TOYOTA SPEEDWAY TO HONOR TEACHERS/STUDENTS ... AND SEPTEMBER 11th
SEPTEMBER 11th RACES AT TOYOTA SPEEDWAY WILL HONOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS … AUTO CLUB “BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT” September 11th Remembrance Scheduled Irwindale, Calif. - - Teachers and students* will be admitted without charge to Toyota Speedway this Saturday night as a tribute to them and to celebrate Auto Club’s “Back To School Night” at the popular NASCAR home track. The date will also mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attack on the United States which will be remembered in a ceremony prior to the start of the races at 7PM. Nine years ago, right after the attack, a number of the firefighters who worked at the Speedway went to New York City as volunteers to work at the World Trade Center site. The track will honor them as well on Saturday. “We’re very proud of our people and very supportive of quality education,” said Bob DeFazio the track’s VP/GM. “We’re all here because of the greatness of our country and its people, this was a terrible time for all of us, we’ve weathered it, but we’ll never forget.” And we’ll be racing on Saturday night with a great show that includes the exciting Auto Club Late Models with a “chase” that pits a young (second generation) rookie against the division’s 2009 champion. Rod Johnson, Jr. (who just turned 21 last week) is your class leader with 526 points and four races left to go in the 2010 season. The Canyon Country driver leads last year’s class champ, Nick Joanides (Woodland Hills) by a slim 24 points and has the edge in race wins (4 to 2) which would come into play if there’s tie at season’s end. Bakersfield’s Chris Holloway and Long Beach’s Travis Irving are not all that far back and locked in a tie for third place at 488 points each. And then there’s Covinian Mike Johnson (who might be considered as “on a roll” after winning the past two races) who’s hanging tough at 446. With four races left in the year, the deal is to win as many as you can and hope that someone other than one of these guys has a very good night behind you. Sure … Good luck, with this group of real pros! The Vista Paint Super Stocks are also at four races to the end of the season with Rich DeLong III (Santa Clarita) out ahead at 536. DeLong has five wins this season and has never finished worse than third. Riverside’s Bryan Harrell has been knocking at the door all year long, but has yet to close the deal on a first place, his 488 putting him 48 points arrears with (as we said) four to go. Gary Read, from LaVerne is third in this one with 470. The numbers game gets “very interesting” about now! Sunland’s Daryl Scoggins leads the Justice Brothers Mini Stocks in for race 11 of 13 total, this Saturday night, the Sunland driver has 452 points and six wins in the 10 races run so far this year. Jacob Roberts (Riverside) has 436 giving him a 10-point lead over Alta Loma’s Rod Schmitt at 426. The JB Mini Stocks are small, compact machines that deliver the full stock car experience running on Irwindale’s tricky third-mile oval. And the feisty Echo Equipment Legends Cars will be back (after racing last week) with Brent Sheidmantle from Alta Loma where he’ bee for most of season, in the points lead with 576 points, 28 points up on Oak Hill’s Chad Schug. Darren Amidon, from Santee has by far the most wins this season (seven of the 13 races run thus far in the 15-race 2010 season), but not chalking up any point in races 1, 3, & 4 has been a tough hill to climb. Of course the two really big events have been save for last on Saturday night … the Skid Plate Cars will be back, showering the tracks with sparks and offering plenty of “slideways” action just about anywhere on looks on the track. Like driving a car with the park brake on (except that there’s a steel plate on the rear wheels of these baby bolides). And then we’ll see a Demolition Derby. Back ‘er in baby! This is a take-no-prisoners show that always leaves the crowd a bit sweaty and hoarse. The racing results are better seen than described. Hilarious is way too mild a adjective, for the antics of this bunch. You need a good laugh … Here’ s a guaranteed shot at it. OK, TOTE ‘EM UP: That’s six complete racing events on one night for one low price … six starts, six races, and six finishes and all of the action that NASCAR always delivers in between … No wonder people are turning off their TVs and turning out at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale on Saturday night for the real thing … The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the shouting of a stadium full of real, close-up NASCAR short track racing fans all having the time of their lives! As they say: BE THERE! 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. SHOW THE CARD AND GET IN FREE: Show your valid student or faculty ID card this Saturday and you’re in the place for FREE. School support employees are also invited … Come on out to salute your students! 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 over two million fans so far. “LA’s Half-Mile SuperSpeedway” is NOT just a empty slogan! The true heart of NASCAR Home Track racing, this local Speedway presents racing events every Saturday night from March through October giving hundreds of great drivers a place to prove themselves and their machines in front of cheering crowds of real race fans. www.tototaspeedwayatirwindale.com *with ID