Large field of Late Models expected Saturday
for Toys for Tots 100 at OSS
SAN BERNARDINO (Sept. 19, 2007) –
The race is called the Toys for Tots 100, but winning it won’t
be child’s play.
In fact, there will be as many theories on how to
achieve success as there will be drivers in the 100-lap open competition
Late Model main event Saturday night (Sept. 22) at ASA-sanctioned Orange
Show Speedway.
Jim Conklin said the emphasis will be on qualifying
well to keep from getting into the “tight, rough situation”
that is likely to develop when the speedway’s BSR West Late Model
regulars are joined by visiting drivers lured to the quarter-mile oval
by the race winner’s $1,000 share of a $6,400 purse.
Dave Arce said the key will be having enough patience
to avoid putting himself in harm’s way and staying close enough
to the front early to have a chance to win at the finish.
One thing everyone will agree on, though, is that
racing luck may be more important than good planning in a race the drivers
asked for and helped fund, and watching it all happen should provide
great entertainment for a Family Night audience that will be helping
out the Toys for Tots Foundation with its ticket purchases.
All proceeds from the evening will go to the Foundation,
an arm of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves program that provides toys
and games for needy children at Christmas.
Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. and racing gets under
way at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for seniors (62
and over), handicapped and juniors (13-16). Children 12 and under are
admitted free with a paying adult on Family Night. Active military personnel
and veterans with valid military identification are admitted free at
all times. Parking is $4 per car with entry through Gate 3 off Mill
Street .
Those unable to make it to the speedway still can
follow the action with “Orange Show Speedway Live,” the
radio broadcast on KTTD (AM 1350) that begins at 8 p.m. and is simulcast
on the Internet at www.nixacountry.com.
The Lucas Oil Outlaw Figure 8 race scheduled for
this weekend has been cancelled, but the ASA Stock Ponys, Leno’s
Rico Taco Legends Cars and Bandoleros will be in action.
The event also will include the debut of the USAC
Jr. Ford Focus Midget class, which has been designed as a stepping-stone
between Quarter Midgets and the Focus Midgets, but the young drivers
will be doing their learning out of the public eye. They will qualify
at the close of Friday night’s ( 6-9 p.m. ) test session and compete
in their main event at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Qualifying for the Late Models and other classes
will get under way about 5 p.m. and Conklin said with the possibility
of a large starting lineup being determined by qualifying, those two
laps could be extremely important.
“The main thing this week is going to
be qualifying,” said Conklin, who lives on the North Shore of
Big Bear Lake and spent much of the early week keeping a wary eye on
the Butler 2 fire that threatened nearby Fawnskin. “You want to
qualify good and be up front. If you’re not, you could be in a
tight, rough situation.”
Once the green flag waves, though, the key is patience.
Both Conklin and Arce agree on that. Arce said he’ll try “not
to get too carried away in the first 75 laps” and Conklin said
he will “take it easy the first 50 laps and just stay out of trouble,
then run hard for the last 50.”
Both say chassis setup is important, but that the
length of the race doesn’t mean drastic changes are needed. Arce,
who admits to being conservative, said, “If you’re very
close to the generic setup you have for a typical race, I think you’ll
be fine for 100 laps.” Conklin, who thinks he has found the reason
for a brake problem that bothered him the past two races, said he will
“run the same setup I always run. I don’t change my setup
hoping the car will come to me or the track will come to me. My package
is pretty good.”
Conklin said what his setup provides is the consistency
to allow him to “run the same lap speed at the end as I do at
the beginning” without causing excessive tire wear. And the way
Arce sees it, the race is going to be decided where the rubber meets
the road.
“I think where the setup comes into play
is in not taking advantage of good tires at the beginning of the race,
not running too hard and using them up. You have to save the tires and
use them at the end.”
Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Lucas
Oil, Blackhawk Protection, Hype Manufacturing, Del Taco, Aflac Insurance,
KTTD radio (AM 1350), Leno’s Rico Taco, Soboba Casino, Budweiser,
Star Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tires, Frank’s Radio Service,
Torco Racing Fuels, Parker Pumper/BSR West, Eibach Springs, JP Striping,
Center Chevrolet, Pepsi, Matich Coporation, L. Curti Truck and Equipment,
One Stop Landscape Supply, Extreme Exhibits & Logistics, Little
Green Onions and the San Bernardino County Sun.
For further information, contact Jim Short at 951-203-2649
or jimshort65@sbcglobal.net, call Orange Show Speedway at 909-888-6788,
X438, or visit the web site at www.nosevents.com.
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