the Bull Ring at Las Vegas and Toyota Speedway are all on the tour and every track is a different as night and day from each of the others. Toyota Speedway is the biggest at half a mile, and its graduated banking is sure to give these drivers, who are very used to fighting it out in very close quarters, a chance to stretch their legs a little. The driver points after the first six races are as follows with a number of very well-known (to Toyota Speedway regulars) drivers all in strong contention for this year’s crown, including last week’s K&N Pro Series King Taco 200 victor at Toyota Speedway, Auggie Vidovich. 1 03 Jim Pettit II 791 2 2 Derek Thorn 771 3 22 Jonathon Gomez 754 4 41 Ryan Foster 735 5 88 Kyle Cattanach 698 6 85 Thomas Martin 670 7 37 Keith Spangler 652 8 16 Jacob Gomes 643 9 29 Brennan Newberry 631 10 54 Joe Farre` 625 11 20 Jared Vorse 618 12 51 Carlos Vieira 610 13 1 Auggie Vidovich 594 14 33 M. K. Kanke 580 15 90 Ross Strmiska 557 16 88 Kevin Callahan 397 17 7 Josh Combs 389 18 44 Jason Gilbert 385 19 4 Greg Voigt 377 20 84 Eddie Secord 356 These drivers are a great mixture of seasoned pros and young, upcoming stockcar racing stars, and they’ve got a hundred laps on the superfast Irwindale NASCAR oval to prove it to the fans. The Spears Manufacturing 100! Adding to the show, the King Taco Super Trucks will be there with the rage of Rancho Cucamonga, Ryan Partridge working on a no-hitter (for everyone else in the division). Partridge has won all seven of the KT races run thus far and would just as soon win them all. He’s got 350 points (old math: 7 x 50) and Todd Cameron of nearby Monrovia and Matt Kimball of Mission Viejo at 326 and 304 each are getting just a lit-TEL tired of putting up podium finishes each week only to see Partridge on the top step blowing air kisses to the cheering crowd. Can he do it again, can he keep this perfect season going? (Shhhhhhhhhhhhh … not supposed to talk about it, Oops, we just did!) The Echo Equipment Legends Cars are truly in their element on the Toyota Speedway third-mile. These cool little Yamaha-engined machines (they are officially THE largest single-chassis/spec. racing class EVER/ANYWHERE) are always responsible for racing way beyond their size. The list of top pro drivers that started in Legends is a long one (and on their website), and the folks who are having fun with them here at Toyota Speedway is another one to be reckoned with. Alta Loma’s Brent Sheidmantle leads the pack with 348 points which include one win and four second place finishes, while Chad Schurg from Oak Hills also has a win but trails first by 12 at 336. Bakersfield-based Rick Clark is doing his best to keep “both of the above” honest with a string of good finishes and 306 check-marks in the points column… After eight of their 14 scheduled races for the 2010 track championship only 12 points separate the top three in the Langers Juice S2 division. These technically-identical (“spec”) machines were brought into the Toyota Speedway divisional rotation with just that promise, to engender close, action-packed racing at a sensible price in machines that would, look, act, respond, and race like top line NASCAR stockers at a price that would allow newcomers and old hands both to get some good track time in a fully-equipped NASCAR stocker that didn’t require putting the family jewels in hock (although all those honest-as-the-day-is-long-looking guys on TV keep telling us that it’s a really good time to sell your gold watches, rings, tennis bracelets and teeth). Clearly Roman Lagudi, Dylan Lupton, and Kendall Lopez, from Las Vegas, Wilton, and Independence respectively, and who are current 1,2, and 3 in points at 352, 348, and 340 would all agree. (About the value in the class, not about the price of old gold these days.) GATES: Open at 4PM and the FREE King Taco On-Track Autograph Session fun starts at 5:45PM and the first race comes under the green flag at 7PM. Kids 12 and Under are FREE, so bring the whole neighborhood! Fans can save time by booking tickets on line at www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com. ALL OF THE ABOVE: Gates open to the public at 4PM, there’s always a live band playing, a cool car club showing off, a face-painting clown for the little (and not so little) guys and gals, a great food and beverage court with hundreds of choices and a new budget-friendly family deal (be sure to buy it with your ticket) that will: “Feed 4 for 24” … 4 hot dogs, 4 orders of fries, and four soft drinks: only $24.00 (and that good deal saves fans 25% on feeding four!). BIO: Toyota Speedway opened its doors in 1999 to great crowds and great racing. In subsequent years the banked half-mile oval has seen hundreds of thousands of miles of close, competitive racing witnessed by well over a million fans. The true heart of NASCAR Home Track racing, this local Speedway presents racing events every Saturday night from March through October giving hundreds of drivers a place to prove themselves and their machines in front of cheering crowds of real race fans. www.tototaspeedwayatirwindale.com