$50,000+ Lucas Oil California Classic - Thanksgiving Weekend - Toyota Speedway
LUCAS &TOYOTA SPEEDWAY ANNOUNCE $50,000.00+ THANKSGIVING WEEKEND “LUCAS OIL CALIFORNIA CLASSIC” SRL/SPEARS SW Tour Cars, Late Models, and Super Late Models From All Points West Compete in Lucas-Televised Event … Saturday, Nov 27 Irwindale, Calif. (September 18, 2010) - - Lucas Oil and Toyota Speedway today announced a brand new, all-comers, three-division night of stock car racing set for Saturday night November 27 at the track that’s nationally-known for producing the best in short track racing action. Titled the “Lucas Oil California Classic” and set for the Saturday night of the long Thanksgiving weekend, the event will be presented by: Canidae Pet Foods, MasterCraft Safety, Gene Price Racing, and ExTenez. The action-packed triple bill will feature the touring pros of the SRL/SPEARS Southwest Tour and the two most popular west coast weekly series (Late Models and Super Late Models) competing in three events for over $50,000.00 in prize money. Adding to the excitement is the fact that the Lucas Oil TV Team will live tape the races and present them on Versus only a few weeks later. “This is dream event that Bob Patison from Lucas and I have been working on for some time now,” said track GM/VP Bob DeFazio. “We’ve both been very interested in bringing a special Friday/Saturday stock car event to the long Thanksgiving weekend, and, thanks to Lucas Oil, we’re on the way to what we both feel will become an important annual event. We think that the timing is perfect for both Lucas Oil and Toyota Speedway.” The Late Models will run a 75-lap race with no pit stops, the Super Lates will run 100 laps without stopping, and the SRL cars will run 125 laps with a competition yellow at 100 for a quick hit of fuel followed by a flat-out, 25-lap sprint to the finish. Besides the highly-coveted national television exposure and a very nice purse there’s the special honor of having one’s name inscribed as the first winner on a set of unique event trophies which are intended to become an important part of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend racefest. The all-star stock car event will bookend a long weekend of racing that kicks off with the 70th annual running of the Thanksgiving Night Grand Prix for Midgets on Thursday night, November 25. An open-to-the-public practice and qualifying session on Friday November 26 will feature a very unique open pit area meet and greet for fans that will take place between 2 and 4 PM. Motors and work on all cars will stop for those hours and the public will be allowed full access to the pit area where all drivers will “hang out” at their cars to sign autographs for fans. “We’ll do a sort of a Pit Area version of our very popular King Taco On-Track Autograph Session,” said DeFazio. “Only this one will be in the pit area, and everyone will be welcome.” More information on the event schedule, special ticket packages, TV schedule, purse breakdown, and entry blanks will be forthcoming shortly and posted on the speedway’s website: www.toyotaspeedwayatirwindale.com. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Doug Stokes (626) 391-3772 stokescommunications@earthlink.net Backgrounder: The Spears SRL Southwest Tour cars are a West Coast professional short track touring series with technical rules that line up with the NASCAR Elite division. They compete on tracks throughout the Southwestern United States. Super Late Models are the top weekly division at Toyota Speedway and Late Models are the stepping stone to the Super Lates and beyond. Pepsi and the Auto Club respectively sponsored these very popular divisions at Toyota Speedway in the 2010 season.